When Dusty Baker landed in Cincinnati thoughts turned immediately to all that young talent bubbling up in the city of seven hills. While there is some question whether the bigger bat belongs to Joey Votto or Jay Bruce, the hiring of Baker and the re-signing of Scott Hatteberg raised the question of when the bats would boom at the GAB.
Now, the signing of Corey Patterson seems to relegate Bruce to Triple-A to start the season, which may be the right idea, but what’s going to happen in the battle between Votto (400) and Hatteberg (300) at first base? The numbers in parens indicate my projected PA as I started this survey.
And the depth charts say:
MLB.com says Hattieberg, then Votto.
Rotowire.com goes for Votto, then Hattieberg, then Javier Valentin. Why not?
Rototimes.com says Hattieberg, then Voto, then Adam Dunn. Why not? They also say Jay Bruce is the centerfielder, and don’t mention Corey Patterson.
BaseballHQ.com says Votto, Hattieberg, then Andy Phillips. Why not?
ESPN.com says Votto, Hattieberg, and that’s enough.
Rotoworld.com likes Votto, Hattieberg and Phillips.
Sandlotshrink.com likes Votto, Hattieberg and then can’t make up its mind between Phillips and Craig Wilson.
I guess the nod goes to Votto at this point, but be a little wary, since a slow start for him paired with Baker’s vet-o-philia could quickly cut into Votto’s PT.