Five Players from the Redlegs.

This is a very interesting organization right now, and they seem to be at a fork in the road. The next five years will be very important for this organization since their division is easily winnable in any given year. I think they made a terrible choice for their managerial spot that is already hurting them on the field. Because of Baker they may start out with Bruce and Votto in the minors behind stagnant veterans such as Patterson and Hatteberg.

The signing of Cordero makes it seem like they want to win this year, but then they bring in Baker and bury Bruce and possibly Votto (the official site lists Hatteberg as the starter as of today) both of whom could be in their top three offensive players this year. The team and its leadership simply cannot decide if the team is fish or fowl, and this cognitive dissonance could readily destruct whatever plans they have for the next few years. Or, maybe they have decided and simply are not up to the task of making good decisions.

Whatever the case, it will be an interesting team to watch. Here are five players:

Jeff Keppinger Have I mentioned him enough in this space and on the radio show? If not let me mention him again. He is a legitimate .320 hitter who will challenge for the batting title if he gets a full shot. He has a tiny bit of pop, but that 95% contact rate and 9% walk rate bode well for a high average. This is precisely a situation where the smart fantasy General must ignore projections and swing for the fences. The worst that will happen is that Keppinger flops for 100 ABs, but the best is that you get an end gamer that hits .330 and gets a few MVP votes. You want the next Freddy Sanchez, here he is.

Johnny Cueto A good litmus test for a fantasy expert: do you prefer Cueto or Bailey? In my mind there is no reason to prefer Bailey at this point aside from hype. Cueto has better command and has proven himself at AA, where he had 77 K/11 BB in 61 IP at Chattanooga. He doesn’t have to beat out much to win a job, given that they are throwing out Fogg, Belisle and possibly Affeldt (ugh). It is only tacit communication that makes one prefer Bailey. Bailey’s component ratios took a dive upon promotion to AAA and we know what happened in the Majors.

Joey Votto His power potential will be a perfect fit for GABP, and it strains credulity (not that Baker has any in my mind) that a team would consider starting an old worn down horse like Hatteberg over a stallion. One might demur and say that they are concerned about service time, but then why go get Cordero? Once you get Cordero you are saying that you want to win now, so then put your best team out there. This may not be a fun time to be a Reds fan….

Adam Dunn At times he looks like Dave Kingman on steroids (metaphorically speaking!) He is one of my favorite players to watch. The Reds and your fantasy team can balance out Dunn’s batting average problems by drafting Keppinger. Dunn has an excellent batting eye, walking in 16% of his PA, but simply doesn’t make contact enough to hit more than .250 regularly, with contact rates below 70% every year. Instead of griping, the Reds should focus on what he can do rather than what he cannot.

Aaron Harang He has quietly become one of the best pitchers in baseball. For Reds fans and his fantasy owners alike, it is worth noting that he still hasn’t peaked in my view. In the last three years his K rate has gone up and his BB has gone down, making him an elite pitcher from a skills standpoint, even in a park that hurts pitchers like GABP. The only cause for concern is his 41% FB rate, which is on the red side of the ledger (forgive the pun). Other than that it all looks good going forward.