Cincinnati Reds: Who Needs to Step Up for the Reds?

The Cincinnati Reds have now won 40 games in the 2013 season and currently sit in second place in the National League Central. So it is safe to assume that you may be curious as to why there is an article being written about who needs to step up for the Reds. Even with the hot start the Reds have had, they do have some room for improvement.

When digging into the stats of this Reds team, you will see that so far they have been very good, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Brandon Phillips has 52 Runs Batted In through 66 games, which ranks him second in that category. Joey Vottohas a .328 batting average and a .446 On Base Percentage. Shin-Soo Choo has 18 hit by pitches and a .430 OBP. Votto’s .446 OBP and Choo’s .430 OBP have them ranked first and second in that category, respectively. Votto also has 80 hits on the season, ranking him tied for third. Jay Bruce has 20 doubles and that puts him second in that category. As a team, the Reds have scored 307 runs, which is third in the NL, a team batting average of .254, which is seventh, and a team OBP of .335, which is tied for second in the NL. It is safe to say that the offense has definitely not been a problem so far in 2013.

After looking at the offense, the next logical step is to look at the pitching.

Let’s start with the starting pitching. The starting pitchers for the Reds have an Earn Run Average of 3.13, which ranks them second in that category in all of the MLB. They have pitched 416.1 innings so far, which ranks first in all of baseball and is very good thing for the bullpen. They have recorded 346 strikeouts which is fifth most in baseball and second in the NL. They also have a WHIP (Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched) of 1.14 which ranks third in baseball and second in the National League. The crazy thing about these team pitching stats is that the St. Louis Cardinals rank first in almost all of those stat categories. Probably one of the more crazy stats coming from the Reds pitching staff is that Mike Leake has an ERA of 2.76 and that ranks him 19th in MLB. If you don’t follow the Reds, Leake is the No. 5 starter in their rotation. Homer Bailey has 83 strikeouts and that ranks him 15th in MLB.

Now let’s take a look at the bullpen. The Reds bullpen currently has an ERA of 4.07 and that ranks them 10th in the NL and they have lost 13 games which is third most in the NL this season. The bullpen also has 12 wins which is tied for fourth most in the NL. Aroldis Chapman has a 2.17 ERA and has 17 saves so far this season, to go along with 50 strikeouts in 29.0 innings. Another bright spot for this bullpen has been Sam LeCure. LeCure has an ERA of 2.49 and batters have an average of .189 against him.

Even though Chapman and LeCure have had solid seasons so far, it looks like, after looking at the stats, that the bullpen has been the biggest issue for this Reds team. Having 13 losses by a team’s bullpen is way too many for a team that wants to compete for a World Series.

One of the bigger issues has been the injury issues with Sean Marshall. Marshall has only appeared in 11 games and a grand total of seven innings. Now you can’t blame an entire bullpen’s struggle on just one arm, and there have been other guys that have not performed up to what they did in the 2012 season. Logan Ondrusek has had some real issues this season and was recently sent down to AAA Louisville. Jonathan Broxton was set to be the closer for this team coming into Spring Training, but the Reds decided to continue to use Chapman in that role. Broxton has had some struggles this season and currently has an ERA of 4.10. Another guy the Reds were thinking would have a bit of breakout season was J.J. Hoover. Hoover has really struggled this season with an ERA of 5.40 and a record of 0-5. Yes the record of a reliever is very dependent upon the situation that the reliever comes into. However, to have a record of 0-5 and an ERA of 5.40 is bad.

The bullpen is the area that this Reds team can improve upon and make this a better all-around team. How do you improve a bullpen? Some would suggest a trade will need to be made to improve it, but looking at the pieces that the Reds have left after the Choo deal and the Mat Latos deal there are not many pieces left that they are willing to part with. Others would suggest that the team should just stick with the bullpen the way that it currently is and see if they can return to their 2012 forms and become one of the best bullpens in baseball. This writer believes that the latter is the way to go for now but if it continues the way it has been then a move might be necessary.

