Jose Acevedo

After a decent beginning to the 2004 season, Acevedo flopped spectacularly, struggling with the gopher ball. There is still hope, however, as his splits were significantly better once the Reds decided to use him as a reliever late in the season. He'll begin 2005 in the bullpen and there's a very slim chance that he could end up closing someday.

Acevedo wasted half a season in Triple-A Louisville as part of his continued banishment under former manager Bob Boone. He could be one of the primary beneficiaries from the change in management, presuming that the successors to Boone and Jim Bowden display a little more patience. An ankle injury in late July prematurely ended Acevedo's season.

Acevedo's weakness is his propensity to give up the gopher ball – in five of his six major league appearances in 2002, he gave up at least one homer. He seemed to get control of that problem at Triple-A in the second half of the season and could compete for a starting job in 2003. Confidence became an issue in 2002 after Acevedo was summarily demoted after his first bad start – apparently his season in Triple-A, followed by a strong series of starts in the Dominican Winter League have helped cure that issue.