3 Reds who are most likely to win postseason awards in 2022

Hunter Greene is the Reds player most likely to win NL Rookie of the Year.

This was the toughest of the bunch. Joey Votto felt like the clear-cut frontrunner for the NL MVP, and Tyler Mahle, while a bit of surprise, is probably the Reds pitcher most likely to take home the NL Cy Young Award. But the Rookie of the Year trophy? Wow! The Redlegs are going to have a lot of first-year players on the field in 2022.

But, the one who we know will be on the field from the start is Hunter Greene. The former first-round pick will toe the rubber on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park in Atlanta for his first big league start. Greene has been working hard since returning from Tommy John surgery to make it back, and I'm sure his adrenaline will be pumping when he steps onto the mound for the first time.

Greene, the Reds first-round pick in 2017, has a three-pitch mix that includes a 90-MPH change up and a wicked slider. Greene can also light up the radar gun routinely at 100-plus MPH. This young man has all the tools to be something very special.

But the Reds are not devoid of good, young talent. Fellow pitcher Nick Lodolo could be in the Rookie of the Year conversation as well, but I'm not sure how many starts we're going to see from the left-hander in 2022. Once Luis Castillo and Mike Minoor return from the IL, the Reds are going to have to make room in the starting rotation.

While the Cincinnati Reds have a lot of young talent, I'm not sure that anyone else is going to get the amount of playing time necessary to be in the Rookie of the Year conversation. Jose Barrero, who would be still considered a rookie under normal circumstances, received full service time during his tenure with the club in September of 2020. That pushed him past the 45 day threshold.

Runner up: Nick Lodolo, Reds left-handed pitcher