Cincinnati Reds: What Lies Ahead for the Second Place Reds?

The Cincinnati Reds now sit in second place in the National League Central with a record of 29-18, just one game back from the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds are coming home after going 7-2 on the road against the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets. The road has not been a friendly place for the Reds this season as they had been 6-10 on the road. The 7-2 road trip brings them to a respectable 13-12 on the road.

With the end of May in sight, a quarter of the season is over and now would be a good time to look back and look forward. The Reds have had a tough start to the season, not only have they had to deal with a tough schedule but they have also had to deal with some injuries to a few key players. Johnny Cueto was out for a month and a week, and Ryan Ludwick and his backup Chris Heisey have been out since Opening Day and April 29th respectfully.

Even with the tough schedule and injuries, it is safe to say that their 29-18 record is very respectable and has lived up to the offseason hype. Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto have been among the Top 5 hitters in the NL,Brandon Phillips leads the NL in RBIs and Mat Latos and the rest of the rotation have been among the top pitchers in terms of ERA through the first quarter of the season.

All of that, though, is in the past and the look ahead to the All-Star break of July 14th-18th has begun.

The Reds will play 49 games between May 22nd and July 14th, and of those 49 games, 23 will be played against NL Central opponents. This stretch of the season could turn out to be extremely important when it comes to the final standings in the NL Central. The Reds will play five series against teams that are currently in first place in their divisions and nine series against teams that currently have winning records. This Reds team will need to be continued to be led by Cueto and Latos on the pitching side of the ball, and Choo,Votto,Phillips and Jay Bruce in order to continue their high winning percentage and finish out the rest of the first half of the season strongly.

With all of that being said, there is still a lot of baseball to be played before the All-Star break and the Reds can make moves to separate themselves from the rest of the NL Central. Or they can falter or possibly succumb to injuries and fall back. The evidence in the beginning of their season shows that even with injuries the Reds can continue to win no matter their circumstances, so look for them to continue pressing on as they have done all season long.

2013 MLB Preview: The Postseason

Now that we have gone through all of the divisions and how they will look after 162 games have been played, I am going to go through how I see the postseason playing out.

We will start with the American League. I think the two Wild Card teams will be the Oakland A’s and the Chicago White Sox. When it comes to one game, I believe in the Oakland A’s a bit more than I believe in the White Sox. The White Sox have the better pitching staff from top to bottom but the A’s have the much better lineup. So I will give the AL Wild Card to the Oakland A’s.

Wild Card winner: Oakland A’s

The next matchup will be Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles. This might be the best matchup in the 2013 postseason. Both lineups are stacked from top to bottom and both have solid pitching staffs. For the O’s, the difference makers will be Matt Wieters and Adam Jones. For the Angels, the difference makers will be Josh Hamilton, Jared Weaver and Mike Trout. In a series, I have to give the edge to the Angels.

ALDS winner: Los Angeles Angels

The next AL battle will be the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland A’s. In a series, I think this is an unfair challenge for the A’s. The Tigers pitching staff is too dominant for the A’s lineup and the Tigers lineup is too potent for the A’s pitching staff.

ALDS winner: Detroit Tigers

The AL Championship Series will be played by the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Angels. Wow. I think the Tigers will end up winning the series with the Angels. Again, I think that the Tigers pitching staff will be too much for this ridiculous Angels lineup. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer will have a great series and will keep all momentum with the Tigers.

ALCS winner: Detriot Tigers

The Wild Card game for the National League will be between the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves. The Braves lineup with the Uptons and Freddie Freeman will be too much for the Giants to handle.

Wild Card winner: Atlanta Braves

The first National League Division Series will be the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals. I think that this series will come down to pitching. I will give a slight edge in pitching to the Reds with Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, and Bronson Arroyo over Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman.

NLDS winner: Cincinnati Reds

The second National League Division Series will be Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves. If the Dodgers stay healthy and are healthy in the playoffs, I think that the Dodgers will be too strong in all aspects of the series especially on offense with Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp.

