The Reds need more out of 26-year old righty swinging CF Drew Stubbs offensively. He has played in 126 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 123 for 496 (.248 avg, .703 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 15 homers, 41 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. But, Stubbs has whiffed 166 times already this year, which leads the majors. The Reds would probably be happy with Stubbs if he cut down on his swing a little bit to take more advantage of his speed. Stubbs has now played in 318 games in his first three years with the Reds and he is 302 for 1,190 (.254 avg, .742 OPS) with 201 runs scored, 45 homers, 135 RBIs and 70 stolen bases, while whiffing 383 times.

30-year old righty swinging starting LF Jonny Gomes is not hitting for average this year, but he has been producing runs and hitting for power. Gomes has played in 26 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 16 for 84 (.190 avg, .792 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 6 homers, 17 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Gomes is a hacker as he has whiffed 27 times already this year, but, he has also walked 20 times this year which is pretty darn good. The Reds need Gomes to give them power production to make up for his weak glove and batting average, and I think he will.

Starting RF Jay Bruce had a very solid 2010 season, so the hopes were high coming into this year for him. But, Bruce is off to a slow start to the 2011 season. He has played in 10 games so far this year for the Reds and he is 9 for 41 (.220 avg, .535 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Bruce has whiffed 15 times already this year while only walking 3 times as he has been very impatient. The pitchers have Bruce’s number right now, so he’s going to have to make some adjustments in order to make them pay.

Starting RF Jay Bruce doesn’t look like he has a clue when hitting yet this season. He has played in 4 games for the Reds this season and he is 1 for 15 (.067 avg, .133 OPS) with 4 whiffs. The Reds are counting on him to add some thump in the lineup but they won’t wait forever for him to get on track. Still, it’s very early in the season so maybe he will turn things around soon.

The Reds are clearly looking to upgrade at 3B before the trading deadline. They are looking at Scott Rolen and that’s because 26-year old righty swinging Edwin Encarnacion is regressing at the plate. He has played in 40 games this season and he is 26 for 129 (.202 avg, .703 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 5 homers and 16 RBIs. If the Reds can get the Blue Jays to take Encarnacion straight up for Scott Rolen of the Blue Jays they have to jump and do it.