Hello to the fine people on this board.
Given the prospective roster of talent that the Reds have available, I believe that Adam Dunn should be hitting second in the order. Here are the reasons:
1. Adam Dunn is a high OBP guy. Getting on base is one of the primary jobs for a top of the order guy.
2. Walk, Strikeout or Hit, Adam Dunn looks at alot of pitches every at bat. This would let the hitters behind him get a solid feel for what the pitcher has that particular game.
3. Adam Dunn is not a typical run producer. His RBIs come as a result of his power, not of his disciplined hitting. Almost half of his RBI total comes from knocking himself in, therefor the Reds would not be losing run production by placing their best power hitter 2nd in the lineup.
4. Adam Dunn has good speed for a player of his size, and he can steal an occasional base. The only other player that the Reds could put batting 2nd that has better speed than Dunn would be Austin Kearns, but doing that would force Dave Miley into stacking his left handed bats in the order again, something that makes me nervous. (As an aside, Pena has better speed than both Kearns and Dunn, but batting him second when he has the least discipline of all the hitters on the team would be a disaster.)
So, in my admittedly often naive opinion, it makes sense to bat Dunn 2nd. It plays to his strengths and minimizes his weakness. Dunn can stay the same player he is and still be productive. The Reds are never going to be a "small ball" team with the current roster, and his .400 OBP looks alot better at the front of the line-up with Kearns, Griffey and Casey waiting to drive him in, than it would look 5th when you have Randa, LaRue and Lopez to drive him in.