NLDS winner: Los Angeles Dodgers

That makes the National League Championship Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the L.A. Dodgers. I think this will easily be a 7 game series and be completely back and forth. I think that the Reds pitching staff will keep them in the series. The Reds offense will have a hard time against Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke but I think that Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto will be too much for the rest of the Dodgers pitching staff.

NLCS winner: Cincinnati Reds

That makes the 2013 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and the Cincinnati Reds. What a matchup this will be! Both teams have really good pitching staffs. The Tigers have Verlander, Scherzer, Doug Fister, Anibal Sanchez and Rick Porcello. The Reds have Cueto, Latos, Arroyo, Homer Bailey and Mike Leake. I have these two staffs as equals so it will come down to offense and both teams have really good hitters. The Reds with Votto, Phillips, and Bruce and the Tigers with Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez. I think the deciding factor for this series will be, for lack of a better term, “role” hitters. The Tigers will be looking to Torii Hunter, Austin Jackson and Alex Avila while the Reds will look to Todd Frazier, Shin-Soo Choo and Ryan Hanigan. I think the Reds “role” hitters are better than the Tigers “role” hitters.

This would make the 2013 World Series Champions the Cincinnati Reds.

2013 MLB Preview: NL West

 

This week I will be looking at the National League West. This division will be a very interesting division to watch this season. Not only is the 2012 World Series champion in this division but it also features a team that has a ton of moves at the end of the 2012 and during the offseason and three other teams that essential could compete for either a Wild Card spot or even win the division.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks finished the season at the .500 mark with a record of 81-81 but this is a very interesting team going into the 2013 season. They traded away hands down their best player in Justin Upton in January and yet I think they have a fighting chance in this division. They have a surprisingly good starting rotation that will be led by Ian Kennedy and will have Trevor Cahill and Wade Miley coming in right behind him in the rotation. These three combined for 44 wins in 2012. Miley led the team in wins (16) and ERA (3.33) in 2012 and the Diamondback will look for him to continue with those kinds of numbers this season. They also have a very strong back end of the bullpen with J.J. Putz holding down the fort in the 9^th and Heath Bell being there as the setup man to help the Diamondbacks get to Putz. Where will the offense come from? That is the question that they will constantly be asked this season. Paul Goldschmidt had a solid 2012 season but will need to have an even better 2013 for this team to really compete. Another option offensively will be Cody Ross and Miguel Montero. Ross had a strong year in Boston last season with 22 home runs and I think that he can have that same kind of production in Arizona. Montero batted .286 with 15 home runs in 2012. I believe that he will still bat around the same average but I have to question whether or not he will get more than 15 home runs this season.

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies finished last in the NL West in 2012 with a record of 64-98 and really struggled with some injuries and a down year production-wise from a few key players. This could be a surprisingly good year for this team especially offensively. Troy (what a great first name huh?) Tulowitzki will once again be healthy and should be very productive and the same goes for Michael Cuddyer. Both suffered injuries during 2012 that kept their numbers down all season long. This outfield will be very good both offensively and defensively. Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez are primed to continue to have very good seasons for years to come. The two real question marks, offensively, come from Chris Nelson and Jason Rutledge. Rutledge did a good job filling in while Tulowitzki was injured last year but will have to continue to produce now that he will be the starting the second baseman this season. Another name to keep an eye this year is Tyler Colvin. Right now, it looks like he will start the year off as the teams fourth outfielder but will also be the backup first baseman as well. I think that given enough playing time he could have a really strong year in Colorado.  The gigantic question mark for this team will be their pitcher both starting pitching and relief pitching. Looking at this rotation, I can’t see a strong arm in any spot in the rotation or bullpen.

