Reds 2019 record through 60 games doesn’t offer confidence for 2020

The Reds early-season record the past two seasons was not good.

If there’s baseball in 2020, it seems more and more likely that we’re looking at a 60-game season. The Cincinnati Reds have not been fast starters the past two seasons, in fact, they’ve been downright awful. Hopefully that won’t translate into the shortened-season we’re likely to see in 2020.

The Reds went 1-8 to begin the 2019 season. Ouch, sorry for that reminder. But, on the bright side, at least it wasn’t 2018; a season that saw Cincinnati start 3-18. Okay, okay, I’ll stop opening up old wounds. However, those rough starts don’t bode well for the 2020 season.

Last year, the Reds won on Opening Day, but lost eight consecutive games before whipping the Miami Marlins 14-0. But the damage was done. Cincinnati ripped off three straight wins, followed by four consecutive losses, before winning another three straight. At that point, the Reds were 8-12 and five games out of first place in the NL Central.

After the first week of the 2019 season, Cincinnati never rose above fourth-place in the division and never got out of the NL Central basement after 3-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 15th. This won’t cut it in 2020. With only 60 games likely to be played, the Reds need to get off the blocks quickly.

Thankfully, Cincinnati has upgraded its roster with the additions of Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos, Wade Miley, Pedro Strop and Shogo Akiyama. The Reds also have former All-Star Trevor Bauer in thee rotation and Freddy Galvis, fresh off a 23-home run season, on the roster heading into 2020.

Gone are Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Matt Kemp and Zach Duke. Puig was hitting just .210 through the Reds first 60 games last season. By June 4th, Wood hadn’t garnered a single start due to injury, Kemp was no longer on the roster and Duke owned a 5.94 ERA in 23 appearances. Yikes!

Equally disappointing were six-time All-Star Joey Votto, outfielder Scott Schebler and left-handed slugger Jesse Winker. Votto’s batting average was sitting at just .251 with a .343 on-base percentage. Votto had just four homers in the Reds first 60 games. Schebler’s terrible start earned him a trip to Triple-A and Winker hit just .236 during the first 60 games of the 2019 season.

A start like that won’t earn the Cincinnati Reds a return to the postseason. While it’s ashamed that the coronavirus pandemic, combined with squabbling between the players and owners have caused a delay to the 2020 season, every team will have the same record if and when the season begins. It’s imperative the Reds get off to a good start.