It’s still only June, but the Reds still have a lot to play for this season 

The Cincinnati Reds are back in contention. Once plummeting down the NL Central standings quicker than a rock in the Ohio River, David Bell’s roster is changing the narrative—and quickly. 

On June 1, the Reds sat at 24-29 and 6.5 GB in the divisional standings. As their promising start to the season completely evaporated after suffering a 17-3 loss at home to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Reds loomed closer to last place in the National League rather than a coveted Wild Card spot.  

Of course, that was before Cincinnati stormed back into the conversation by winning 11 out of 13 games, including a four-game sweep of the Cardinals and two consecutive sweeps of the Rockies and Brewers, respectively. 

The Reds have been buoyed by the offensive play of Jesse Winker, Nick Castellanos and Jonathan India this season, with the trio accounting for over one third of the team’s home runs and nearly a third of all Runs Batted In. They lead an offense that is eighth in Major League baseball for homeruns and on-base percentage.  

On the mound, the starting rotation has picked up the slack for a slow-starting Luis Castillo, but it’s the bullpen (particularly Amir Garrett) that will cause the most angst for Reds fans these days. Coming off a career-high earned run average last season, the lefty has an ERA over 9 this year. He has allowed 20 earned runs in as many innings. 

Can the Reds maintain some of this good form and stay competitive in most of the talented divisions in baseball? It remains to be seen whether they can hang with the Cardinals, Cubs, and Brewers over 162 games. At the very least, this ballclub has shown a level of perseverance that suggests they just might be able to go the distance.