Los Angeles Dodgers

To be completely honest, I am not sure where to start with this team. Last season, they finished second in the division with a record of 86-76. With the new ownership of this team, they have assembled an incredible team. On paper. The assembly process started at the end of the 2012 season but it got even crazier with the addition of Zach Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu to this teams starting pitching rotation in December.  The rotation will look like this at the start of the 2013 season: Clayton Kershaw, Greinke, Josh Beckett, Ryu, and Aaron Harang. Wow. If Beckett can return to his 2011 form, this rotation could become one of the more dominant rotations in all of baseball this season. So if that wasn’t enough to make opposing teams nervous now we take a look at the lineup. Another wow! Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. If this lineup performs to its potential this could easily be a 100 win team this season. Matt Kemp is coming off of an injury so it will be interesting to see how he bounces back from that. Carl Crawford has struggled the past couple of years in Boston but maybe the change of scenery will make a difference for Crawford. If he can produce at the same level in L.A. as he did in Tampa Bay, this lineup will be even crazier.

San Diego Padres

This will be another very interesting team in the NL West. They struggled quite a bit during the season and finished at 76-86. This is a very young team with a decent starting rotation and a strong bullpen. This team could surprise people in 2013. Offensively, they will be looking to Chase Headley to produce again at the level that he did in 2012. Headley had a career year last year batting .286, hit 34 home runs and drove in 115 RBI’s. They will also need Yonder Alonso and Carlos Quentin to step and perform at a consistent level all year long for them to be a credible team in this division.  The Padres will also need to have a great year out of their starting roation that will be led by Edinson Volquez and Clayton Richards. A lot of things will have to fall into place for this team to really compete in this division but I think it could be possible.

San Francisco Giants

The 2012 Giants won the World Series against the Detroit Tigers after finishing the regular season with a mark of 94-68. This team is not full of stars but they play great baseball together. Their lineup features three really good hitters in Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence. These three led the team in their playoff push last year and will need to do the same again this year. Brandon Belt had a solid season in 2012 batting .275 and hitting 7 home runs but the Giants will need him to produce even more this year. Pitching wise this team can compete with anyone. Their starting rotation will be Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong, Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito. They also boast a very strong bullpen with Jeremy Affeldt in the setup role and Sergio Romo as the closer. That was a big area of concern for them in 2012 after Brian Wilson got hurt but ended up being one of the stronger spots on this ball club. I really like the make up of this team. It is something that you don’t see in baseball in this time period. Most teams are looking to build with multiple stars but the Giants have one real start in Posey but the rest of the team is just hard working and know their roles on the team.

End of Season Predictions   

1) L.A. Dodgers (Division winner)

2) San Francisco Giants (Wild Card)

3) Colorado Rockies

4) Arizona Diamondbacks

5) San Diego Padres

I believe that the Dodgers and Giants will make the playoffs this year. What I am not sure about is who wins the division and who makes the Wild Card. As I look at both teams, I think that the Dodgers are more talented but that is only on paper. However, you can not win games on paper. No one would have said at the start of the 2012 season or even the postseason that the Giants would win the World Series. Many experts had the Dodgers catching the Giants in the second half of the season after the Dodgers acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford but they couldn’t put everything together down the stretch. The Giants play so well as a whole team that it is tough to count them out of winning the division again this year but I just can’t look past all of the talent that will wear the Dodger uniform this season.

Next week, I will be starting my previews of the American League divisions starting with the AL East!

