Cincinnati Reds Series Preview: A hopeful’s season is in trouble

I predicted the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series in my Baseball Prospectus predictions. Why? They made some shrewd signings to improve an offense that already had some good pieces. They have a fantastic rotation and a great pitching coach. And the back of the bullpen figured to be a strong point for this team. In a short, weird season, why not get weird and pick the Reds? They got seven games out of Mike Moustakas before he hit the IL. Joey Votto isn’t striking out, but he also isn’t hitting. Eugenio Suarez (my weird choice for MVP) also isn’t hitting after popping nearly 50 homers last season.