CINCINNATI -- Since the Reds left for a week-long road trip while he stayed behind to continue rehabbing his injured thumb, catcher Tyler Stephenson has been sprouting the early stages of a new mustache.

"After seeing Top Gun for the second time, I was like, man, I’ve got nothing else better to do while the team is on the road for a week," Stephenson said on Friday. "I don’t know. It’ll probably be gone here pretty soon."

Stephenson, who has been on the injured list since he fractured his right thumb on June 9, has a need for speed to get back into Cincinnati's lineup soon. Friday was an important step towards that goal when he took live batting practice against Vladimir Gutierrez, who is also trying to return from an injury.

"I’m not a fan of 'lives' in the first place, so it’s always kind of a mental thing, especially with the cage and stuff. It felt good to track some pitches," Stephenson said. "It’ll be good to forget about it, compete again here soon."

If all remains positive, Stephenson could join Triple-A Louisville for a rehab assignment as soon as Monday. It remains unclear how many games he would need before being activated.

Stephenson had the protective brace removed from his hand and he promptly began light throwing on June 22. The progress has been brisk since for a player who was originally expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

"It was, really, just a pain tolerance thing from what doc said. The first day after that, I was pretty sore," Stephenson said. "Once I got out of the cast and started doing some stuff, I think it came quicker than we expected because it was picking up a bat, and I was like, ‘Man, I feel good.’ Then it turned into tee, front toss and when the team was gone, I got to do a lot of stuff out here off the machine and saw [Gutierrez's] live BP today."

Before his thumb was broken on an opposing batter’s foul tip against Arizona on June 9, Stephenson was batting .305/.361/.468 with five home runs and 31 RBIs. Backup Aramis Garcia has taken on the bulk of the playing time at catcher in his absence. 

Jordan Luplow hit the ball back off Stephenson's exposed right hand, but the 25-year-old doesn't believe he will change how he sets up behind the plate to hide his hand. 

"Obviously, that’s the talk, but it’s funny, I’ve been watching games and you’d be surprised at how many guys are exposed," Stephenson said. "At the end of the day, it’s bad luck and bad timing. It is what it is. I will obviously be more cautious of it and we’ll try to protect it as much as we can."