2010 Reds Infield Preview

Per the schedule that the Almighty Reinhart has set, today Cintucky Zone is looking at the Cincinnati Reds Infield for 2010. I for one think that any team heading into the season without Edwin Encarnacion and David Weathers has a serious shot to contend for a Pennant.

Following the recent acquisition of SS Orlando Cabrera, the Reds have a VERY strong infield, both offensively and defensively. Lets take a closer look:

1B. Joey Votto - Last season: .322 avg, 25 HR, 84 RBI, .414 OBP, .567 SLG.
First off just let me say that I would volunteer to have Joey Votto's baby if he wanted. It can be considered a man crush. I know there are a ton of top notch first basemen in the National League but Votto should have a very good shot at making the All Star team this year. A winning first half of the season for the Reds would help that cause. It has been reported that Votto has gotten past his issues with depression and anxiety that took him out of 21 games last year. There were times last year when Votto was the only thing that resembled an offense for the Reds. He single handedly won multiple games. I am excited to see what this year has in store for him. His batting average dropped toward the end of last year but hey its hard to maintain a .370 average. I would expect to see an increase in RBI's this year because I think more runners will be on base for him. Defensively, he is a well above average first baseman with only 10 errors last year. He is currently the only member of the Reds infield (excluding catcher) without a gold glove.

2B. Brandon Phillips - Last season: .276 avg, 20 HR, 98 RBI, .329 OBP, .447 SLG.
Brandon is probably my second favorite Red. And not just because I ran into him at Steak & Shake at 1:30am the same night he played in a Red's game I was at and I was completely slammed at the time. And not just because we absolutely R*PED Cleveland in that trade and I still am giddy about making fun of Cleveland people every time Phillips does something else awesome. Phillips is my second favorite Red because he has been so consistent the last 4 years on both offense and defense. And because he is a funny thug. Phillips was forced to hit in the cleanup spot last year simply because the Reds had nobody that could. Ideally Phillips would not be in the 4-hole but I'm not sure they have found a cleanup hitter this year. Unless Jay Bruce learns how to hit a curve ball, or any ball really. Defensively, Phillips is a natural. He had 9 errors last year which was a tad bit high from him. He'll be looking to return to gold glove form of 2008. It will be fun to watch Phillips and Cabrera turn double plays this year.

SS. Orlando Cabrera - Last season: .284 avg, 9 HR, 77 RBI, .316 OBP, .389 SLG, 13 SB.

No doubt Paul Janish was devastated with the recent acquisition of Cabrera. Janish figured since they didn't acquire a SS late last year or throughout the entire off season that he would be given a chance to show what he can do starting everyday. Unfortunately for him, this team needs more than defense. The lack of offense last year forced the Reds to improve in positions they were weak in, and they chose to do so at the SS position. I think an under appreciated key aspect of signing Cabrera is his ability to speak Spanish. With the number of Hispanic pitchers the Reds have been stocking up on, it is good to have another Spanish speaking member of the infield besides the catcher. Cabrera had a down year last year defensively, notching 25 errors. However he is only 2 years removed from winning a gold glove. He played half the season last year on turf so hopefully that contributed to his poor fielding performance. Offensively, Cabrera gives the Reds something they haven't had at the SS position since Felipe Lopez had a breakout year and then was traded away. His OBP isn't that great but he is known to be more of a contact hitter that plays small ball moving over runners and such. I know he'll be better than Alex Gonzalez.

3B. Scott Rolen - Last season (with Blue Jays and Reds): .305 avg, 11 HR, 67 RBI.
First off call me crazy but Scott Rolen and Russell Crowe have to be twins separated at birth. Seriously look at this. And I haven't found one other person to agree with me yet.

Secondly, you know it was bad last year when Edwin started off with like 4 walks in his first 6 at bats and everyone was saying how he was a different hitter and more patient and more mature. Rolen is definitely the wild card out of this whole infield. If he stays healthy (big if) and produces this team could seriously contend. If he doesn't produce, the pressure builds for the young corps of outfielders to fill the offensive void. Regardless of his offense, and regardless of whether he is in a wheelchair or not, he will still be better defensively than Edwin. Seven gold gloves back me up.

C. Ramon Hernandez & Ryan Hanigan - I'm not sure when the days of teams only have 1 catcher switched over to having two split equal time but I tend to like the two Reds catchers. Last year, both showed abilities on offense and defense. Lets compare the two and where they rank in the league:

Hernandez: 81 games - .258 avg, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 0 passed balls, 1 error, 18 caught stealing in 33 attempts
Hanigan: 90 games - .263 avg, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 3 passed balls, 1 error, 21 caught stealing in 28 attempts

Obviously you would expect to see Hernandez working more with Cueto, Chapman, and Volquez when he returns and putting Hanigan with Arroyo, Harang, and Bailey, but I do feel comfortable with either guy behind the plate. Very glad to see the Reds have moved beyond the days of Jason LaRue, Corky Miller, and Paul Bako.

All in all I give the Reds infield an A- grade. I'll be breaking down the Red's outfield in a few days but to give you a preview: the outfield is by far the biggest question the Reds have in my mind. Luckily, for as young as the outfield is, the infield is filled with veterans who should be able to take some pressure off of those youngsters in the outfield.

Stay tuned throughout the next week for more Red's 2010 preview!