Walt Jocketty is just challenging the NL Central to come get some!!!
Get reacquainted with this image. I just got word that tonight, the Reds have signed Ryan Madson as their new closer. This offseason, we traded depth for an ace starter in Mat Latos. In a separate deal, we also traded for shutdown reliever (and former Reds killer) Sean Marshall.
The projected 2012 lineup now looks almost set. I don't see any LF free agents or potential trade targets left that are worth acquiring. Hey, given a full year in left, Heisey projects to 30 HR and 77 RBI with a .263 avg. I'll take that! So this is what our lineup card should look like most days, with projections provided by RotoChamp:
| Lineup | Player | POS | Team | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Phillips | 2B | CIN | 595 | 93 | 17 | 60 | 17 | 0.279 | 0.337 | 0.432 |
| 2 | Zack Cozart | SS | CIN | 385 | 53 | 11 | 46 | 0 | 0.283 | 0.317 | 0.439 |
| 3 | Joey Votto | 1B | CIN | 575 | 115 | 31 | 111 | 10 | 0.313 | 0.421 | 0.553 |
| 4 | Jay Bruce | OF | CIN | 565 | 91 | 31 | 100 | 7 | 0.255 | 0.341 | 0.476 |
| 5 | Scott Rolen | 3B | CIN | 400 | 55 | 11 | 61 | 2 | 0.270 | 0.332 | 0.443 |
| 6 | Drew Stubbs | OF | CIN | 576 | 75 | 18 | 73 | 35 | 0.247 | 0.326 | 0.391 |
| 7 | Chris Heisey | OF | CIN | 480 | 66 | 30 | 77 | 7 | 0.263 | 0.326 | 0.494 |
| 8 | Ryan Hanigan | C | CIN | 270 | 39 | 6 | 33 | 0 | 0.289 | 0.383 | 0.385 |
And how about this set of starters:
| Starter | Player | POS | Team | IP | W | L | ERA | WHIP | K | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mat Latos | SP | CIN | 200 | 15 | 9 | 3.65 | 1.21 | 194 | 62 |
| 2 | Johnny Cueto | SP | CIN | 175 | 13 | 8 | 3.45 | 1.19 | 125 | 55 |
| 3 | Mike Leake | SP | CIN | 175 | 11 | 8 | 3.81 | 1.26 | 121 | 45 |
| 4 | Bronson Arroyo | SP | CIN | 200 | 11 | 10 | 4.23 | 1.30 | 113 | 50 |
| 5 | Homer Bailey | SP | CIN | 160 | 10 | 9 | 4.05 | 1.33 | 131 | 48 |
The Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman will also be groomed as a starter, but has had some shoulder stiffness this winter. I suspect that he starts the season in extended spring training or the minors to work up his arm strength and stretch him out for starting. Then, when the inevitable collapse by either Bailey or Arroyo occurs, he gets plugged in and is good to finish out the season without worrying about excessive innings!
And don't forget about what I now claim to be the best bullpen in baseball.
| Player | POS | Team | IP | W | L | Saves | ERA | WHIP | K | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Madson | RP | CIN | 60 | 4 | 2 | 32 | 2.37 | 1.15 | 62 | 16 |
| Sean Marshall | RP | CIN | 65 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2.49 | 1.15 | 69 | 18 |
| Nick Masset | RP | CIN | 65 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3.32 | 1.42 | 61 | 28 |
| Bill Bray | RP | CIN | 60 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.90 | 1.12 | 57 | 22 |
| Logan Ondrusek | RP | CIN | 60 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4.35 | 1.32 | 40 | 26 |
| Jose Arredondo | RP | CIN | 55 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.42 | 1.40 | 51 | 31 |
| Sam LeCure | RP | CIN | 110 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3.52 | 1.13 | 100 | 36 |
I think we need to seriously start thinking about a nickname and theme song for this crew. The Nasty Boys and U Can't Touch This carried us through 1990. This team is being built for a a no-holds-barred run at the playoffs, and is certainly capable of competing in a 7 game series against the Angels, Phillies, Rangers or Yankees.
Anybody want to split season's tickets???
4 comments:
The thing that worries me is that our OF starters are just so-so. Jay Bruce has some power, but nothing overwhelming. Stubs has speed, but not a great AVG or OBP, and he's probably going to bat lead-off. Heisey would be serviceable if we had bigger talent in the OF. Together, there's nothing special in those three.
Someone other than Phillips and Votto has to step up and have a big year. If not, teams just pitch around those two guys. Rolen needs to play at least 130-140 games. In all, we should have a great defensive team, and our pitching will likely be great, but we need to put runs on the board, and production out of more than just Votto and Phillips.
Oh, but as a final note, I will say I'm very happy with the moves made this offseason. At least the Reds are trying, and especially with the Cardinals and Brewers dismantling themselves!
our pitching will be improved, but our hitting is still very dependent on votto and phillips, and as kevin said they can be pitched around. also, our offensive stats are a bit skewed because we FEAST on weak NL central opponents (pirates and astros). when we play higher quality teams like the phillies and braves are numbers tend to come down. if votto or phillips sustain an injury we are done. if any of our top-end pitchers (latos, cueto) get hurt we are done. we got very lucky last year injury-wise, let's hope it happens again. if bruce, heisey, and stubbs can have solid years we should make a pretty good run in 2012.
Kevin hit it on the head. The Reds are going for it because the division is a borderline joke. It's the Reds to lose.
I agree that a bomber in left was a need, but Bruce or Stubbs both have "potential" to develop into all-stars. Remember this, the Reds ALWAYS finish in the top 2 or three in most hitting categories. GABP gives us hitting. What we need is better "clutch hitting" and pitching, pitching, pitching.
Post a Comment