Some Moves That Need to Made

The Reds get there first look Bryce Harper tonight as they host the Washington Nationals during a very brief 3-game home stand.  Harper has been highly touted since he was in high school and noted Washington Post sports columnist Thomas Boswell has remarked that Harper is Pete Rose with 5-tools (hit, hit for power, run, field & throw).  Great American Ball Park is a hitter's paradise, and while Harper is still looking for his first home run, he has shown power to all fields.  Harper is only 19 but this is the type of park where he could cause major damage, so he needs to be pitched to carefully.  As the Reds try to gain a measure of payback on the Nats, who beat the Reds 3 out of 4 in April, it's imperative they don't let Harper (.263 AVG, 6 doubles) or first baseman Adam LaRoche (.321, 6 HR, 21 RBIs) beat them.  The Catch 22 for the Reds is while they will again miss facing Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg (3-0, 1.64 ERA) on the mound they get Gio Gonzalez (3-1, 1.72), Jordan Zimmerman (1-3, 2.29) and Edwin Jackson (1-1, 3.49) instead.  All three silenced the Reds bats last month.

Speaking of the offense, I think it's time to play Todd Frazier a little more.  He got the start in left field Wednesday and went hitless, but overall he's hitting .364 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, a homer and 3 RBIs in only 22 at-bats.  While I don't expect Frazier to hit for that high of an average, I can't help but wonder if he's going to begin to get some regular playing time.  He can play all over the place but has primarily been backing up Scott Rolen at third.  True Rolen has won two games for the Reds this year with his bat, but he's hitting only .182.  I've read where scouts are saying he's cheating to get around on the fastball.  Look I like Scott Rolen.  He is one of the leaders of this clubhouse, his defense is still stellar, but I just don't know how much longer a team with championship hopes can continue to play him when he's become a liability at the plate.  As mentioned, Frazier can also play outfield where both Chris Heisey (.215 AVG) and Ryan Ludwick (.176) have struggled mightily.  Perhaps it's time Frazier starts getting more starts at both positions.

Also, I think it's time Aroldis Chapman take over the closer's role.  Sean Marshall has been very good, Logan Ondrusek has been excellent, but Chapman has been superb.  In 12 games he's 3-0, has given up 5 hits in 15.2 innings and has walked just 4 while striking out 27.  I would have left him in Wednesday to pitch the 9th inning to face the heart of the Brewers lineup.  Chapman has swing and miss stuff, something a championship team needs to close out games.  Plus, Chapman can pitch two innings if you need him to.  What he can't seem to do is pitch more than two days in a row.  This is where Ondrusek and Marshall could fill in.  Since there is no immediate opening in the starting rotation for Chapman (and frankly I don't know if the Reds can afford to move him from the bullpen), it makes since to re-shuffle the relievers' roles.  I'm sure this comes off as unfair to Marshall, but his out pitch is his curveball and one of the reasons he failed to close out Wednesday's game was because the Brewers hitters (many of which were right-handed) were able to foul off that curve and extend the at-bat.

Finally, I know Dusty likes to split up his left-handed hitters (Joey Votto and Jay Bruce) in the batting order, but the more I think about it that is a move based solely on the late innings when opposing managers can bring in their left-handed reliever.  Frankly it's time to hit Jay Bruce fourth and be done with it.  Brandon Phillips is better suited hitting leadoff or second.  Plus Brandon's sore hamstring is feeling better and his ability to spark the running game is something that can only help this offense which continues to start and sputter but has yet to really take off.

Look, we'll know more about where this club is in another 25 games or so and can make a better evaluation then.  However some or all of the aforementioned moves just might mean we're talking about a first place team instead of one that continues to look up at the Cardinals.