Phillies at Reds
After finishing with the two worst records in baseball last season, the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds are ready to begin a new campaign in hopes of more success. The Phillies visit the Reds on Monday in the first of three games between the teams that will pick first and second in this year's amateur draft.
The Phillies will pick first in the draft and the Reds will pick second after finishing with 63 and 64 wins, respectively, in 2015. The draft will be a big key for both franchises, which have dealt away significant talent in the last year or two, and both squads will give the ball to relative unknowns on Opening Day. Philadelphia will turn to former Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks over the winter. Raisel Igelesias, who has 16 career starts, gets the nod for Cincinnati and likely will be capped at 90 pitches. On the bright side, the Phillies have some young offensive pieces centered around third baseman Maikel Franco, while the Reds' lineup - featuring veterans Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips - could be solid this season.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), FSN Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Jeremy Hellickson (2015: 9-12, 4.62 ERA) vs. Reds RH Raisel Iglesias (2015: 3-7, 4.15)
Hellickson has been a double-digit game winner three times in his career - and nearly a fourth last season - although he is joining his third team in as many years. He gave up three runs or fewer in five of his final six starts last season and is coming off a very solid spring training. Hellickson, who turns 29 later this week, posted a 3.31 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in four spring training starts with a .172 opponents' batting average.
Iglesias made three starts in the spring, logging a total of six innings and yielding six runs - four earned. The 26-year-old Cuban finished with 104 strikeouts against 28 walks as a rookie a season ago but will be facing Philadelphia for the first time. He only worked more than seven innings once in 2015, although he showed flashes of brilliance, such as when he struck out 13 while allowing three hits over seven innings against Arizona last August.
WALK-OFFS
1. Votto (.455 batting average) and Phillips (.375) each enjoyed a particularly strong spring training.
2. Franco hit nine homers this spring after belting 14 in 80 games as a rookie in 2015.
3. Phillies 1B Ryan Howard, a former National League MVP with 357 career home runs, is expected to platoon with 1B Darin Ruf.