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The Cincinnati Reds shocked the MLB by winning the NL Central two seasons ago, disappointed the suddenly elated fans at the Great American Ball Park by surrendering the division to the Cards, and enters the 2012 season hoping to salvage the future by returning to the postseason. The entropy that currently has its grip on the rest of the division is fanning the winds of fortune in the Reds favor, making Cincinnati Reds tickets almost assuredly baseball tickets to a watch a team with a few more games on the schedule than the regular 162.

Cincinnati has a trio of superstars or potential stars on its roster. Joey Votto is the superstar first baseman left standing after Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder fled the division for the American League. Johnny Cueto and Mat Latos are the potential stars. Cueto and Latos are both aces in the making. Cueto had been showing glimpses of star potential in his first three seasons, but finally put it all together for the 24 starts he did manage to throw last season. Latos suffered a setback last season but it has been made clear, especially by his 2010 performance, that he is an ace in waiting. He is a flamethrower who manages to keep his WHIP low.

Now, Votto, Cueto, and Latos are going to need a little help to take the division and a lot of hope to advance in the playoffs and perhaps even win the World Series. Votto is going to get most of his help from Jay Bruce. Bruce is only 24, but he has been teasing Cincinnati baseball fans since 2008. In 2012, he is expected to hit more than 30 homeruns, lay off pitches outside of the strike zone to the tune of an OBP north of .350, and should make enough contact to hit at least .280. If Drew Stubbs can provide a slightly better mix of his power-speed thing, if the combo catching team of Ryan Hanigan and Devin Mesoraco can get on base and hit with a bit of power, and if Scott Rolen and Brandon Phillips can avoid falling any further from their prime then the offense could be just enough to support the pitching staff, even in the worst case scenario.

That scenario has the Reds rotation only going those two deep. Bronson Arroyo and Homer Bailey had dreadful seasons last summer and Mike Leake had a decent season. Cincinnati needs at least two of these guys to excel to be real contenders. The bullpen is quite good. Sean Marshall is among the best left handed set up men in the MLB and Ryan Madson is a solid closer. This Reds baseball team actually needs to succeed this season, lest they begin to deal with the loss of a superstar – Votto.