Opening day is almost here and you can feel the excitement and optimism in the air. Baseball in April is the ultimate rejuvenator for Cincinnati sports fans. It’s a chance to forget about the Failure of the previous Bengals season and a chance to embrace the upcoming season of our beloved Reds. As the Reds break camp for the regular season many questions have been asked and many have surfaced. The most popular questions usually revolve around Billy Hamilton or the injuries of Mat Latos and Aroldis Chapman. There are plenty of topics to discuss, but there are a select few that I feel are equally important that most Reds fans probably aren’t talking about.

1. Can Tony Cingrani last the entire season?

Tony Cingrani enters the season for the first time as a member of the Opening day roster. Yet, it seems like fans are expecting him to go out there and duplicate what he did last year for an entire 162 game season. It all sounds good in theory, but the reality is that at some point he will fatigue. It should be interesting to see how the Reds monitor his innings and what their approach is with him heading toward the end of the season.

2. Todd Frazier must be better this season.

This isn’t really a question, it’s a statement. In 2012 Todd Frazier hit .273 with 19 homers and 67 RBI’s in 422 at bats. Last season he hit .234 with 19 homers and 73 RBI’s. Pretty similar other than batting average with one glaring difference. Those stats were put up with 531 at bats. The fact that he had the same amount of home runs and almost the same amount of RBI’s in 109 more at bats is very alarming. We need the return of the 2012 version of Todd Frazier.

3. How will Jay Bruce perform hitting in the cleanup spot?

This was my biggest gripe with Dusty Baker. With Bruce batting behind Votto, intentionally walking Votto isn’t a simple decision anymore. Bruce is a much more intimidating hitter in the cleanup spot than Brandon Phillips or Ryan Ludwick. This will help Votto and Bruce because they will both get protection from one another. Brian price has stated that there will be times where Bruce and Votto don’t bat 3 and 4. (Most likely against certain left handed starters) That being said, Bruce should be getting the majority of his plate appearances in the 4 hole. If Bruce stays healthy he could have a monster year.

4. Losing Bronson Arroyo hurts more than we are willing to admit.

This directly affects my first issue with Cingrani. No pitcher in baseball has pitched more innings since he became a Red than Bronson Arroyo. Starters that can give you the kind of innings and staff leadership that Arroyo brings are extremely rare. Money was a major factor for the Reds not resigning him and I can certainly understand not wanting to pay somebody the amount of money that Arroyo ultimately got. However, 200+ innings and 30 or more starts are exactly what Arroyo gives you every season and that simply isn’t the case with any of the 5 starters for the Reds. I have no idea who the 6th starter for the Reds is and I’m not sure if the Reds know either. Depending on how the season goes his loss could prove greater than the departure of Shin Soo Choo.

5. Is Devin Mesoraco ready to shoulder the load at catcher?

Another loss that cannot be overlooked is Ryan Hanigan. Primarily because of the way he handled the pitching staff. Mesoraco is now in the spotlight as the #1 catcher and a lot is being expected of him. I thought Mesoraco matured a lot and that’s probably the biggest reason the Reds were willing to part ways with Ryan Hanigan. It is easy to progress the way that Mesoraco did under the tutelage of Hanigan, but how will he do now that Hanigan is gone?

Keep those 5 things in mind because they will all play a huge role in the upcoming season for the Reds.

Agree or disagree? Let us know your opinions!