Cincinnati Reds: Predicting the Opening Day batting order

How will David Bell fill out the Reds lineup card on Opening Day?

Opening Day is just around the corner. In a little over one week, the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals will descend upon Great American Ball Park, and for the first time since Marty Brennaman retired in 2019, there will be fans in the stands to cheer on their hometown Redlegs. But how will Reds skipper David Bell fill out his lineup card April 1st when the Redbirds come to town?

The Reds know that Cardinals’ ace Jack Flaherty will be toeing the rubber on Opening Day. Last season was unkind to the right-hander who went 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA and posted a -0.3 WAR. Cincinnati is hoping to see a similar version of Flaherty in 2021, but I wouldn’t count on it.

The 2020 season was an anomaly for several big leaguers, and Flaherty is one who I’d expect to bounce back. Prior to last season’s dismal effort, Flaherty was 19-19 with a 3.20 ERA and 433 strikeouts over 368.2 innings pitched. St. Louis is hopeful that Flaherty returns to that level of dominance in 2021.

Regardless of how well or how poorly Flaherty performs on Opening Day, you can bet your bottom dollar that Bell is going to play the percentages and go with a left-handed heavy lineup on April 1st. The Reds did not face Flaherty in 2020, but in 2019, the team hit a collective .213 off the right-hander with Anthony Desclafani and Sonny Gray accounting for two of the Reds’ 13 hits.

Only Eugenio Suarez, Mike Moustakas, and Jesse Winker have taken Flaherty deep during his career, and former MVP Joey Votto is 5-for-10 versus Flaherty lifetime. So, what will Bell’s Opening Day look like versus Jack Flaherty and the St. Louis Cardinals?