Following last night’s Reds shutout victory over the Astros, there are two things fans should be excited about. First, it was nice to see the Edinson Volquez from last year make his first appearance on the mound. After a very solid Spring Training, the 17-game winner from 2008 has struggled to find his control. Last night’s start was a pleasant reminder of why Volquez was an All-Star last year. After giving up a double in the first inning, Volquez settled down and had the Astros lineup guessing throughout the next seven, scoreless frames.

If that wasn’t enough to reignite your excitement for this young team, than the debut of Adam Rosales should definitely help. I realize it has only been one game, but this kid has been tearing up minor league pitching in his 17 games at Louisville this year. In 65 plate appearances for the Bats, Rosales was batting .431 with just seven strikeouts before being called up to fill in for the injured Edwin Encarnacion. This just might prove to be a blessing in disguise. While I don’t think any Reds fan wants to see Encarnacion get hurt, it is no secret that his .127 batting average and 19 strikeouts weren’t winning the hearts of many fans. Combine that with his unfortunate talent of sailing throws from third base into the sixth row behind Votto and it becomes obvious Edwin is certainly not developing into the player many scouts, fans and coaches anticipated.

Team/Player Photos: Cincinnati Reds v Houston Astros on Jul 23, 2010

I realize it’s still April, and Rosales has only played one game, so it can be said that my comments are premature. But stats are stats. Encarnacion has under produced since 2005, and following his most productive year in 2007, he has gradually gotten worse. I do not think it is time to jump ship on Eddie boy just yet, he is still young and has lots of raw talent. The problem is that his talent seems to have plateaued rather than progressed.

Rosales’ debut saw him knock in two RBI’s and make a great defensive play at third for the final out of the game. His bat might be the spark our offense needs to take some pressure off the sluggish start of Phillips, Gonzo and others. I think it will be interesting to see how Dusty uses Rosales over the next couple of weeks, and whether or not he continues to produce at a high level. If so, Eddie might want to update his resume on CareerBuilder.