As set in stone (until Rolen gets hurt) as the Reds starting infield is, the outfield is the complete opposite. For as mature and veteran as the infield is, to say the outfield is unproven is an understatement. The good news with the outfield is that they should be very solid defensively. Lets get into it:
Projected starting outfield:
RF. Jay Bruce - last year: 101 games, .223 avg, 22 HR, 58 RBI, .303 OBP, .470 SLG, 11 outfield assists
Point blank it's time for Bruce to show why he was regarded as one of the top outfield prospects in baseball. After returning from a broken wrist at the end of last season Bruce started showing signs of life, hitting .326 with 4 HRs & 17 RBIs in 18 games. Even with that final offensive push, he still only raised his season average to .223. Granted Jay is still only 22 years old, and he may have been called up a bit too early, but he will be going into his 3rd full year and should play a
large roll in the success or disappointment of the Red's offense. I remember when Bruce was first called up in 2008 and started out with 11 hits in his first 19 at bats. He was like superman. While obviously an above .500 average is unrealistic, he did hit .308 through his entire time in the minor leagues. Bruce needs to improve his pitch selection and I think you'll see that average be closer to .300 than it is to .200. Regardless of Bruce's up and down offense, his defense has been outstanding so far. He only committed 2 errors last year and had 11 assists, tied for third among right fielders, and everyone else had 60 more games than him.CF. Drew Stubbs - last year: 42 games, .267 avg, 8 HR, 17 RBI, .323 OBP, .429 SLG, 4 outfield assists
All signs point to Stubbs being the opening day center fielder for the Reds. Seeing that he wasn't on the opening day roster last year, he is yet another question mark trying to prove his initial success last year was not a fluke. Stubbs, the Reds first round pick in 2006, was called up from triple-A when Willy Taveras went down with injury in August. At that point, the Reds were well out of any playoff race and I'm sure the situation resulted in low amounts of pressure on Stubbs. Starting Opening Day in c
enter field will certainly be A LOT more pressure. He wasn't really known for his power in the minor leagues, so the 8 HR's surprised a few people. He also had 10 stolen bases in the six weeks he was up in the majors last year and did a better job getting on base than Willy Taveras. I haven't heard/seen/read that the Reds will be changing leadoff hitters so I assume Stubbs is still the guy. This is yet another question mark for the Reds offense. Hopefully Stubbs can up the on-base percentage a little higher and keep stealing bases. Like Bruce, Stubbs is very good in the outfield and can cover a lot of ground. He had 4 assists in his small amount of playing time and did not commit an error.And if you all thought RF and CF were a little iffy.. now we get to left field:
LF. Jon
ny Gomes - last year: 98 games, .267 avg, 20 HR, 51 RBI, .338 OBP, .541 SLG, 5 outfield assistsI can only assume that Jonny Gomes will be the opening day left fielder as good ole Dusty hasn't shown us his hand yet. Gomes was recently resigned and if you listened to other local sports writers/talk show hosts you would think Jonny Gomes was Matt Holiday. Yes the Reds need a power hitter from the right side, but if Jonny Gomes is the answer then we've got problems. I'm not really sure what the fascination is with Gomes, he struck out 85 times in 98 games and is slower than an ox out in left field. I guess he will have to do until another power right handed bat comes along. Hopefully Rolen can help fill that void a bit.
Other Options for left field:
LF/CF. Chris Dickerson - last year: 97 games, .275 avg, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .370 OBP, .373 SLG, 5 outfield assists
Dickerson recently came out saying he was disappointed no one was considering him for the center field job, since that is what he came up in the minors as being. However, at 28 compared to Stubb's 25, and after battling injury after injury, Dickerson finds himself on the outside looking in for starting outfield positions. He certainly was expected to have more power than 2 HR in 97 games last year. I'm sure we'll see a fair amount of him this year, but he too will have some things to prove if he wants to earn an everyday spot on the roster.
LF. Laynce Nix - last year: 116 games, .239 avg, 15 HR, 46 RBIs, .291 OBP, .476 SLG
There was a time early last year that Laynce Nix seemed like he was going to be a huge addition to the Reds. It was at that time that the fans started calling for him to be an everyday player. It was also at that time that his average starting going down the toilet. Nix will no doubt get his share of at bats this year as I'm
guessing left field will be split between Gomes, Dickerson, and Nix.One of the guys we haven't mentioned yet to keep an eye on is Juan Francisco. Last year he played in 14 games for the Reds and hit .429. He has primarily been a third basemen but there has been talk about moving him to left field to fill the void out there. Juan appears to have a bright future with the Reds and I would expect to see him up with the team consistently at some point this year. Most likely when Rolen goes down with an injury and now that Adam Rosales is no longer with the team.
Overall, the Reds outfield is filled with young talent with a lot to prove. Like I mentioned in my Infield preview, if the veteran infielders can stay healthy and produce offensively, that should take SOME of the pressure off the young outfield. But of all the outfielders above, I would say Jay Bruce still has the most pressure on him and the most to prove.
4 days until the first spring training game, 37 days until Opening Day!!
Greg "no more Willy Taveras" R.
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