Cincinnati Reds: 6 Players Who Will Disappoint in 2012

The Cincinnati Reds have stumbled out of the gate this season to the tune of a 4-6 record. The sluggish start isn’t exactly what fans or the players themselves were expecting, to say the least.

The hype surrounding this season was enormous thanks to the team being aggressive this offseason with acquisitions such as Mat Latos, while extending Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips.

Of course, it’s way too early to write the team off. There are some disturbing trends already developing on the roster though.

There will always be a few players who end up disappointing and these trends could be very indicative of who could let the team down this year.

Here are six players on the Reds roster that will disappoint in 2012.

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Chris Heisey

Chris Heisey is finally getting a chance to prove himself in the big leagues with a semi-starting role in left field. He’s off to a slow start though, which could indicate a long season ahead.

Heisey has stepped to the plate 20 times already and is only batting .200 with two RBI. He’s also struck out six times. The man Heisey is competing with for playing time in left is Ryan Ludwick who has a lesser batting average but has managed to knock in seven RBI.

Heisey has looked good defensively, but he has to get it together at the plate in a hurry. It’s still very early but it’s looking as if Heisey will disappoint this season.

Drew Stubbs

It’s not outlandish to say Drew Stubbs disappointed last season.

In 604 at-bats, he managed to strike out 205 times and finish the year with a mediocre .243 average. He’s a stud defensively and on the bases, but he needs to actually be able to get on base.

Stubbs is off to a disappointing 2012 campaign with 12 strikeouts in 36 at-bats. He has one RBI. His .167 batting average isn’t exactly outstanding either.

Stubbs isn’t necessarily in danger of losing his job, but one has to wonder how much longer the club will wait for his batting to improve. 

This year is looking like yet another letdown from the young center fielder.

Scott Rolen

Let’s get this out of the way from the beginning—Scott Rolen won’t disappoint defensively.

He has one fluky error already, but it’s a safe bet there won’t be many more for the remainder of the season.

Rolen is off to a slow start at the plate batting .121 with two RBI and six strikeouts. It’s also safe to wonder just how many games Rolen will be able to participate in this season. Last year he only managed to play in 65 games and he isn’t exactly getting any younger at the age of 37.

Rolen appears healthy, but it’s hard to tell how long that will last. His sluggish start in the batter’s box isn’t all that concerning, but if Rolen misses a large chunk of games again this season it’s going to be labeled nothing short of a major disappointment.

Homer Bailey

Homer Bailey may be on his last chance in Cincinnati this season, and he’s off to a bad start.

Last year, Bailey finished with a 4.43 ERA in 132 innings and a 9-7 record.

This year, he is 0-2 with a 5.4 ERA in about 11 innings pitched. The numbers aren’t alarming yet but he has given up seven-earned runs already, good for second on the roster.

If Bailey doesn’t get it together in a hurry, there’s always the chance he could be the starter moved to the bullpen when the Reds finally decide to promote Aroldis Chapman to a starting role.

Not retaining a starting role would chalk up 2012 as a disappointing season.

Willie Harris

The veteran Willie Harris has been asked to serve in variety of ways this season, and one of them was expected to be solid numbers at the plate.

As of now that’s the last thing Harris has done offensively.

The only players on the team that have a batting average worse than Harris’ are pitchers. Harris is batting a horrible .059 right now, and that’s with 17 appearances at the plate. He hasn’t stuck out many times, but he hasn’t done anything many times offensively.

The numbers are sure to improve as the season goes on, but as it stands the veteran is about to disappoint the club and fans in a big way.

Mike Leake

2011 was Mike Leake’s best season of his young career, so it’s only plausible that he could continue to improve with 2012 only being his third year of major league experience.

As it stands now, Leake could regress this season.

In two games, he has compiled a 5.84 ERA while giving up eight earned runs. Leake has only pitched 12 innings so far this season, so it’s only natural that the numbers will go down the more he pitches.

Last year, Leake pitched 162 innings with a 3.86 ERA. Those are solid numbers for a second-year player.

Still, Leake could wind up being a big disappointment this year if he doesn’t get it under control quickly.