7 days and counting....

7, count em, 7 days until Opening Day! When living in Cincinnati, where Opening Day is nearly a city holiday, the thought of the Reds taking the field and having the opportunity to hear Marty and the Cowboy on the radio almost makes you forget about the snow that is currently falling outside your window. There is a lot of buzz around the Queen City this year due to the legitimacy of World Series conversation and the recent announcement of the All-Star Game coming to Cincy in 2015.

The Reds are primed to make another post-season run, but this team and fanbase are past the point that an NL Central title is enough, simply point: We want a deep run in the playoffs. Do not misunderstand what I am saying, a division crown and playoff appearance is awesome and exciting, but the amount of talent and experience on this ballclub should result in the Reds playing deep into the Fall.

Due to the combination of an extended Spring Training (Thanks WBC!) and no real position battles for the Reds, this training camp has really dragged on and on. It's time for real baseball to be played on the banks of the Ohio, nevermind the ice and snow. Before each professional season all the so called "experts" make predictions about teams and players, and while I am no expert I am going to do the same (You can see my Spring Training predictions in a previous post, and yes some of them have changed after actually seeing some action)

My preview of each projected starter will consist of a prediction and whether they will have a better, worse, or similiar year to last year.

Starting Rotation

Johnny Cueto (19-9, 2.78 ERA)
- Projected Stat Line: 14-8, 3.27 ERA
- Cueto will give up a career high number of home runs

Mat Latos ( 14-4, 3.48 ERA)
- Projected Stat Line: 17-6, 3.23 ERA
- Latos finishes in Top 3 in NL Cy Young Voting

Bronson Arroyo (12-10, 3.74 ERA)
- Projected Stat Line: 11-10, 4.05 ERA
- Bronson will spend time on the DL and miss at least 5 starts

Homer Bailey (13-10, 3.68 ERA)
- Projected Stat Line: 15-8, 3.71 ERA
- Bailey will be the only MLB pitcher this season to have at least 1 game where he strikes out 10 guys, 1 game where he gives up 7 runs, and 1 No Hitter

Mike Leake ( 8-9, 4.58 ERA)
- Projected Stat Line: 14-5, 3.56 ERA
- Leake will be an All-Star and win a Silver Slugger

Starting Lineup

Shin-Soo Choo ( .283 BA, 16 HR, 67 RBI)
- Projected Stat Line: .291 23 HR 61 RBI
- Choo has a 20/20 season

Brandon Phillips (.281, 18, 77)
- Projected Stat Line: .276, 14, 62
- Phillips leads the team in Grounded Into Double Plays with 27

Joey Votto ( .337, 14, 56)
- Projected Stat Line: .341, 29, 107
- Votto finishes 2nd in MVP voting and wins Batting Title

Ryan Ludwick (.275, 28, 80)
- Projected Stat Line: .252, 13, 51
- Ludwick struggles mightly and loses everyday job to Chris Heisey by June

Jay Bruce (.252, 34, 99)
- Projected Stat Line: .261, 41, 112
- Year of accolades for Bruce includes All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove

Todd Frazier (.273, 19, 67)
- Projected Stat Line: .266, 23, 74
- Frazier will hit 3 Walk Off Home Runs in 2013

Zack Cozart ( .246, 15, 35)
- Projected Stat Line: .262, 16, 50
- Cozart finds comfort in the 7 hole but hits below .250 with runners in scoring position

Ryan Hanigan (.274, 2, 24)
- Projected Stat Line: .265, 4, 34
- Hanigan will start a bench clearing brawl because he does not like the way someone stares down a Reds pitcher



Also, if you have not seen this yet then you need to watch it: Joey Votto shushes crowd

Darvish had buckled Votto's knees the previous pitch which had resulted in a lot of cheering from the crowd, so this is how Votto responds.