Reds: 5 bold predictions for the second-half of the 2021 MLB season

2. Eugenio Suarez will lead the Reds in home runs and RBIs.

It’s been feast of famine for Eugenio Suarez in 2021. After posting a slash line of just .202/.312/.470 last season, Geno’s first-half of the 2021 season has been inconsistent to say the least. The Cincinnati Reds’ infielder is hitting just .175 on the season and leads the team in strikeouts (107). Geno trails only Javier Baez for the league-lead in punch outs.

However, the power is still there. Suarez set a goal of 50 home runs in 2021. Sitting at just 18 at the midway point of the 2021 season, that goal seems a bit unattainable. However, I do expect Eugenio Suarez to tap into that power in the second-half of the season.

Look for Geno to be seeing red when the second-half of the 2021 season begins on Friday. Over his last seven games, Suarez is slugging .407. He’s launched two balls into the seats during that time, including a homer off the un-hittable Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers.

No one is ever going to mistake Eugenio Suarez for Joey Votto. Where Votto takes pride in his keen ability to read pitches and know the strike zone, Suarez has always been a free-swinger. Geno led the league in strikeouts (189) the same season he hit 49 homers.

I predict that Suarez will kick it up a notch in the second-half of the 2021 season. Look for Geno to lead the Cincinnati Reds in home runs and RBIs by the time the season concludes. While I’m not going to promise that Suarez will finish the season with a .275 batting average, I do expect that he’ll be hitting around .225 by the time the 2021 season concludes.