3 stories from Reds Opening Day that we'll be talking about tomorrow

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The Cincinnati Reds kick off their 2022 season in a few hours. David Bell has already released the Opening Day lineup with the likes Aristides Aquino and Brandon Drury drawing a surprise start versus Max Fried and the defending World Champion Atlanta Braves.

Even though the Reds begin their 2022 campaign on the road, there is excitement in the city of Cincinnati. Sure, not as much as there'd be if Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker were in the starting lineup, but excitement nonetheless.

Opening Day always offers hope for all 30 teams throughout Major League Baseball as everyone starts with the same record. Front office executives are eager to see if moves they made in the offseason will pan out while managers and coaches are pouring over data, hoping they put the right player in the right position to make an impact.

While Opening Day offers a lot of uncertainty, the one thing you can be sure of will be the fans second guessing of a manager's decision the follow the day. There'll also be talk of an early favorite for the Cy Young Award. And I'm sure Joey Votto's social media post following the game will be hilarious. But what are the top three stories from Reds Opening Day that we'll be talking about tomorrow?

1. Reds second baseman Jonathan India's pursuit of the NL MVP in 2022.

Here's one thing we do know; the reigning National League Rookie of the Year will be leading off for David Bell's squad on Thursday. Jonathan India, who put together a fine spring in Goodyear, looks poised for a big year. While Joey Votto has a longstanding tradition of being the only player on the Reds to garner much MVP consideration, don't sleep on India's chances in 2022.

Votto won the NL MVP in 2010 and was robbed of taking home the trophy a second time in 2017. But at 38 years old, you have to question whether or not the six-time All-Star has enough gas left in the tank. However, India looks the part of the next big thing for the Redlegs.

Hopefully Cincinnati's front office was paying attention to the contract extension Ke'Bryan Hayes just signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, because that's the type of deal that it's going to take to keep India in the Queen City over the long haul.

Jonathan India hit .233/.439/.633 with four home runs, eight walks, and nine strikeouts this spring. India has the potential to lead the Cincinnati Reds in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored, double, and stolen bases. If he can hit 25-plus home runs and play above-average defense, India will be in the NL MVP conversation.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle (30) delivers during a spring training game. / Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

2. Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle is a road warrior.

Tyler Mahle will be on the bump for the Cincinnati Reds tonight, marking the seventh different Opening Day starter in the last eight years. But, maybe it's a good thing that Mahle is making his 2022 on the road. Last season, Mahle didn't have the best record in the hitter-friendly confines of Great American Ball Park, the California excelled on the road in 2021

Mahle's home/ road splits are honestly something to behold. In 15 games at home, Mahle was 5-4 with a 5.63 ERA and 19 home runs allowed. On the road last season, the right-hander posted a record of 8-2 and owned a 2.30 ERA with 112 punch outs over 101.2 innings of work.

The Atlanta Braves had a better record on the road (.567) than at home (.518) last season, so that might bode well for Mahle tonight as well. The Braves are also without former NL MVP and five-time All-Star Freddie Freeman. Though Atlanta did a nice job replacing him with two-time Gold Glove Award winner Matt Olson.

Tyler Mahle needs to go deeper into games in 2022. The right-hander oftentimes struggled to put batters away in 2021, going to full counts more times than I care to remember. If Mahle can get through six innings tonight and not allow more than three runs to cross the plate, he'll have done his job and proven that a hostile crowd does not intimidate him.

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Luis Cessa (85) delivers in the 10th inning of a baseball game. / Kareem Elgazzar via Imagn Content

3. The Reds bullpen needs some help.

Okay, so at least we're not seeing names like Cam Bedrosian, Sal Romano, Cionel Pérez, and Carson Fulmer. But, the Cincinnati Reds bullpen is still the weak-link of this team and there are bound to be a bunch of bumps in the road.

Lucas Sims will start the season on the Injured List. While the Reds did add Hunter Strickland to the back of the bullpen, the team also lost Michael Lorenzen, Mychal Givens, and Amir Garrett. With AG now in Kansas City, Cincinnati enters the 2022 season with only one left-handed reliever.

Tony Santillan, who was battling for a spot in the rotation during spring training, was sent to the bullpen. I do believe the hard-throwing right-hander will be the Reds best reliever in 2022, but this team cannot rely on just one or two relievers in order to get outs late in games.

After an unsuccessful rookie season, Ryan Hendrix is back in the Reds bullpen. Newcomers Daniel Duarte and Alexis Diaz have potential, but neither rookie has any experience at the major league level. Duarte played four games at Triple-A last season and Diaz hasn't played above Double-A.

dark. Next. 9 bold predictions for the Reds 2022 season

Much of the success or failure of the Cincinnati Reds 2022 season may be dictated by how the relief corps performs. Tejay Antone is out for the season, and while there are some young, talented arms, the bullpen has too much inexperience to hold up over the long haul.

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