2013 MLB Preview: NL Central

Last week I started to do my Major League Baseball preview for the 2013 season with a look at the National League East. This week I will be previewing the NL Central. I will try to be unbiased in my opinions of what will happen in this division since my favorite team happens to be in this division. I will tell you at the end of the post who my favorite team is and hopefully you will see that I am unbiased.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates had a very good start to their season last year but really fell off during the second half of the year. They finished last season with a record of 79-83 to continue their streak for losing season that is at 20 seasons. They had many bright spots that fizzled out toward the end of the year but the one constant was Andrew McCutchen. He will again lead the way for this team that added Russell Martin during the offseason and will have Starling Marte for the whole season. I don’t really see much of a change in this team that makes me think that this season will be much different than last season.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs struggled a lot last year and finished the season with a record of 61-101. Things should be looking up for this ball club coming into the 2013 season. Although they did not make many changes during the offseason they do have some young talent that learned a lot last season.  Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney are looking to step into much bigger roles for the Cubs this season. The pitching staff could be an Achilles heel for this team though. Their number one and number two starters will be Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson but after that it falls off. The closer Carlos Marmol will be good this season but the question is going to be how often can they get the ball in his hands in a save situation.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers finished with a record of 83-79 and finished third in NL Central in 2012.  The injury bug has already hit this team hard and we aren’t even through the second week of Spring Training. Corey Hart had surgery to repair his knee about a month ago and is still recovering from that and they have already lost their first baseman Mat Garmel to a torn ACL. They are also dealing with the situation that is surrounding their star player Ryan Braun. Unfortunately this is not a new situation for the Brewers to deal with. Before last season began rumors were circling about Braun and PEDs and now, right around the same time as last season, they are dealing with Braun’s name being associated with PEDs again. Even with all of this going, the Brewers still have a good lineup but same as the Cubs this teams struggles will come from their pitching staff. Yovani Gallardo will have a solid season like he always does but there is a steady drop off from there. Also like the Cubs, the Brewers have a very strong closer in John Axford but it will come down to how many opportunities he will get to save ball games.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals finished the 2012 season in second place in the NL Central with a record of 88-74 and won the Wild Card “play-in” game and lost to San Francisco Giants who would go on to win the World Series. It was a good season for the Cardinals but it was also a bit of surprised.  Before the beginning of the season, they lost their ace in Chris Carpenter to an injury and lost Albert Pujols to the Angels in free agency. They ended up getting great seasons from Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse. Again this season, the Cardinals will be without Carpenter and they will also be without Lohse as he became a free agent during the offseason. The Cardinals will have to rely on Wainwright again this season and they hope that Jaime Garcia can step in to the role that Lohse had last year. Even without Pujols, the Cardinals had a very productive lineup and will go into this season with many of the same players in their lineup. They will look for Jon Jay, Matt Holliday, and David Freese to spearhead this lineup during the 2013 season. Another player to keep an eye on during this season is Allen Craig. He had a very productive year last season and I think that he has room to grow as well.

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds had a very good season last year as they finished the season at 97-65. One of the reasons for their solid season was due to their starting pitching. During the 2012 offseason, the Reds acquired Mat Latos via a trade with the San Diego Padres and it turned out to be a very good trade as he went on to win 14 games and have a 3.48 ERA. They Reds will enter this season with a very similar rotation as the 2012 season and will hope that they can get the same production from the five starters. They major difference from the 2012 and 2013 rotation could possibly come from within. The Reds will be looking to take Aroldis Chapman from the closer role and put him in to the starting rotation. I think that this is a major mistake for the Reds. Chapman is proven dominant closer but is extremely unproven as a starter. This will be a major storyline for the Reds during the 2013 season. The big move by the Reds this offseason was the move to bring Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati. This move was brought about after the Reds finished the 2012 season with the worst leadoff on base percentage in Major League Baseball. The Reds will also be without Scott Rolen, which will give Rookie of the Year candidate Todd Frazier the full time job and could also help the offensive production.

End of Season Predictions

Here is how I think this season will end:

1) Cincinnati Reds (Division winner)

2) St. Louis Cardinals

3) Milwaukee Brewers

4) Pittsburgh Pirates

5) Chicago Cubs

I think that there is still a pretty sizable gap between the good and the bad in this division. Last year was a much larger gap with the Houston Astros in the division but I still think the gap is there with the Cubs. The Pirates have the chance to close the gap but I have a hard time seeing them challenging the top three teams this season.  I think that the addition of Choo to the Reds puts a gap between them and the Brewers and Cardinals. The Brewers and Cardinals both have the chance to grab a Wild Card spot but I believe that at the end of the season they both will come up just short of making it in to the Wild Card.

