Cincinnati Reds: Five bold predictions for the second half of 2020 season

2. Sonny Gray wins the NL Cy Young.

Sonny Gray and Trevor Bauer have been neck-and-neck all season. The two right-handers are easily two of the best pitchers in the National League. To date, however, Gray has two more starts than Bauer. That may play into his favor when the baseball writers submit their ballots for the prestigious Cy Young Award.

Gray is currently first among all NL starters in strikeouts (55), second in innings pitched (41.2) , fifth in ERA (1.94) and 10th in WHIP (1.01). Gray’s teammate, Trevor Bauer, is at or near the top in all four categories as well. Will the race come down to the two Reds pitchers?

Not if a few other hurlers have anything to say about it. You Darvish of the Chicago Cubs is having a phenomenal season. With a 5-1 record and 1.70 ERA, Darvish looks like the former All-Star during his early days with the Texas Rangers. Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves has also upped his game, especially in the absence of the team’s No. 1 starter, Mike Soroka.

Sonny Gray has put together quite the résumé over the first 30 games, and one would have to believe that David Bell will give his right-hander as many chances as possible to get on the mound over the second half of the season as well. Gray leads the team in starts with seven. Gray has allowed six hits or fewer in 40 straight starts. That’s an MLB record.