Colorado and Cincinnati are riding high, with their eponymous universities both victorious first round NCAA Tournament games. So consider this the rubber match.
It's also a Mat Latos Day. This will be Mat's third spring appearance. He hasn't been lights out, not that it really matters, but he's also shown his signature control so far with just one free pass in 5 IP. As one of the Reds' power pitchers, there's a natural curiosity about what he's hitting on the radar gun. But, as with Chapman, I think it's best not to scoreboard strip watch until at least April.
Other than Latos and being at night, this game is probably most notable for the return of Ramon Hernandez in Rockie form. I know it was time for him to go, but I don't like to think of him with another team. Especially an EXPANSION team. With Hanigan and Mesoraco both in the Reds' lineup, this might be the only time in history that all three 2011 Reds catchers play in one game.
Looking at the old Duster's lineup, I don't think it's premature to guess that's he's going to start the season sandwiching a righty between Votto and Bruce. Whether it will be Rolen or Ludwick remains to be seen, but I'm standing by my prediction that Ludwick is going to be the primary starter.
I laid out how I think Reds' relievers rank heading into the 2012 season, but what about Brett Tomko? On a day when Andy Pettite, another pitcher who started his career in the mid-1990s, has announced he's making a comeback, Brett Tomko is scheduled to pitch behind Latos.
Lineups and pitchers after the jump. It's not just Dusty that likes to go CF-SS-2010MVPCandidate.
After Latos: Carlos Fisher, Brett Tomko and Josh Judy.
After White: Guillermo Moscoso, Matt Reynolds, Edgmer Escalona, Josh Sullivan