Don't Forget About Joey Votto, Sweeping Cincinnati Reds in Rugged NL Central

Entering the 2015 season, Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds had something in common: Everyone was counting them out.

The St. Louis Cardinals are the defending champs of the National League Central and have made four straight trips to the NLCS. The Chicago Cubs, laden with young talent, are a sexy pick to take the next step.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have proved their bona fides with two consecutive playoff appearances after a protracted drought. Even the Milwaukee Brewers are hanging around the fringes.

The Reds, the consensus went, were the one NL Central squad with virtually no shot at a postseason berth. Not coincidentally, many prognosticators were also down on Votto. 

A four-time All-Star and former NL MVP, Votto played in just 62 games last season while battling a quadriceps injury.

He wound up posting career lows in batting average (.255), slugging percentage (.409) and OPS (.799). 

With Votto fresh (or not so fresh) off that pedestrian showing, the projection systems looked askance at the 31-year-old first baseman.

Al Behrman/Associated Press

ZiPS was particularly pessimistic, foretelling a .279/.417/.469 line with 15 home runs in 106 games, per FanGraphs. That's not horrible, but it's nowhere close to Votto's peak production.

This isn't ancient history, either: As recently as 2013, Votto bounced back from a knee injury, appeared in all 162 games, cracked 24 home runs and led the National League with a .435 on-base percentage.

We're only three games into the current campaign—insert flashing red "small sample size" alert—but so far, Votto looks like his old self.

He hit a two-run homer Thursday against the Pirates, just beyond the reach of a leaping Andrew McCutchen. The blast tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and set up the Reds for a 3-2 walk-off victory.

In addition to pleasing the rain-dampened faithful at Great American Ball Park, the win sealed a season-opening sweep of the Bucs.

Votto is now hitting .357 with four RBI, including a walk-off hit of his own Wednesday. The only early blemish: In decidedly un-Votto fashion, he's yet to draw a walk, a point that didn't escape FanGraphs' David Cameron:

"It feels great," Votto said after Thursday's game, per Cincinnati.com's John Fay. "Great way to start the season. For us to have competed well with a really tough opponent and won the series, let alone the sweep."

Again, we're talking three games. Entering play Friday, the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies are also undefeated. Don't reserve your playoff tickets just yet.

Still, a resurgent, vintage Votto in the middle of the Cincinnati lineup would propel the Reds back toward relevance. 

Cincinnati has other offensive weapons, including leadoff speedster Billy Hamilton, a rotation headlined by uber-ace Johnny Cueto and a bullpen anchored by fireballer Aroldis Chapman. 

Squint, and you can imagine this club sneaking into the mix, even in what is quite possibly MLB's roughest division. 

With Votto, you don't have to squint so much.

Not long ago, the debate around Votto wasn't about his health, but his approach at the plate. Was he too patient, content to draw free passes rather than drive in runs?

Votto called those criticisms "ignorant," per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com), in February. And he added, "I'm glad I can be a lightning rod, as long as I'm performing. Whether it's the 2010 version or the 2013 version, you cannot deny that I have been able to provide value to the team. In both examples, I was part of a playoff team."

Can he be again? We're a long way and many twists from an answer. As MLB.com's Mark Sheldon noted on Opening Day, the Reds will undergo an early test:

"

...Cincinnati's 2015 regular-season schedule opens in formidable fashion. Of the 23 games the Reds play in April, just the final one of the month is against a non-National League Central rival. Nine of the first 12 games are vs. the defending division champion Cardinals or Pirates, who secured an NL Wild Card spot last season. And 29 of the first 44 games feature opponents who had records above .500 last season.

"

Maybe they'll pass that test; maybe they won't. For now, Votto and his cohorts are reveling in a better-than-expected start—and counting themselves in.

All statistics current as of April 9 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.