Cincinnati Reds: 10 Bold Predictions for May

The Cincinnati Reds started the season on the wrong foot—poor starting pitching, over-usage of the bullpen, shady defense at times, ice cold bats and some questionable managerial decisions.

However, as of late, the Cincinnati ball club has looked to be righting their ship. The pitching has begun to come together and the bats are finding their way.

This change in play got me thinking about where this team is actually heading. In the end, I determined the future is bright and all will be right in Reds country—just as I felt before the season began.

I believed all along the Reds would begin to make a charge towards the top of the standings.

These predictions are about how they are going to get there.

Jay Bruce Will Continue His Charge Towards MVP Contention

The real Jay Bruce has finally emerged. His approach at the plate has completely changed this year and changed for the better.  

Bruce has shown the ability to consistently go with the away pitches away and shoot them to the opposite field—something he has never done on a consistent basis in the past.

The most important fact and piece of evidence that Jay Bruce will ride his hot start through the end of 2012 is simple—Bruce will and has already avoided the prolonged slump.

It may have been overlooked, but Bruce got off to a great first week before seeing his batting average drop below the Mendoza line. His averaged hovered in the low to mid-.200's for a couple weeks during mid-April before he settled into a consistent stride.

Bruce currently sports a .298 batting average to go with nine HRs and 21 RBI.

PREDICTION: Jay Bruce ends May leading the league with 17 HRs (yes, I do realize that Matt Kemp currently has 12). Bruce will also drive in 25 RBI's on the month, leaving him with 42 through the first 2 months.

Johnny Cueto Remains Perfect and Ends the Month 8-0 on the Year

Johnny Cueto currently stands at 4-0 with 1.31 ERA. Just in case you haven't been watching, Cueto has not skipped a beat from last year. He has picked up right were he left off—throwing up zeros.  

Cueto should see five more starts this month. With the way he's pitching and with the Reds bats seemingly coming alive, Cueto will win four of those five starts with a no decision mixed in.

PREDICTION: Johnny Cueto ends the month of May with an 8-0 record on the season and maintains a sub 1.80 ERA on the year.

Bronson Continues to Roll Back the Clock to 2006.

Bronson Arroyo and his Frisbee slider are showing hitters once again that it's not just about how hard you can throw.  

Arroyo has only four walks through his first six starts and 39.1 innings pitched. His ERA stands at 2.75 and I see no reason why he should slow down. His ball movement is as good as it has ever been.

PREDICTION: Arroyo takes a sub 3.00 ERA into June and allows only three more walks through his remaining May starts.

Aroldis Chapman Remains the Most Dominent Pitcher in Baseball

Let me just say this, Aroldis Chapman has been amazing all year—plain and simple, hands down, with no questions asked.

Through 14.2 innings, he has allowed only five hits and four walks while striking out 25.  

Let's not forget that 0.00 ERA.

PREDICTION: Chapman ends May with his 0.00 ERA intact. He will throw another 12 innings and give up only two hits and one walk to 25 strikeouts.

Grand totals through the first two months will look like this: 0.00 ERA, 26.2 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 50 K

Wow!

Scott Rolen Will Continue to Struggle at the Plate

As much as I would love to see Scott Rolen turn it around, I don't see it happening. He will put together a couple of good games back to back and give us hope but, in the end, the law of averages will catch up to him.

Rolen is a gamer and it will be hard to watch Dusty Baker continue to run him out there nearly every day. The one plus side is Rolen's glove has aged much more slowly that his bat. He can still play a gold glove-caliber third base.

PREDICTION: Scott Rolen ends the month of May batting at the .200 mark while still slugging below .350. Todd Frazier will begin to see more starts at third as Dusty begins to transition Rolen into a platoon player.

Brandon Phillips Recovers from His Early Injury Troubles and Begins to Settle in

Brandon Phillips is finally getting back to being himself. His swings have looked much better of late and he's no longer "babying" his leg injury.

Phillips has put some great swings on the ball the past couple of games with not much to show for it.

Look for those great swings to continue and for the balls to begin finding the gaps.

PREDICTION: @DatDudeBP will see his average jump above the .300 clip with a late-month surge, winning Player of the Week during the last week of May. 

Joey Votto Will Lead the World in OBP and Not Just Because of Walks

Joey Votto is averaging almost one walk per game played so far. Votto has been known to hit streaks where he strikes out just as much as Drew Stubbs.  

But, the good news is he always works his way out of them—and Votto does so with ferocity.

He has been playing with consistency to this point, but Votto is on the verge of catching fire and I see it happening this month.  

With Brandon Phillips ready to begin his surge forward, the dominoes will begin to fall and force pitchers to give Votto a few more pitches to hit.

PREDICTION: Votto ends the month with his batting average up to .340 and his OBP hovering around .480.  

The Reds Pitching Staff Is for Real

In case you haven't noticed, the Reds team ERA has crept up into the top five in the league.

I feel confident this trend will continue through the month of May.

The bullpen is currently in the midst of a 25-plus inning scoreless streak, the starters are throwing up quality starts left and right and the two together are a recipe for success. We are finally seeing this staff live up to expectations. 

Don't expect it to slow down.

PREDICTION: The Cincy staff ends the month in the top three in the league in team ERA. Don't be surprised if it dips below 3.00 before leveling out slightly above.

The Reds End May in 1st Place

The St. Louis Cardinals will level out and play about .500 ball the rest of the month.  

Look for Cincinnati to make their charge and pounce.

Combine the outstanding pitching with the great months that Votto, Phillips and Bruce will have and its just a recipe for success.  

Green pastures lie ahead.

BOLD PREDICTION: The Cincinnati Reds take a one-game lead over the Cardinals entering the month of June. This team is making strides and about to begin its sprint to the top.

The Fans and Some of Us Will Still Dislike Dusty Baker

The Reds will continue to win and even take over first place in spite of their manager. Reds fans will continue to question their manager and with good reason.  

BOLD PREDICTION: Dusty will field more questions by the media about his managing decisions gone bad than about how his team is winning.