"The regular first baseman is going to be the one playing that day. Joey has great upside potential, but Hatteberg had a great spring. A lot of is going to depend on matchups," Baker said when asked about his regular first baseman going into the season. "Joey came up a little strong at the end, you wish he would have done better. He's here now because of what he did last year. Dunn has had a fair spring, Edwin (Encarnacion's) stuggled all spring in the sixth spot and you don't want that many guys in a row who are not on the top of their game. We want someone who is swinging the bat pretty good, at least initially. Everyone had a few at-bats to show if they're right now. You have to go with right now and hopefully the other guys get their acts together."
Votto hit .206 in the spring with 63 at-bats, the third-most of any player this spring. Hatteberg hit .386 in 57 at-bats. Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion struggled, hitting .152 in 66 at-bats.