Cincinnati Reds positional preview vs. NL Central: center field

1. Lorenzo Cain, Milwaukee Brewers

If you’re a baseball fan, you have to appreciate the way Lorenzo Cain plays the game. The Milwaukee Brewers centerfielder finally got his due last year and took home the Gold Glove in the National League. There’s little doubt that Cain deserves the No. 1 spot among centerfielders in the NL Central.

Drafted in the 17th round of the 2004 MLB Draft, Cain made his big league debut for the Brewers in 2010. After playing just one season in Milwaukee, Cain was packaged with three other players and shipped to Kansas City for pitcher Zack Greinke. Cain went on to win the MVP in the 2014 ALCS and become a World Champion in 2015.

Cain returned to Milwaukee on a five-year/$80M contract that the signed in 2018. Since then, Cain has been a mainstay atop the Brewers lineup, gone to the All-Star Game (2018) and won a Gold Glove (2019). In his his time since rejoining the Brew Crew, Cain has hit .283/.360/.394 with 48 stolen bases.

With a career-OPS of .763, Cain is not an overly productive player at the dish, but his defensive prowess more than makes up for his lack of offensive production. Lorenzo Cain led all major league centerfielders with a .994 fielding percentage in 2019. Cain has made more than one phenomenal defensive play when facing the Reds.

So, while the Cincinnati Reds may not have the best centerfielder in the NL Central, adding Shogo Akiyama to the squad certainly boosts the team’s profile. Again, Nick Senzel is likely to see plenty of time playing the position as well, and with the likelihood of double-headers, the Reds outfield will be primed for back-to-back games.