Who's your two or three most critical Reds for the 2020 season? Who are two or three guys we can point to in October to say they are the reason we're in the world series, or we didn't make the playoffs?
Mine, in order...
1. Nick Senzel - #1 pick a few years ago, derailed early by injuries and vertigo. Had a good, but not great 2019. Got off to a good start last year, but then had a few injuries and ended the season at .256 12 homers. He's hit much better at every minor league stop and is projected to be better. He can hit everywhere in the lineup and for his first season in centerfield, he did well.
2. Trever Bauer - This is the guy in the pitching staff that can take us from a contender to a champion. Bauer was awful with the Reds last year, and you can kind of give him a pass. He was in a new league, non-contending team and he's just quirky enough that all the stars need to align. I really look for him to rebound to his former Cy Young contending self. If Bauer, Castillo and Gray all pitch to their ceiling, we could have 3 #1 starters to throw at teams.
3. Rasiel Iglesias - He can't be worse, right? With the shortened season, bullpens may never be more critical this season. Even if a starter can get you 6 innings- which we'll take every night, the last 3 innings will be critical, and moreso, these guys will need to be ready to go 2/3 days 3/4 days 4/6 days. It may be an inning, it may be an out.
At this point I'm very confident with this team. The bullpen is a little question mark at this time. Do we have enough to get from the 5th to the 8th?