On Opening Day 2016, the Cincinnati Reds were sending their rookie number five starter to the mound. They had just signed Alfredo Simon to join the rotation and John Lamb was the number four starter. Left field was a combination of Adam Duvall, Tyler Holt, and Scott Schebler.
Fast forward to spring of 2017 and the Reds are better across the board. In the rotation are the usual suspects in an injured Anthony DeSclafani and a healthy Brandon Finnegan with Homer Bailey also injured as usual. This year, though, they are backed by Amir Garrett, Robert Stephenson, the efficient Tim Adleman, and reliever Scott Feldman, instead of Lamb and Simon.