Make Your 2020 Cincinnati Reds' Win Total Prediction

[Kinsm]

Make your selection and if you have the cajones to back it up - please post your figure in the comments section!!!

This poll will lock in 4 weeks!

[Kinsm]

A lot of money has been spent this off-season, the Reds handed out the largest FA contract in franchise history and then did it a second time just days later.

Is the Rebuild over?

May 14th, 2015: the Reds were 18-17, the last time they were above .500 in 2015 - they finished last in their division (29th out of 30)
April 20th, 2016: the Reds were 8-7, the last time they were above .500 in 2016 - they finished last in their division (t27th out of 30)
May 15th, 2017: the Reds were 19-18, the last time they were above .500 in 2017 - they finished last in their division (26th out of 30)
2018: 0-0, the Reds were never above .500 going wire to wire as losers in 2018 - they finished last in their division (t23rd out of 30)
March 30th, 2019: the Reds were 1-0, the last time they were above .500 in 2019 - they finished second to last in their division (19th out of 30)

The 2019 Reds season marked the 11th losing season in 14 campaigns under Castellini's ownership. It was also the 17th losing season in 22 years since MLB expanded to 30 teams.

[phlbilly]

I went with 89-91
Votto has a bounce back year OBP over 400
Castellanos drives in 100
The starting rotation is healthy all year. Gray and Castillo are all stars.
Descalfini has a great year....sets himself up for a big contract

[RedsfaninMT]

86-76, and in the fight for the division and the Wild Card. I am very concerned about Eugenio's shoulder. IF that holds up, it should be good year. Sure is nice to be optimistic about a season for change.

[ochoa30]

I went 83-85. I think that would be pretty solid. I need to see them have some success before I'll anoint them as an 88+ win team although I believe that's about where there talent level puts them. Health will be huge of course and the emergence of Nick Senzel will be crucial if they have any chance to make the playoffs IMO. Worried about Votto as well but I'm hoping he can bounce back somewhat. Should be a fun team to follow and I'm very happy with the effort the front office has put in overall. Time for the players to step it up.

[Always Red]

I’m going with 85 wins, because something always goes wrong, and 85 is a nice step up from where they have been.

[cincinnati chili]

Under .500. Let's say 79 wins. Moustakas will flop. Not enough guys will get on base. They won't score enough runs. Pitching will take a step back.

[HammerTime]

I’m going 89...

Got the over 83 wins in Vegas that I love.

[shredda2000]

84-78

[Falls City Beer]

81. The bullpen will be a mess. The hitters will improve. Average offense. An injury to an important starter.

[Reds]

85, but they will tie for the division win.

[texasdave]

Offense - Check.
Starters - Check.
Bullpen - Check.
Division - Check.
NLCS - Check.
World Series - Check.
October Parade - Check.
About Time - Check.

It all coalesces nicely for the Redlegs in 2020. It all adds up to 93 wins.

[MikeS21]

I guess I am a pessimist. I went with 77-78 wins.

I look for injuries to result in significant upheaval to both the rotation and to the starting position players. I also am not very optimistic that Votto will have a bounce back year.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I like just about everything on the team except for closer, SS, and C.

Castellanos is an underrated signing-- he balances the lineup and provides a thumper behind Suarez and Moustakas. That lessens the need for a Votto resurgence. (That said, I expect Votto to be around 10% better than league average offensively.) They have upside in Senzel and Shogo. Offensively, I think they'll be much better than last year. I think they'll be better than 2018 too.

I think Gray takes a step back, but the addition of Miley instead of Mahle and a full season of Bauer (whom I like to improve, perhaps greatly) will balance that out. Castillo will break out and put up Cy Young numbers one of these seasons. Might be this one.

The bullpen has some great arms. I really like Garrett, Stephenson, Sims, and Reed in shorter stints-- I think their stuff will play up and the BB issues lessen with the fewer H given up. (BBs may be an issue in some games and definitely could be an issue in short playoff series. But in the regular season, those will balance out with hits so that the Cincinnati WHiP will be lower than league average.) Iglesias is a (relatively large) worry, but he's got a live arm. Strop may alleviate some of that concern, though I see him more as a stabilizing veteran arm than a difference-maker. (As a 7th inning guy, he's a solid addition.) I do think Lorenzen is likely to drop back some-- he pitched over his head, IMO, much of last season. The bullpen will be around league average, all told, with enough upside to be (much) better. That's worth a few months look-see.

The bench is a major strength. Akiyama (or Senzel), Aquino (or Winker), Dietrich (or VanMeter or Blandino), Casali-- all are second-division starters (at least). Farmer and Ervin are more than adequate RH specialists who've proven to be exceptional bench bats. Even AAA should offer MLB caliber protection everywhere but SS. Matt Davidson, Christian Colon, at least one of Blandino or VanMeter, Schebler (maybe), Jankowski, even Boog Powell have had successful stints at the highest level and can be counted on to at least hold their own.

As stated earlier, both C and SS are issues offensively. They're serviceable for now, but may need to be revisited around the All-Star break. And I suspect Williams will be active if given the opportunity. If Iglesias struggles again, they'll look to find a better option. If Galvis can't support his HR totals from last year, they'll find another. Ditto Barnhart.

I like my team.

85 wins.

[Spider Tre]

89-73