Cincinnati Reds

Tuesday night's victory over the Atlanta Braves proved to be an encouraging sign for the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cincinnati Reds have begun a resurrection of sorts.  

For the first month and a half, we watched a lineup that couldn't seem to hit when its collective life and the games, depended on it. The lineup was complemented by a starting pitching staff that seemed to only throw two decent arms out every five days.

But, if you have been watching the ol' ball club of late, you will have noticed a slight change.  

Yet more worrying news came out of the Cincinnati Reds camp today.

The Cincinnati Reds played well Saturday in narrow victory at Yankee Stadium.  Homer Bailey is showing signs of being the starter that, for years, fans were told he was.  The bats were alive, and the Reds made the most of their opportunities.  

Joey Votto is looking hot, Heisey and Phillips are heating up and talents like Costanzo are revealing their worth.  But that's not all the 6-5 win over New York revealed.

At .237, the Cincinnati Reds rank 25th in baseball (11th in the NL) in hitting. This has come as a bit of a shock through 38 games, as everyone seemed to think Joey Votto would head an offensive juggernaut.

The Cincinnati Reds started the season on the wrong foot—poor starting pitching, over-usage of the bullpen, shady defense at times, ice cold bats and some questionable managerial decisions.

However, as of late, the Cincinnati ball club has looked to be righting their ship. The pitching has begun to come together and the bats are finding their way.

I heard of Paul Janish's possible injury yesterday. Today it's been confirmed by beat writer John Fay that Janish broke his wrist when he was hit by a pitch in Saturday's game against the Norfolk Tides.

Janish will be placed on the DL and is likely to miss 6-8 weeks (standard recovery time from a broken wrist).

Last month I wrote a piece about Reds second base prospect Brodie Greene. This month, I'm bringing you another second baseman, Henry Rodriguez.

Spring training statistics are nothing to swear by, but it has been hard to ignore the impressive numbers Cincinnati Reds prospect Todd Frazier has been posting this preseason.

Through 25 plate appearances, the 26-year-old third baseman is leading Cincinnati in batting average (.280), home runs (three), RBI (eight), runs (eight) and stolen bases (two).

Jay Bruce emerged as a bona fide slugger for the Cincinnati Reds last season, clubbing 32 home runs and racking up an impressive 97 RBI.

That said, the young outfielder still has plenty of room for improvement.

If Bruce can bolster these three aspects of his game this season, he could legitimately become an MLB superstar...

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