Bench needs to produce

It’s because the everyday players with track records are doing about what they did last year. Look at their 2012 average/on-base/slugging compared to 2011.

Brandon Phillips

2012: .272/.322/.412 2011: .300/.353/.457 2012: .260/.315/.537 2011: .256/.341/.474 2012: .233/.296/.360 2011: .243/.321/.364 2012: .325/.463/.598 2011: .309/.416/.531 2012: .206/.292/.393 2011: .237/.310/.369 2012: .283/.323/.392 2011: .254/.309/.487 2012: .307/.369/.386 2011: .267/.356/.357

Jay Bruce

Drew Stubbs

Joey Votto

Ryan Ludwick

Chris Heisey

Ryan Hanigan

The only player significantly off in all three categories is Phillips. Votto and Hanigan are having better years this year. Heisey’s power numbers are down. But he’s getting on base more.

So despite the “We’re going to hit” mantra, the Reds are getting just about what they got last year from their key hitters.

That’s why the rookies are so important. Zack Cozart is struggling after a hot start. He’s hitting .236/.281/.403. He hit .275/.327/.435 in his two years at Triple-A. Devin Mesoraco’s struggled as well. He’s .209/.316/.373. He hit .283/.364/.482 in two years in Triple-A.

So it’s reasonable to expect them to improve.

Todd Frazier’s line (.268/.318/.598) is better than what he did at Triple-A (.261/.335/.453).

But if Cozart and Mesoraco can get better, it will help the offense immensely.

The other factor is Scott Rolen’s health. If he can come back and contribute, it would help greatly. That’s far from a given.

“We’re in the process still,” Baker said. “We know Mesoraco is going to hit more. We know Cozart and Stubbs are going to hit more. We know (Miguel) Cairo is going to be a bigger contributor.”

None of the players who don’t regularly start — Cairo (.152), Mike Costanzo (.067) and Wilson Valdez (.174) — have helped offensively.

You’d think the Reds would be looking to fortify the bench. A solution could be to bring up catcher Dioner Navarro. He’s hitting .284 at Louisville. That would free Hanigan and Mesoraco to pinch-hit.