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posted March 28, 2008 at 15:35 in MLB Articles

Starting Pitching:

The Cincinnati Reds have not been competitive in the National League Central since the days of Jose Rijo and that’s because they haven’t had the pitching. They addressed that this offseason but their moves can’t be considered shrewd yet.

The Reds added Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto to the rotation but both are young and unproven. But both did have good outings in spring, though.

Ace of the future, Homer Bailey, struggled in spring training this season and will start in the minors, but he figures to factor at some point this season.

The other arms in the rotation are Matt Belisle and Josh Fogg, who figure to get knocked around quite a bit at The Great American Ballpark.

Aaron Haran and Bronson Arroyo are a good one-two punch, but if Volquez or Cueto don’t pan out, this rotation is not much for the better.

Relief Pitching:

The Cincinnati Reds had one of the worst bullpens last season but sometimes it only takes one guy to make a significant change. Without a closer last year, the Reds were reeling and moved pitchers out of position to try to solidify the ninth inning. Now that the Reds shelled out the biggest free agent contract to a relief pitcher in franchise history, they hope that their situation will improve.

Francisco Cordero is the man with the high price tag and his arrival should vastly improve the bullpen.

David Weathers was not comfortable as the closer but is actually a pretty good setup man. Todd Coffey is also a good arm that will help out Weathers, instead of having to handle all the duties on his own.

Jeremy Affeldt and Mike Stanton are experienced left-handers, which should round out a bullpen that will rise to from the basement to the first floor in rankings.

Hitting:

The Reds are all about hitting but one continuing concern is the lack of a leadoff hitter.

Corey Patterson – one of Dusty Baker’s boys – will try to fill the role but he’s failed several times in his career trying to doing so.

Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Brandon Phillips and Edwin Encarnacion will provide lots of power in the heart of the order.

Rookie Joey Votto hit .321 last September and will look to carry that over to this season and when David Ross and Alex Gonzalez recover from injuries shortly, the Reds should have plenty of depth in the order.

Hitting won’t be a problem for this team but a true leadoff hitter would make them one of the best lineups around.

Regular Season Win Total: 78

On paper, the Reds look quite similar to their recent outfits but a couple of changes might make them a contender. For starters, their bullpen is going to be stronger with Cordero closing out games. Next, their starting pitching won’t be any worse than last year but might be better if Volquez and Cueto are all they are hyped to be.

But given their track record, which includes plenty of pitching projects gone awry; it is hard to buy into this team until we see it done on the field.

They won 72 games last year and although a six-game jump might seem like a lot, given how weak their division is, it is conceivable.

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