John Fay

jfay@enquirer.com

The Reds have put one month and three days of the season in the books. So far, so-so. Not a disaster. Not a rousing success. They started awfully. They turned it around for two weeks or so. And they've been treading water since.

So what have we learned so far?

• We've learned Johnny Cueto is healthy. Cueto was the best pitcher in the major leagues in April. He seems to be getting better. Cueto's numbers going into Saturday's start were other worldly – 1.15 ERA, 22 hits, 50 strikeouts, 14 walks in 47 innings.

He's back to being the ace he was in the 2012 after spending large chunks of 2013 on the disabled list.

Cueto hasn't made any radical changes in his delivery. But he's throwing hard, putting it exactly where he wants it and using his cutter more.

"His mix of pitches is the same," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He's got the sinker, the cutter, the slider, the change-up. But how he's pitching is different. He's using the sinker-cutter combination a lot. He's able to use both side of the plate with sink and cut action, which is very difficult.

"It's similar to what made Greg Maddux effective."

• We've learned that the bullpen wasn't as deep as the Reds thought. With Aroldis Chapman, Jonathan Broxton and Sean Marshall starting the year on the disabled list, others were thrust into bigger roles.

J.J. Hoover and Logan Ondrusek had rough starts. Manny Parra started off well, but hit a rough patch after being used a ton early. Broxton and Marshall are back. Broxton, who went into Saturday with the five saves in five chances, has really helped stabilize the bullpen.

Chapman will be back shortly. The bullpen should be the strength everyone thought it would be once it's at full strength.

• We've learned that changing managers and coaches don't immediately change the results. Hitting coach Brook Jacoby took constant heat from the fans. The Reds hit .249 last year under Jacoby. They were hitting .248 under new hitting coach Don Long.

They are hitting .228 this year with runners in scoring position, down from .254 last year.

• We've learned that Brandon Phillips' struggles last year might not have been all due to his injury. Phillips' slash line – .254 average, .271 on-base percentage and a .316 slugging percentage – is very similar to what it was last year after he was hit on the left forearm by that pitch in Pittsburgh.

Phillips hit .241/.288/.349 after the injury.

• We've learned that hitting Joey Votto second is not a cure-all. The Reds took off offensively initially after the move but have regressed to the mean since.

The club is still susceptible to offensive funks and will be until Phillips, Jay Bruce and Votto start hitting like the back of their baseball cards say they can.

• We've learned that trading Ryan Hanigan and signing Brayan Pena was the right move. The Reds catchers went into Saturday hitting a Major League Baseball-best .355 and slugging a MLB-best .589.

• We've learned that Billy Hamilton can change a game with his speed and that – aside from the rough start – he hasn't been overwhelmed at the plate.

The kid also play some serious defense. He glides to balls that look like they're going in the gap.

• We've learned that Bryan Price was ready for the job. Price got the club through early season in reasonable shape, despite all the injuries. ■