The Cincinnati Reds finished 75-87 in 2019. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2013 where they lost the National League Wild Card game 1-0 against the Pirates.
This season, they have a shot at competing not only for a playoff spot, but for an NL Central title. Their pitching could be a big factor in accomplishing that this season. Here is the potential pitching rotation for the Reds to start the 2020 regular season.
After a couple of rough seasons with the Yankees, Sonny Gray really improved in his first season with the Reds. With New York, he pitched in 41 games and had a 4.51 ERA. In 2019 with Cincinnati, he got back to the Mid-Summer Classic for the first time since 2015. He also finished seventh in the NL Cy Young voting. His ERA on the season was an impressive 2.87 in 31 starts.
Luis Castillo has gotten off to a pretty solid start in his career thus far. He debuted in 2017 and has made 78 starts. Through those appearances, he has a career 3.68 ERA and 489 strikeouts with just 160 base on balls. The potential ace also posted a 3.40 ERA in 190 2/3 innings pitched last season as well as made the All-Star game.
Trevor Bauer (Image from WCPO – 9 On Your Side)
It is tough to tell where Trevor Bauer will be in the Reds pitching rotation this season. He had a rough start with the Reds. He made just 10 starts for them last season, compiling a 6.39 ERA in 56 1/3 innings pitched. However, just one season before, he finished sixth in the American League Cy Young voting with the Indians. That year, he had an AL best 2.44 FIP as well as a 1.089 WHIP. If he can get close to those numbers in 2020, he can be a big contributor in the Reds getting back to the Postseason.
Wade Miley had a 4.98 ERA in 19 career starts for the Mariners (Image from The Baltimore Sun)
The Reds are the seventh MLB team that Wade Miley has been on. He finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting back in 2012, which is also the only year he made the All-Star game. The southpaw has had some slumps on the mound, including his 2017 season with Baltimore where he made 32 starts and had a 5.61 ERA. His ERA has been below 4.00 the last two seasons, although in 2018 he only pitched 80 2/3 innings and had a 2.57 ERA.
Anthony DeSclafani can be a solid option for the fourth spot in the rotation. Like Gray, he also had a better year in 2019 than 2018 where he posted a 4.93 ERA. He brought that down by over a full run with a 3.89 ERA in 2019. He also had a 1.200 WHIP and a career high 167 strikeouts last season.
Feature Image Courtesy of The Seattle Times.
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