Going under the assumption that Nick Senzel, Shogo Akiyama, Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos are locks to make the Cincinnati Reds roster, there seems to be just one spot left among the outfielders battling it out this spring. Phillip Ervin is putting some distance between himself and the others, including last year’s breakout slugger Aristides Aquino.
Ervin started off yesterday’s Cactus League game against the Milwaukee Brewers with a leadoff single in the first inning. Unfortunately, the following three batters saw a grand total of nine pitches from Brewers starter Eric Lauer, and Joey Votto, Aristides Aquino and Tucker Barnhart were sent back to the dugout.