Cincinnati Reds disappointed in 2017 season with a bad record

Despite low expectations for the 2017 season, the Cincinnati Reds still managed to disappoint their fans.

The Cincinnati Reds entered 2017 with low expectations.  The pitching staff was the worst in franchise history in 2016.  Their offense wasn’t much better.

The expectation was for a better starting rotation.  Another expectation was that the offense would be more consistent.  The fans also looked forward to seeing some prospects get their chance.  The Reds started the season competitively, riding the young starters, but it did not last.

The Reds’ starting rotation was the fourth worst in the National League in 2017.  Sixteen different starters were used in 2017.  Only 12 pitchers made starts in 2016.

The 4.79 ERA in 2016 was nothing impressive.  The 5.55 ERA in 2017 was even worse.  The Reds had the worst starting pitching the NL last season and it showed in the standings.

The bullpen was nearly a half run better in 2017.  In 2016 the bullpen ERA was 5.09.  It improved to 4.65 in 2017.

The offense rose from 18th in MLB to 14th.  That was good to see.  Rising from 18th to 13th in home runs hit was even better, but they still lost 94 games.

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Last year the Reds ranked 24th in baseball in OBP.  This year they moved all the way up to 13th.  That is the cause for hope in the offense, even if it was inconsistent at times in 2017.

Despite disappointment as a team, the Cincinnati Reds had plenty of individual accomplishments in 2017.

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There is no missing Joey Votto’s excellent offensive season.  Not only did he finish second in the National League MVP race, but he led all of MLB in OBP.  He also led all of MLB in walks.

Tucker Barnhart also had a heck of year.  He won the starting catcher’s role from the oft-injured Devin Mesoraco and the NL Gold Glove Award.  That resulted in Barnhart receiving a contract extension.

Scooter Gennett also had a great season.  He came over as a waiver wire pick-up at the end of spring training and was the starting second baseman by mid-season.  

He also had the single most impressive offensive game in franchise history.

On the mound, the backend of the bullpen was a nice surprise.  Raisel Iglesias, Wandy Peralta, and Michael Lorenzen combined to form a solid end to Reds’ wins. The rest of the bullpen was a little rough.

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The season had its ups and downs.  The Reds need more ups from the team in 2018.  Letting the youth play should help achieve exactly that.