SARASOTA, Fla. -- A sure sign that the Reds have embraced youth will be seen in the third, fourth and fifth spots of the order this season.

In Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce, the average age of the middle portion of Cincinnati's lineup is just 24 years old. With thirty-somethings Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn gone, the keys to the Reds offense is in the trio's hands.

So is the pressure to produce the clutch runs that's usually requisite with their place in the order. Not that they see it that way.

"I expect certain things of myself," said Bruce, who turns 22 on April 3. "Brandon and Joey do, too. We all work hard to be successful. But extra pressure? I don't think so. We have a really strong team and everybody is going to pull their weight. It's not going to be two or three guys doing it by themselves."

Cincinnati will need all the help scoring runs it can muster. Last season, the club ranked 12th in the National League in runs scored. Cincinnati's .240 team average with runners in scoring position ranked at the league's bottom.

The dearth of scoring was a contributing factor in the Reds' 74-88, fifth-place finish in the National League Central.

Due to a variety of reasons, Dunn's perennial 100-RBI, 100-runs production was not replaced. The Reds believe they can still find a way.

"I took a look at the lineup before I came here to camp. As far as run production, I thought it was a little more spread out than people give it credit," said the 25-year-old Votto.

"Adding a bat like Ramon Hernandez, a former All-Star, and Edwin Encarnacion is coming into his potential after having such a big home run year ... he could turn the corner. Willy [Taveras] is an early-in-the-lineup guy, but there's a lot of potential for run production all the way through."

It's not like this will be the players' first exposure to big moments. All have already experienced levels of success in the Majors. After the summer trades of Griffey and Dunn, all moved into more front-and-center roles.

Votto finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year race after batting .297 with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs. Phillips has driven in at least 75 runs during all three of his seasons in Cincinnati, and produced a 30-homer, 30-stolen base season in 2007. Bruce batted .254 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs during his 2008 rookie season.

"I have no pressure on myself," said Phillips, who will hit cleanup. "I will just go out there and play baseball and be a team player by doing the simple things that win a game. I will get them over, get them in, RBIs and the things that win games. ... The only thing I know is, it's nice to have guys on this team that want to win. We are young. We are going to go out and play the game the best way we know how."

"Obviously, I want to play well and I'd be very disappointed if I had a year that wasn't up to my potential," Votto said. "But it's really important for me to fit in as a teammate and have a sense of camaraderie. If I had that and the rest of the guys on the team have that, everybody feels more comfortable and will want to play for each other and sacrifice for one another."

Reds fans grew used to a steady diet of veteran hitters and stars like Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, Dunn and Griffey over the past several years. Starting with the short-lived regimes of former general managers Dan O'Brien and Wayne Krivsky, the organization revamped its farm system and focused on bringing the Reds towards a more promising future to stem years of losing.

Votto was drafted by now-Nationals general manager Jim Bowden, Bruce was drafted by O'Brien and Phillips was one of Krivsky's first trade acquisitions in April 2006.

Under GM Walt Jocketty and manager Dusty Baker, the next generation is being counted on now. Jocketty believes that Reds fans will embrace the new crop of younger players.

"I think what fans want to see is a good, aggressive, sound baseball team that is competitive and wins games," Jocketty said. "And whoever the players are that are playing, they would want to see them.

"You can have a team full of superstars, but if they aren't winning, it won't put fans in the stands. You have to put together a winning team. That's what attracts the fans."