2013 MLB Preview: NL East

What does the end of the NFL season mean? The beginning of the Major League Baseball season is just around the corner! I love the NFL but this is the best time of the year. Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training location for all teams and full teams will be reporting by the end of this week! What a great time to be a baseball fan. With all of that being said, I will be starting my division-by-division preview of the 2013 MLB season today.

In these previews, I will talk about the offseason moves of the teams within the divisions and then I will predict how the division will play out. At the end of each post, I will pick who, I think, will be the division winner and if any of the teams will be a Wild Card for their respected league. After going from the National League East to the American League West, I will be taking a look at how the post season will go and make my prediction for who I think will win the World Series this season. This will take us to at least the middle of March and the regular season starts at the beginning April! Baseball season is almost HERE folks!!

As you can see from the picture above, I am going to start with the National League East. (I’m not a huge fan of the new Miami Marlins logo so I used this picture to show the teams in the division.)

Atlanta Braves

Last season, the Braves finished the 2012 season with a record of 94-68 lost in the Wild Card “Play-In” game to the St. Louis Cardinals. This season will be a very interesting one in Atlanta as this will be the first season in a very long time that they will not be lead out onto the field by Chipper Jones. Although Jones did not have a super productive season last year I think his leadership will be greatly missed by this team. Jones wasn’t the only lose this team had during the offseason, they also lost Michael Bourn (Free Agent to Indians) and Jair Jurrjens (FA to Orioles). During the offseason, the Braves also acquired one Upton and traded for the other. Justin and B.J. Upton will be huge help to an already good team. Not only will they add to a decent lineup with both speed and power but along with Jason Heyward, the Braves will have one of the best defensive outfields in the NL. I think the real struggle for this team will be its starting pitching but they do not have to have the greatest starting pitching every day due to the one of the strengths being a great bullpen lead by set up man Jonny Venters and closer Craig Kimbrel.

Miami Marlins

Boy oh boy where to start with this Miami Marlins team. Last season was supposed to be to a great season for this team in a new town with a new logo, a new stadium and Ozzie Guillen at the helm. However, the Marlins finished the at 69-93 and well out of the playoffs. This offseason has been one of many moves for this team. The moves started last season with Guillen being relieved of his duties as manager in late October. In November, they traded Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio to the Toronto Blue Jays. This team is the definition of rebuilding but the timing is extremely strange. This time last year the Marlins were the talk of baseball not only because of their move to Miami and a new stadium but because this lineup was supposed to be great and make a real run at the playoffs and now this season they are in complete rebuild mode. Two bright spots for this team will be Right fielder Giancarlo Stanton and First basemen Logan Morrison however the rest of this team will have a real struggle this year.

New York Mets

The New York Mets are also a team that is in the process of rebuilding but they have a lot of key pieces that will help them get through this process. The strong point of this team will be its infield lead by David Wright at third base who signed a new 8 year extension to stay with the Mets. However, this was not how everyone on the Mets offseason went, R.A. Dickey, the 2012 Cy Young winner, was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Travis d’Arnaud, who was a big prospect in the Blue Jays organization. I think this team has a chance to surprise some people but will struggle all year to compete for a spot in the playoffs. If Johan Santana can rebound back to his previous successful seasons it will give this team more of a chance to compete but they are well short of the teams at the top of this division.

Philadelphia Phillies

What a season these guys had last season. It was quite strange with three of the teams top players have a confusing year. Ryan Howard was coming off of an injury and struggled when he came back. Cliff Lee and Roy Holliday really struggled all year. Holliday had a 4+ ERA and Lee didn’t win a game until July 4^th. Like I said before, this was just a strange year for this team but they made some moves in the offseason that will definitely help. Their key additions were Michael Young, Delmon Young and Mike Adams. This team seems poised to make a run at the playoffs but they were poised for a run last year too. This season will come down to their starting pitching finding their form from the 2011 season. The lineup from top to bottom will be as strong as it has ever been in the recent past for the Phillies.

