Cincinnati Reds: Predicting the roster with Opening Day three weeks away

Outfielders (5)

Nick Senzel, Shogo Akiyama, Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker and Phillip Ervin

The Reds outfield has been a hot topic among fans all offseason. Questions about how David Bell would allocate playing time and who’s best suited to play every day have been tossed around all winter. With Cactus League play underway, some of the Reds outfielders are performing, while others are struggling.

Jesse Winker and Phillip Ervin have come to play. After the Reds signed Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama this offseason, fans began to wonder what that meant for last year’s left field platoon of Winker and Ervin. Well, all they’ve done this spring is rake, adding some intrigue to the outfield rotation. Winker is hitting .375 and Ervin is 5-for-10 in Cactus League play.

Nick Senzel has yet to make his spring debut after undergoing shoulder surgery near the end of last season to repair a torn labrum. Last year’s rookie is expected to play later this week, but will be relegated to a designated hitter for the time being.

Akiyama is 4-for-14 thus far and has been in leadoff spot when starting. The Japanese outfielder has started four games in center field and one game in left. Expect to see him continue to gain experience playing both outfield positions and maybe even take over in right field for a game or two.

Aristides Aquino is 0-for-14 with six strikeouts. That’s not going to find you a place on the Opening Day roster. Aquino flashed his potential last August, but a poor showing down the stretch in September, coupled with a .209 batting average in the Dominican Winter League suggests The Punisher needs more refinement at Triple-A.