The Lousville Bats haven't been good in just about a decade. This year, that may change. They have a bunch of interesting, high-impact prospects, plus power, great speed at the top of the order, defense, pitching, and pretty much the entire package. My projections, assuming health:
CF Michael Siani
2B Matt McLain
SS Elly de la Cruz
LF Alex McGarry
3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
DH Nick Solak
LF Henry Ramos
RF TJ Hopkins
C Austin Romine
C Chuckie Robinson
UT Matt Reynolds
OF Drew Mount
UR Richie Martin
Comment: Five legitimate prospects plus six depth pieces makes this an unusually strong AAA lineup. It begins with de la Cruz, who should be the lynchpin around which the order revolves. Last year in Chattanooga, much of this lineup (Siani, McLain, de La Cruz, Encarnacion-Strand, McGarry, and Hopkins) was above average, while Solak was the same in AAA. Henry Ramos returns from the KBO, a year after demolishing AAA (154 wRC+). Romine and Robinson are MLB backup catchers who are biding time until injuries either in Cincinnati or elsewhere. Two light-hitting middle infield utility types (Reynolds and Martin) is superfluous-- might see a trade or release waivers depending on how they hit in Spring Training. But they're too good to go to AA.
SP Brandon Williamson
SP Levi Stoudt
SP Ben Lively
SP Justin Dunn/ Conner Overton
SP/ RP Casey Legumina
RP/SP Carson Spiers
RP/ SP Ben Herget
RP Fernando Cruz
RP Ricky Karcher
RP Jared Solomon
RP Joel Kuhnel
RP Silvino Bracho
RP Zack Brown
Comment: Similar to the Bat offense, the pitching staff owns a nice blend of prospects and depth pieces. With the addition of Luke Weaver to the starting rotation (assuming health), one of Overton or Dunn should be in AAA. (Both might well end up in Louisville, if Alex Young takes that last bullpen spot, as I suspect he might.) Either way, that's the sixth starter. Williamson and Stoudt are high-end guys who'll get lots of rope-- and almost assuredly chances at the starting apple this year. Neither distinguished himself last season, but another season learning makes sense. Ben Lively and one of Ben Herget, Casey Legumina, or Carson Spiers round out a rotation that looks to have plenty of depth if not the top-end starter they've had lately in Greene, Lodolo, or Ashcraft.
The bullpen has lots a AAAA guys who can spot a few innings at the major league level. I like Kuhnel enough to see what he might turn into. Bracho and Brown (and Herget, honestly) are really solid AAA guys who have a history of providing value. That should allow the Bats to shorten games and steal some wins. Cruz probably closes until he's needed in Cincinnati. Karcher has a 40-man spot and could well become a monster. Solomon is a couple years from a 100 mph fastball-- we'll see what happens there.