Washington Nationals

Will this season come down to the number innings that Stephen Strasburg can throw like last season? Most people that are much more in the know than I am are saying that Strasburg will not be on an innings limit this year. I think that is a huge plus for this already strong team and will give them a major push toward what could be a big run in the postseason this year. The starting pitching will be strong with Gio Gonzalez, Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman, Dan Haren and Ross Detwiler and the bullpen went from good to great with the addition of closer Rafael Soriano to Tyler Cippard and Drew Storen at the back end. They also addressed a need for speed (I know I know I had to throw that in here haha) with the addition of Denard Span to Centerfield. Adding Span to a lineup with Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche will make this lineup as potent as any lineup in the MLB.

End of Season Predictions

Here is how I think that this season will end:

1) Nationals (Division winner)

2) Braves (Wild Card)

3) Phillies

4) Mets

5) Marlins

This is a tough division to predict. If the Phillies can bounce back to what they were in 2011 then my prediction for them will be wrong but I think that the Braves and Nationals will be too much for them to catch this year. I think that the Phillies have a chance at taking the second Wild Card spot but I really think that the second Wild Card spot will be coming from another division.

Cincinnati Reds Recap: Offense

Ok so it has been awhile since my last post. This is for a couple of reasons. 1) I have been pretty busy with work and 2) I wanted to wait a little bit for my reactions to this Cincinnati Reds season after about a month.

I am going to start this recap by looking at the offense first and then I will take a look at the pitching in my next post. So far in the season the Reds are 16-14 through 30 games and are in second place in the National League Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

All stats for this post will be taken from the Official Cincinnati Reds stats listed on their website here.

Drew Stubbs and Zach Cozart have been in the leadoff or 2 hole in the lineup for the most part of the season so far so I will start with them. Stubbs has played in all but one game this season and is leading the team in Stolen Bases with 6 but also leads the team in strikeouts with 34. Stubbs is a major frustration of this Reds team for me. He could be your prototypical leadoff man with a ton of speed but I think the power that he brings to the plate hinders him and makes him believe that he has to go out and make solid contact every time when a bunt would be just as effective. Cozart on the other hand is a major (not a strong enough word because I can’t think of a stronger word) bright spot for this team. He has played in every game this season and is putting up hitting number that make him a very strong candidate for Rookie of the Year in the NL if not in all of Major League Baseball. He is batting .267 and is second on the team with 31 hits.

Joey Votto has held down the 3 spot in the lineup all season and has had solid season so far. With 2 homeruns, you can definitely make a case saying that he is having a bad stretch but he has 25 doubles which more than doubles the next player in that category.

Scott Rolen is having a tough season so far and again is a frustration of mine. Rolen is batting .182 but has 11 RBI’s in 28 games. I don’t have a problem with Rolen starting the season in a slump but Dusty Baker keeping him in the clean up spot of the lineup baffles me and does nothing to help Votto.

Jay Bruce is on an absolute tear to start the season. Through 30 games, Bruce has 10 homeruns and 23 RBI’s. Baker has something about batting Bruce behind Votto due to them both being left handed batters but I think that leaving Rolen behind Votto limits Votto’s opportunity to see pitches that he can hit.

Brandon Phillips has had an interesting season. He has done a lot of what he has been asked to do so far this season. He has been battling a leg injury since very early on. I think this has hindered him quite a bit but he has been a force in the infield with some incredible plays at second base.

Left field has been the normal spot in the lineup here but so far by my count there have been at least 4 players playing this position. Chris Heisey, Ryan Ludwick, Willie Harris and even Todd Frazier played there today. No one has had a great season out of this position. I think that at some point, very soon, Dusty will have to make a decision and have someone play the majority of the time in left field. I think that Heisey is the one that has to get the majority of time in left field.

The catching as also been so-so. Hanigan is fourth on the team in Batting average while Mesoraco is eighth in the same category. Mesoraco is definitely the future catcher of this organization but Hanigan has to be the catcher of right now. He knows this pitching staff inside and out at this point and I think he gives comfort to the pitchers.

After bringing them up, let’s talk about the pitching staff so far in the next blog post tomorrow.