CINCINNATI -- Reds hitting coach Alan Zinter figured his guys would be behind the pitchers in the early days of Summer Camp. After all, most hitters didn’t get at-bats against pitchers while quarantining from COVID-19, whereas pitchers were able to keep their arms sharp.

“When you do have some downtime, pitchers are always going to seem like they’re way ahead,” Zinter said. “I don’t know why, they seem like they throw 150 mph and lights-out breaking pitches. I do think once you start to move the L-screen away, the cage away, put an umpire in there, things do start to slow down.

“These are Major League hitters, so it takes them a few at-bats, a few bullpen sessions to start to see pitches, and then they start to stay a little bit compact. The identity comes back, the pitch recognition. But I am very pleased with how our at-bats have gone the last three or four days, for sure.”

For players returning from injuries, the chances to hit after the shutdown have been important. The good news, according to Zinter, is that Eugenio Suárez, Nick Senzel and Jesse Winker have looked strong at the plate.

Suárez and Senzel, working their way back from right shoulder surgeries, were unlikely to be ready for the original Opening Day.

“I just don’t see the tentativeness in their swing,” Zinter said. “I see their eyes are not glazed over hoping it doesn’t hurt like during their injury. They are locked in. Their eyes are laser locked on Opening Day, and it’s really exciting, because they’re very good players with a lot of talent.”

Winker missed the final 39 games of last season with a cervical strain.

“I love where Wink’s at. He’s letting it fly. ... He’s moving the bat through the zone and hitting the ball to all fields,” Zinter said. “I mean, he’s taken some aggressive hacks for a young man, with no regard for any prior or past injuries.”

Another tough out over the past two weeks of scrimmages has been Joey Votto. Cincinnati’s longest-tenured veteran is coming off back-to-back subpar seasons, and he is a notoriously slow starter in Spring Training and early in the regular season.

In his first season with the Reds, Zinter has enjoyed watching Votto work and seeing him repeating good swings.

“I mean, just watching his preparation unfold in front of me, underneath in the cages and stuff, it’s really cool to see how goes about his business,” Zinter said. “At this point, he doesn’t really care about the results. He cares about the quality of the at-bat, the quality of how he sees the ball and how he’s going about his business. He’s really good. He’s done this for a long time. We’re all learning from him. He’s up on that top part, upper echelon, of people that can have great pitch recognition with a combo of driving the ball a little bit. Physically, he’s working hard on his swing and getting it to a point where he’s starting to feel really comfortable.”

Payton’s place?
One decision looming for the Reds is what to do with outfielder Mark Payton, their Rule 5 Draft selection in December. Under the rules, Payton must remain on the active roster all season or be offered back to his original club, the A’s. Although Cincinnati has a glut of outfielders, the 30-man roster could boost Payton’s chances.

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Payton, who can play all three outfield spots. “Couldn’t probably be a better time for the rosters to expand. Still want to go out there and not take anything for granted, make sure I find a way to earn a spot on this roster.”

Payton struck out in his two at-bats on Thursday. On Wednesday, he slugged a home run and also saved a run defensively from right field, throwing out Christian Colón trying to score. During the quarantine, and at the club’s direction, Payton worked on improving his arm strength with the performance team at Driveline while remaining in Arizona.

“When you’re around him and see him work, it’s no surprise that’s he’s created this opportunity for himself,” manager David Bell said. “He’s a versatile outfielder. Very fundamentally sound, reliable, catches everything he gets to.”

Moustakas among the rested
Second baseman Mike Moustakas was scratched from Wednesday’s scrimmage because of tightness in his groin, according to Bell. Moustakas didn’t play on Thursday, but that was already a scheduled day off for the veteran.

“Definitely a very, very cautious decision,” Bell said. “He said if it was the season, he wouldn’t have even mentioned it, but we’re really glad that he did. Yesterday, we got to a point in camp where guys were fatigued. That’s exactly what we expected, and today is a shorter day.”

Bauer strong
Few regular position players were involved in Thursday’s seven-inning scrimmage. In the 1-0 win for the gray-pants squad, Trevor Bauer pitched five scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and eight strikeouts. The lone hit was an Aristides Aquino double in the fourth inning. In the sixth, against Nate Jones, Aquino homered to left field. Senzel hit two singles for the home squad.

Worth noting
The Reds agreed to terms with non-drafted free agent Jacob Hurtubise, an outfielder from Army. Hurtubise received the maximum allowed bonus of $20,000.