A ballpark swing at predicting the Reds, major leagues seasons from a few of our own
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Take a look as Enquirer staff members make their predictions for the 2024 Reds and the baseball season.
A ballpark swing at picks
REDS PREDICTION
83-79 — Second place
Early season injuries and a tough schedule the first two months – including 16 road games against West Coast playoff hopefuls – will temper the team’s ability to get off to a strong start. They’ll compete in a division that may not have a 90-win team but eventually fall just short of the playoffs again – with the division coming down to the final three games of the year against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
MLB PREDICTIONS
NL East winner — Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central winner — Chicago Cubs
NL West winner — San Diego Padres
NL WC 1 — Los Angeles Dodgers
NL WC 2 — Atlanta Braves
NL WC 3 — San Francisco Giants
AL East winner — Baltimore Orioles
AL Central winner — Minnesota Twins
AL West winner — Seattle Mariners
AL WC 1 — Toronto Blue Jays
AL WC 2 — New York Yankees
AL WC 3 — Texas Rangers
WORLD SERIES — Orioles over Phillies
NL MVP — Mookie Betts, Dodgers
AL MVP — Aaron Judge, Yankees
NL Cy Young — Aaron Nola, Phillies
AL Cy Young — Luis Castillo, Mariners
NL Rookie of the Year — Jackson Chourio, Brewers
AL Rookie of the Year — Parker Meadows, Detroit Tigers
REDS PREDICTION
81-81 — second place.
The extended losses of Matt McLain, TJ Friedl and Noelvi Marte could be too big to overcome for a playoff run.
MLB PREDICTIONS
NL East winner — Atlanta Braves
NL Central winner — Chicago Cubs
NL West winner — Los Angeles Dodgers
NL WC 1 — Arizona Diamondbacks
NL WC 2 — Philadelphia Phillies
NL WC 3 — San Francisco Giants
AL East winner — Baltimore Orioles
AL Central winner — Minnesota Twins
AL West winner — Houston Astros
AL WC 1 — Texas Rangers
AL WC 2 — Tampa Bay Rays
AL WC 3 — New York Yankees
WORLD SERIES — Phillies over Astros
NL MVP — Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
AL MVP — Juan Soto, New York Yankees
NL Cy Young — Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
AL Cy Young — Corbin Burnes, Baltimore Orioles
NL Rookie of the Year — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year — Evan Carter, Texas Rangers
REDS PREDICTION
82-80 — Second place
Injures and Noelvi Marte’s drug suspension are already putting the Reds’ bolstered depth to the test on Opening Day. This club has proven to be resilient – bouncing back from a 100-loss 2022 to narrowly missing the playoffs last year despite a rash of injuries. Several young players will get settled into the big leagues this season. Cincinnati will just miss the playoffs again, but the Reds should position themselves to take a big step in 2025.
MLB PREDICTIONS
NL East winner — Atlanta Braves
NL Central winner — St. Louis Cardinals
NL West winner — Los Angeles Dodgers
NL WC 1 — Philadelphia Phillies
NL WC 2 — San Francisco Giants
NL WC 3 — Arizona Diamondbacks
AL East winner — Baltimore Orioles
AL Central winner — Minnesota Twins
AL West winner — Houston Astros
AL WC 1 — Toronto Blue Jays
AL WC 2 — Texas Rangers
AL WC 3 — Tampa Bay Rays
WORLD SERIES — Braves over Blue Jays
NL MVP — Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves
AL MVP — Adley Rutschman, Orioles
NL Cy Young — Zack Wheeler, Phillies
AL Cy Young — Framber Valdez, Astros
NL Rookie of the Year — Jackson Merrill, Padres
AL Rookie of the Year — Wyatt Langford, Rangers
REDS PREDICTION
84-78 — third place
Loss of two of their best young, versatile players in Noelvi Marte and Matt McLain only puts more pressure on other youngsters, like Elly De La Cruz and Christian Encarnacion Strand, to produce. Questions in the starting rotation, one of the reasons the season should be so interesting, could be the difference in playoffs or also-ran.
MLB PREDICTIONS
NL East winner — Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central winner — Milwaukee Brewers
NL West winner — Los Angeles Dodgers
NL WC1 — Atlanta Braves
NL WC2 — Chicago Cubs
NL WC3 — Arizona Diamondbacks
AL East winner — New York Yankees
AL Central winner — Cleveland Guardians
AL West winner — Seattle Mariners
AL WC1 — Houston Astros
AL WC2 — Texas Rangers
AL WC 3 — Baltimore Orioles
WORLD SERIES — Philadelphia Phillies over Houston Astros
NL MVP — Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL MVP — Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays
NL Cy Young — Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
AL Cy Young — Corbin Burnes, Baltimore Orioles
NL Rookie of the Year — Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padress
AL Rookie of the Year — Nolan Schanuel, L.A. Angels
REDS PREDICTION
86-76 — second place
The losses of Noelvi Marte and Matt McLain will hurt, but also illustrates how important bringing Jonathan India back was. The wins prediction could go a few games in either direction depending on the health/consistency of the starting rotation. The Reds should be in the playoff hunt either way.
MLB PREDICTIONS
NL East winner — Atlanta Braves
NL Central winner — St. Louis Cardinals
NL West winner — Los Angeles Dodgers
NL WC1 — Philadelphia Phillies
NL WC2 — San Diego Padres
NL WC3 — Cincinnati Reds
AL East winner — New York Yankees
AL Central winner — Cleveland Guardians
AL West winner — Seattle Mariners
AL WC1 — Baltimore Orioles
AL WC2 — Houston Astros
AL WC 3 — Texas Rangers
WORLD SERIES — Dodgers over Mariners
NL MVP — Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
AL MVP — Julio Rodriguez, Mariners
NL Cy Young — Zach Wheeler, Phillies
AL Cy Young — Luis Castillo, Mariners
NL Rookie of the Year — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year — Jackson Holliday, Orioles
REDS PREDICTION
88-74 — Second place
The Reds will get off to a not-as-sluggish start and be in the thick of the division race all year, but fall just short to the Cubs. They will make the postseason and even get through to the division round.
MLB PREDICTIONS
NL East winner — Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central winner — Chicago Cubs
NL West winner — Los Angeles Dodgers
NL WC 1 — San Diego Padres
NL WC 2 — Atlanta Braves
NL WC 3 — Cincinnati Reds
AL East winner — Baltimore Orioles
AL Central winner — Minnesota Twins
AL West winner — Houston Astros
AL WC 1 — Toronto Blue Jays
AL WC 2 — New York Yankees
AL WC 3 — Texas Rangers
WORLD SERIES — Phillies over Yankees
NL MVP — Mookie Betts, Dodgers
AL MVP — Aaron Judge, Yankees
NL Cy Young — Zack Wheeler, Phillies
AL Cy Young — Corbin Burnes, Orioles
NL Rookie of the Year — Jackson Chourio, Brewers
AL Rookie of the Year — Paul Skenes, Pirates
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 2024 Reds predictions: World Series, MVP, Cy Young contenders
