THE REDS HAVE MANY QUESTIONS TO ANSWER DURING SPRING TRAINING 2010
3.3.10
BY: MEH
WHO WILL BE IN LEFT? WHO WILL BE NO. 5?
THE REDS HAVE MANY QUESTIONS TO ANSWER DURING SPRING TRAINING 2010
With Spring
Training advancing to actual games this Friday against Cleveland, the
discussion of who will make the opening day roster will start to become more
and more intriguing until the St. Louis Cardinals come to town on April 5th.
All of the infield positions are already locked up and so are the bullpen's.
Right field is Jay Bruce's and center appears to be Drew Stubbs' to lose.
That leaves left field as the only vacant position. Jonny Gomes is likely to
get the majority of starts in left (thanks to his major league contract),
but will there be a platoon including the likes of Laynce Nix, Chris
Dickerson, Wladimir Balentien, and Chris Heisey or can Gomes emerge to
finally become an everyday player in the bigs? Gomes could potentially put
up some huge numbers if he could produce like he did last year (281 AB, .267
AVG, 51 RBI, 20 HR) for an entire season. Obviously only time will tell.
MARC HULET ON CHRIS
HEISEY
The Reds club recently re-signed Gomes to a big-league deal so he's the
favorite for playing time in left field. However, there is a rather
unimpressive backlog of outfielders, including Chris
Dickerson, Wladimir
Balentien and Laynce
Nix,
vying for playing time at the position. Heisey could end up being the best
of the bunch, although his long-term outlook is probably fourth outfielder
due to his average power for the outfield corner.
The only other vacant position would be the fifth-spot in the rotation. With
Edinson Volquez out until at least the All-Star break, Homer Bailey avoids
any competition for the role. He will be in the rotation on Opening Day
along with Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, and Johnny Cueto. All four have
enjoyed major league success and it should continue with veterans Harang and
Arroyo playing for contracts, while Bailey and Cueto solidify their skills.
All of the candidates for the fifth-spot bring something to the table, but
these five definitely stand out.
LHP Aroldis Chapman (Top prospect from Cuba, 100mph+ fastball)
LHP Travis Wood (13-5 1.77 ERA between AA and AAA last year)
RHP Mike Leake (3 straight seasons in PAC-10 with 10+ wins)
LHP Matt Maloney (28/8 so/bb ratio last year with the Reds)
RHP Justin Lehr (13-3 3.31 ERA in AAA during 2009)
It could be hard though to judge their abilities at the Reds' new facility
in Good year, Arizona.
FROM C.TRENT:
I talked to Justin Lehr a bit about pitching in Arizona, he’s been in
several camps out here in his career.
He said you’ll see monster ERAs from guys during the spring and then they’ll
have nothing else. Last year Zack Greinke had a 9.64 ERA in the spring. Lehr
noted established guys will just work on their stuff and throwing to spots.
If you’re not fighting for a spot in the rotation, you’re working on things.
With the elevation and lack of humidity, the results aren’t as forgiving.
And then there’s the infield — Zack Cozart said if it’s not just a couple of
feet from your right or left, you’ve got no shot.
He played in the Arizona Fall League and pointed toward Logan Ondrusek who
pitched well in the season and got batted around in the AFL, not because he
wasn’t good, but just because that’s what happens out here.
It could be the making for a very interesting
battle between pitchers. Only one will make the rotation with the others
retreating to Louisville to create a damn solid rotation in it's own right
for manager Rick Sweet. They will all share a common goal though, and it's
not to wear purple this season.
MORE NEWS
-What's
your take on the fifth spot?
JOHN FAY
-Pitching,
pitching, pitching
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-Morning
Reds 3.2.10
C.TRENT
-2010
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DIAMOND HOGGERS
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