Cincinnati Reds have high odds to win 2018 World Series

The Cincinnati Reds struggled

The 2017 Cincinnati Reds did not have it pretty. They lost 94 games again. Also, the pitching was atrocious. They were in the bottom three on the mound this year, but the offense was surprisingly good. This is a young team that is still trying to find their niche. Youth brings about naivety and mistakes, and the hurlers went through that.

But, with a new year comes further development. The Reds brought up quite a few guys from Triple-A and experimented with them as an audition, including likely Opening Day starter, Luis Castillo. That has helped the team to weed out some problems, but they definitely need improvement to get better in 2018. A negative is the growing pains to the club overall. A positive is that Cincinnati has an abundance of youthful arms, they just need to be more consistent.

The bats were a pleasant surprise, as the club got above average production from Scott Schebler, Scooter Gennett, and Zack Cozart. Joey Votto keeps the franchise on his shoulders every year. So, one side of the ball is competitive. Now, the Reds need to emphasize on the pitching aspect to further the rebuild. With the team’s budding farm system and the potential of the young rotation, they can only trend upwards.

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The Cincinnati Reds’  increased chance of immortality

Obviously, 2017 was a rebuilding year for the Reds. With that said, there was close to no expectations for Cincinnati. But, 2018 looks a little better. Next year’s World Series odds have already been released on several sites. Out of the three that I came upon, Cincinnati had 66/1 odds of winning it all. (OddShark)

Those are really positive numbers for a team who didn’t even crack the 70 win threshold in 2017.

But, there is optimism for the year ahead, and that will sit well with plenty of fans in Cincy. What’s interesting is the fact that the Reds have the same odds as the American League Wild Card Twins. Even they were a surprise team this season. But, Cincinnati has a similar team makeup as they do.

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Each team has plenty of young talent, and a top veteran player at their position. If everything breaks right for the Reds, they have a sliver of a chance. Furthermore, if the pitching staff adapts to the league sooner, then the window of contention will open in the near future. Anything can happen in baseball, that’s the magic of the sport. There are a lot of ifs, so don’t expect your Reds to be in the World Series come next October.