At the point where we're actually having to make cuts on this list. It'll be opening day before we know it.
Honorable mention: Brian Koelling, Chris Piersoll, Juan Padilla, Kevin Barker
5. Adam Rosales (-0.2 WAR)
Yes, I'm serious. Rosales used #60 in his rookie year, where he hit .207 in 30 plate appearances. Surprisingly, Count Chocula still bouncing around the major leagues as a utility infielder that's probably better than Jack Hannahan. I digress.
4. Robert Manuel (0.2 WAR)
How many innings do you think Manuel pitched in that 2009 season? I'd have guessed somewhere in the 30-40 range, as he was a reliever for a lot of the season. Nope, only 4.1 innings. All scoreless, too!
Manuel will live on in Reds lore as a part of the most famous trade chain in Reds history, going back to Paul O'Neill. He was acquired for Dave Williams, and traded for the end of that chain, Wladimir Balentien.
3. Tim Hummel (-1.3 WAR)
A staple of the 2003-2004 teams, I remember Tim Hummel being slightly better than his numbers ended up. It's basically the Freel effect, though, where a scrappy player who tries hard gets more recognition than they probably deserve. He ended up a totally mediocre .599 OPS player, but seemed like he was making a lot of contributions to those teams. Then again, those teams won 69 and 76 games respectively. Oh well.
2. Scott Schoeneweis (0.9 WAR)
Cincinnati was only a brief stop on Scott's career, but arguably was his most successful numbers-wise. He ended up with a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings, but obviously is best known for his career with the Angels (and a bunch of other teams).
1. J.J. Hoover (2.4 WAR)
Hard to believe that Hoover's already the top of this list, but that's just how good he's been in his last two seasons. As we know, Hoover has closer-quality stuff and is putting up the kind of numbers you like to see from someone like that, and it's not farfetched to say that he'll extend and cement this ranking for years to come. Good on you, J.J.