The Cincinnati Reds enter this season ready to make a run at the NL Central crown. It certainly wont be easy, the Brewers are the 
defending division champs and the Cardinals are the defending World champs. That said, however, some of the biggest bats in the division, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, have left, leaving the Reds with the best first basemen in the Central and maybe the National League in Joey Votto. Cincy made some splashes this winter adding to their pitching staff and this could very well be their year.
Projected Lineup:
- Drew Stubbs (Cf)
- Brandon Phillips (2b)
- Joey Votto (1b)
- Jay Bruce (Rf)
- Scott Rolen (3b)
- Chris Heisey (Lf)
- Zack Cozart (ss)
- Ryan Hanigan (c)
Projected Rotation:
- Mat Latos
- Johnny Cueto
- Bronson Arroyo
- Mike Leake
- Homer Bailey
- Aroldis Chapman
Strengths:
Upside: This team has tremendous potential. Newly acquired starter Mat Latos has the potential to dominate, as evidenced by his 2.92 2010 ERA and his sub 3.5 ERA last season. Likewise, Cueto and Leake can be really effective starters. On offense, Zack Cozart is a young player with a high ceiling, Drew Stubbs has all the tools, Brandon Phillips can be an offensive force, Jay Bruce can be a huge homer threat and Joey Votto can be an MVP (he was in 2010). If everything works out well and falls into place for this team, they will be almost impossible to stop.
Votto: Adrian Gonzalez left for the AL before last season, now Pujols and Fielder have joined. The NL has been left barren of top quality first basemen, with the exception of Votto. Of the top 7 or 8 first basemen in the majors, Votto is the only one in the NL (Pujols, Cabrera, Fielder, Konerko, Teixeira, Gonzalez, etc.). This means that the Reds will have the better first basemen, without question, in every intraleague game they play. That’s big.
Chapman: Aroldis Chapman throws over 100 mph. He’s had a little trouble at the major league level, especially with his control but he’s Cuban lightning in a bottle. He’s currently battling with Homer Bailey for the 5th spot in the rotation and if he wins the Reds will be thrilled but even if he looses, he’s a dangerous and versatile weapon in the bullpen.
Weaknesses:
As I’m writing this, Ryan Madson, the new closer, is headed from Spring Training to Cincy to have his elbow checked out by a team doctor.
Downside: The flip side of all the potential that the Reds have this season is that if a bunch of guys don’t play up to it, the floor for this team could be pretty low. If Latos and Cueto struggle, Chapman is ineffective or wild, and the young guns on offense don’t produce, the Reds could very easily wind up finishing 3rd in the division.
Storylines:
Can Dusty Baker hold it together? He wasn’t ranked very high in our managerial rankings. He’s also notoriously bad with young arms, how will Mat Latos fare?
How will Aroldis Chapman play? Will he throw a baseball over 106 mph?
Can this team live up to its potential and beat out Milwaukee and St. Louis?
Prediction:
92-70. It’ll be close but the Reds will hold off the Cards and Brewers and win this divison.
Bold Predictions:
- Aroldis Chapman will get Cy Young votes
- Mat Latos will not get any Cy Young votes
- Joey Votto will hit .311 with 33 homers and 133 RBI
- Jay Bruce will hit 22 bombs
- Drew Stubbs will be an All-Star
-Max Frankel
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