Cincinnati Reds

The Reds have made some tremendous progress during the past two seasons. After establishing one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball last year, the team acquired high-profile free agents such as Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos. In addition, they also signed Pedro Strop to finish the new look of the team’s bullpen. Cincinnati was already poised for postseason success in a full 2020 season. Now, they might be the best bet to win the NL Central.

Cincy’s pitching staff will be led by Luis Castillo, who put on a terrific performance during his third season in the league. The Dominican starter posted a 3.40 ERA in 32 starts and made the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. Apart from him, Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark/Trevor Bauer, joining the rest of the rotation, posted the fifth-best ERA in the National League.

The batting display was in no way as positive. The team finished with the fourth-fewest runs scored in the NL. A notable highlight was the transition of a contact-centered lineup to a power-centered one. This transition had its fair share of problems, though.

The team had one of the lowest walk ratios in the NL and recorded the fourth-lowest team on-base percentage. Mike Moustakas joins Eugenio Suarez as an all-or-nothing power-hitter while Castellanos should bring consistency to the team’s low batting average. Both Moustakas and Castellanos had an OBP near the league average of .323. That way, a lineup that has fewer and fewer holes, could be efficient.

There’s no doubt the Reds are stacked entering 2020 and the ceiling is high, especially in a 60-game campaign.