Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds farm system isn't quite what it used to be. Over the past five seasons, what was once a deep system—from top to bottom—has dropped into the middle of the pack.

The system suffered from numerous prospect graduations, including players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Zack Cozart, Todd Frazier, Devin Mesoraco, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey and Tony Cingrani.

The Cincinnati Reds are prepping their Goodyear, Ariz. practice facility for another season of spring training, and five non-roster invitees are looking to carve out their path to the team's 25-man roster.

2013 ended with another disappointing first-round loss for the Cincinnati Reds. It led to the firing of Dusty Baker. Outside the big bats of Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, which players will be instrumental to the Reds' advancing deeper in the postseason? 

Ranking Criteria

To rank the players, I used past statistics as well as potential upside. A player who has been a consistent producer could be behind a player who could be a game changer for the Reds for that reason.

With little major league-ready depth after their projected five starters, the Cincinnati Reds aren't currently in a position to shop Homer Bailey as he enters his last season before free agency. So it makes sense that the Reds were telling teams last month that he's not available, as was reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Excluding pre-arbitration players like Todd Frazier and Zack Cozart, the Cincinnati Reds have 18 players who are either signed to big league contracts or have been assigned a salary through arbitration.

As much as fans may like to, you can't fault a player for signing a contract he's offered. Professional athletes have a limited window to earn their money, and it's to their benefit to get as much of as they possibly can.

Pitching has been the strength of the Cincinnati Reds the past few seasons, and stability in the rotation is the reason that the club is going to continue to contend.

Cincinnati's rotation finished near the top of the majors in most of the major categories. Despite pitching in Great American Ball Park, the staff has found a way to get the job done.

There isn't much to guess about when it comes to what the Reds rotation will look like in 2014. 

Just two days ago, Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty announced that Billy Hamilton would be the team's starting center fielder for the 2014 season.

The Cincinnati Reds lost top free agent Shin-Soo Choo over the weekend, meaning center field prospect Billy Hamilton's timeline just sped up. Can the fastest man in baseball keep pace?

The Cincinnati Reds recently made two quick fixes to their roster that will solidify their team in 2014.

The Cincinnati Reds' core group of players is capable of winning a World Series title in 2014.

The team possesses a quality starting rotation, a brilliant general manager and two hitters in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce who are amongst the best at their respective positions. While they certainly will need to add a few players in order to complete their lineup, and possibly their bullpen, there are pieces in place for the team to make a serious run next season.