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2020 MLB Cincinnati Reds World Series Odds & Picks

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
4 minute read

Cincinnati Reds Should See a
Winning Baseball Team in 2020

After six straight seasons of sub-.500 baseball, the front office went out and made the Reds a contender for the NL Central in 2020.

Cincinnati now has some offensive power to go along with a solid rotation, and the Reds are out to escape from the cellar of the division after finishing in fourth or fifth place since 2014. That should help boost the team’s woeful attendance, as only Pittsburgh and Miami routinely draw less fans in the National League.

2020 Cincinnati Reds World Series
Betting Online Odds at FanDuel: +3000

Odds provided by FanDuel (IN, NJ, PA & WV only)
Subject to Change - T&C's Apply, 21+

2020 Cincinnati Reds Season
World Series Odds Overview

Cincinnati was projected to finish the season with a winning record per the win total betting odds released back in January. This team is tied with Chicago for the second-lowest odds to win the World Series on FanDuel in the division, with St. Louis being seen as the favorite to win it all from the NL Central.

National League Central

The Reds are in a somewhat difficult division. Although there is no juggernaut in the division like the Dodgers in the NL West, and there isn’t a collection of pretty talented teams like we see in the NL East, four of the five teams in the NL Central are seen as above average. St. Louis and Chicago are the teams to beat in the division with odds of +220 to win the NL Central at FanDuel, but Cincinnati isn’t far behind at +270.

On the Hill

Luis Castillo has the highest upside of any pitcher on the staff. Castillo is coming into his prime at the age of 27, and he is coming off a season where he posted a 15-8 record with a 3.40 ERA. His 10.7 K/9 was the best number among the starters, and his 1.143 WHIP was good for second-best in the rotation. If he can lower his walk rate in 2020 (3.7 BB/9 in 2019), he could be a dark horse Cy Young Award contender.

After two subpar seasons with the Yankees, Sonny Gray shined in his first season with the Reds. Gray looked like the pitcher that was a Cy Young contender in Oakland, finishing the year with an 11-8 record and a 2.87 ERA. He surpassed 200 strikeouts in a season for the first time, and his 10.5 K/9 was a career-best number. Expect some regression from him this year though as batters hit an unsustainable .196 against Gray in 2019.

Trevor Bauer had a disappointing start in Cincinnati. Bauer was 2-5 with a 6.39 ERA in 10 starts with the Reds after being acquired from Cleveland in a midseason trade. The team is hopeful that he can put together a solid season with free agency looming in the offseason and throw like he did during his All-Star season in 2018. Bauer has been erratic over his career though, alternating great seasons with below average campaigns.

Closer Raisel Iglesias was stretched to the breaking point last season. The Reds attempted to use him earlier than the ninth inning to increase his impact, but he couldn’t handle the workload and ended up with 12 losses and a 4.16 ERA. Cincinnati will shift him back to his usual role, and that should lead to a return to form for Iglesias.

At the Plate

Joey Votto is running on fumes at this point of his career. Votto was one of the most feared hitters in baseball for most of the 2010s, but his power numbers have fallen off a cliff the last two seasons. He posted a paltry .768 OPS in 2019, as the loss of power led to a career-low .357 OBP. Opposing pitchers no longer fear Votto, and they are getting more aggressive with the 36-year-old.

It’s hard to project how Japanese players will fare when they first join MLB, but there is reason to be optimistic about Shogo Akiyama. Akiyama has excellent plate discipline with a high walk rate and a low strikeout rate, and he makes solid contact. That should make him an ideal leadoff hitter provided those skills transfer over to this league, but that’s always a question mark.

Mike Moustakas is coming off a career year with Milwaukee. Moustakas posted a career-best .845 OPS in 2019, hitting more than 30 home runs for just the second time in his career. He has a low strikeout rate, but he doesn’t draw a lot of walks either.

Nick Castellanos was the other bat that Cincinnati added in the offseason. He played very well in 51 games with the Cubs at the tail end of last season, and he may have just needed to get out of Detroit to shine. Castellanos posted a 1.002 OPS during his time on the North Side.

2020 Cincinnati Reds World Series Projection

There’s a lot to like about the Reds in the near future, but this team has too many question marks to back in 2020. Too many of Cincinnati’s high-priced players are either mysteries or projected to regress this year, so lay off the Reds.

2020 Cincinnati Reds World Series Free Pick:
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Odds provided by FanDuel (IN, NJ, PA & WV only)
Subject to Change - T&C's Apply, 21+

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