Cincinnati Reds positional preview vs. NL Central: center field

3. Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs

The former UC Bearcat comes in at No. 3 on our list, but will he even be in center field for the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day? A slow start during last year’s spring training kept Ian Happ off the Cubs 25-man roster to begin the 2019 season, but his bat improved and he finished the year slashing .264/.333/.564 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in just 140 at-bats.

You won’t find that kind of power from a lot of centerfielders. The switch-hitting Happ is a threat to take the ball over the fence nearly every time he approaches the dish. While he spent the entire 2018 season with the big league club, it was evident that Happ needed some more seasoning in the minors. It appears that the message was received loud and clear.

2. Shogo Akiyama, Cincinnati Reds

Given that Shogo Akiyama signed a three-year/$21M contract with the Cincinnati Reds, we’re going to go under the assumption that he’ll be the starting centerfielder when the 2020 season finally gets underway. However, Nick Senzel is likely to see a lot of time at the position as well. The postponement of the 2020 season likely insures that Senzel will be fully recovered from offseason surgery.

But the Reds didn’t sign Akiyama to ride the bench. The former Japanese star is the perfect player to sit atop the Cincinnati batting order, with an on-base percentage above .385 over the past five seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.

Akiyama is a versatile defender, and we’ll likely see him slide over to play left field on occasion, giving Senzel the opportunity to play center field. Last year’s rookie had an up-and-down 2019 season, but Senzel is still very likely to be a key part of the Cincinnati Reds future.