3 reasons the Reds will win the NL Central, 1 weakness that could bite them

1. Starting pitching depth could come back to haunt the Reds, ruining their NL Central dreams

The Reds have seen some major injuries affect their starting rotation. They’ve seen missed time from a few of their top guys, as Graham Ashcraft, Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo all find themselves on the IL right now. Ashcraft and Lodolo also haven’t lived up to their hype, struggling so far in 2023. The Reds will be without Hunter Greene for a little less than three weeks, where he will likely be missing two starts. Ashcraft looks to make his return this weekend.

But for now, the Reds are cruising with a young rotation full of players that haven’t proven themselves.

The most consistent starter has been Andrew Abbott, who has only started three times in the MLB. If the Reds want to win the NL Central, they’re going to need to make a move for starting pitching. Their rotation currently has Luke Weaver and Ben Lively in it, but these two cannot be on a postseason pitching rotation. They currently have one of the worst starting pitcher ERAs in the MLB.

There will be plenty of options for the Reds to improve on their starting pitching. A ton of pitchers will be made available before the deadline and the Reds will likely be one of the first teams to call about the players available. It’s an upgrade that needs to happen or else it will come back to bite the Reds.