The Cincinnati Reds cruised to the NL Central Crown after a mid-season dogfight with the Pirates. After trailing the Bucs by one game at the All-Star break, the Reds accelerated to a double-digit lead in the central winning with 10 games to spare. They will enter the postseason with the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NL, depending on what Washington does to end the season.
They have four pitchers that have 12+ wins and all five of their starters have started 30+ games. Only one game was started by a pitcher outside the starting five (Todd Redmond). The fact that there hasn’t been an injury of any type to keep a starter from missing a start is extremely lucky and helped keep a steady rotation that won 65 games.
Johnny Cueto – 19 – 9 2.78 ERA 1.17 WHIP 170 K’s
Matt Latos – 13 – 4 3.52 ERA 1.16 WHIP 181 K’s
Homer Bailey – 13 – 10 3.75 ERA 1.25 WHIP 162 K’s (1 No-Hitter)
Bronson Arroyo – 12 – 9 3.70 ERA 1.20 WHIP 123 K’s
Mike Leake – 8-9 4.58 ERA 1.35 WHIP 116 K’s
You see Mike Leake being the odd man out in terms of starting in the postseason, but he should be in the pen for help. They also have a great combination of Jonathon Broxton (3 – 2 3.53 ERA 0.98 WHIP 4 SV) and flamethrower Aroldis Chapman (5 – 5 1.53 ERA 0.82 WHIP 121 K’s 37/42 saves) to work the 8th and 9th if their starter/middle relief can get them there.
The offense continues to crush the ball with five players with 15+ homers. They are led by the power bats of Jay Bruce (.251 AVG 34 HR 98 RBI), Ryan Ludwick (.279 AVG 26 HR 80 RBI), and Joey Votto, who missed a chunk of games but will be 100% for the playoffs (.342 AVG 14 HR 56 RBI in 108 games). They also have speed in Drew Stubbs (30/37 SB 74 R) and Brandon Phillips (15/18 SB 86 R).
The Reds seemed to be in trouble when Votto went down with an injury early on in the second half of the season. That’s when rookie Todd Frazier stepped in and matched Votto’s numbers in 126 games with a .274 AVG with 19 homers and 67 RBI’s. Not only did it put him in the running for the NL Rookie of the Year, but it kept the Reds rolling when everyone thought they would free-fall without their star first baseman.
Reds vs. NL Playoff Teams
Vs. St. Louis – 6 – 6
Vs. Atlanta – 5 – 1
Vs. Washington – 2 – 5
Vs. San Fransisco – 4 – 3
Photo Credits: Getty Images
