2016 Cincinnati Reds shaping up to be a fun team

The Cincinnati Reds will probably lose a whole lot in 2016, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be an intriguing team to watch.

Following a downright dismal 2015, the Reds have been nothing if not entertaining to kick off the new season, taking all three games against the Philadelphia Phillies in their opening series.

Sure, the wins came against a team that could very well be the worst in baseball. Sure, it’s just three games (after all, the Reds started off 4-0 last season and everyone knows how that ended). And yes, while the three-game winning streak to start the season is nice, the Reds will probably go through their share of struggles with such a youthful, inexperienced squad.

That being said, however, the Reds aren’t looking at it that way. Every time a player or coach has been interviewed since the start of spring training, they’ve said people shouldn’t count them out; they’re a hungry team with something to prove. That’s been very apparent through the first series of the season. With the influx of young players and a chip on the collective shoulder of the team, the Reds have a nice energy and fight to them.

In the first two games, the Reds overcame a slow start to mount thrilling late-inning comebacks, including a walk-off victory on Opening Night. In game three, an offensive outburst buried the Phillies to give the Reds a season-opening sweep against a Pennsylvania team for the second year in a row.

The team’s few remaining veterans have played vital roles in the success in the early going. Joey Votto provided the Reds with the go-ahead hit on Opening Day. Zack Cozart has bounced back nicely from his knee injury with four hits in seven at-bats. Jay Bruce seems to have renewed confidence at the plate, hitting the ball to all fields and smacking two home runs in the series finale against the Phillies.

But beyond that and beyond the fact that the Reds have won their first three games is the young players — the future of this rebuilding team — have made significant contributions.

Aside from one mistake each, Raisel Iglesias and Brandon Finnegan dominated on the mound in their first starts. While he didn’t exactly dazzle in his debut, top pitching prospect Robert Stephenson picked up a win and showed plenty to be excited about in his first taste of the big leagues. Fans will get to see even more young arms continue to develop once Anthony DeSclafani, Michael Lorenzen, John Lamb and Jon Moscot return from their injuries.

On the offensive side of things, rookie outfielder Scott Schebler has gone 4-for-9 with three doubles and three runs batted in, while providing the fireworks on Wednesday night with his walk-off two-bagger. New third baseman Eugenio Suarez has picked up right where he left off in his first season with the Reds, smacking two home runs — including a grand slam on Thursday — to go along with five RBI and a team-high four runs scored.

As the season goes on, we’ll be seeing many more of these promising prospects make their way to the majors. Stephenson’s fellow top pitching prospect, left-hander Cody Reed, is currently in Triple-A Louisville and will certainly find himself in Cincinnati at some point in the coming months. The organization’s top two hitting prospects — outfielder Jesse Winker and middle infielder Jose Peraza — are also at the highest level of the minor leagues and will make their Reds debut at some point in 2016.

These players developing, rather than the win-loss record, will define success for the Reds at the end of the year. And there will undoubtedly be speed bumps along the way as the young guys learn the ropes of the major leagues. But through three games, the team has shown a willingness to battle and a whole lot of potential, which will make it much easier to watch the inevitable growing pains.