NEWSLETTER
The NL-Central-favorite Cincinnati Reds don’t face the Cubs in the regular season until July 27, the second series of the year, but they’re getting waaaaay out ahead of things and already announcing their rotation for that series.
Per multiple reports, the Reds will line up against the Cubs with Wade Miley, Anthony DeSclafani, Sonny Gray, and Luis Castillo. The one starter the Cubs miss is Trevor Bauer. Given their past success, that’s a bummer.
As for the other starters, obviously Castillo is the beast of the staff, with Gray dominating in 2019, his first year with the Reds. Those two are just excellent. Desclafani is quietly very solid (his ERA was 14% better than league average last year), and Miley has been excellent since discovering his new cutter a couple years ago with the Brewers. It’s just a really good rotation.
As for the Cubs, I wouldn’t expect them to reveal their rotation just yet. They open with three against the Brewers, and you can safely assume that trio will include Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks, and Jon Lester in some order. That will mean that, assuming health, Tyler Chatwood and Alec Mills would face the Reds, and likely Darvish and Hendricks. Might not be the worst approach, since the Reds have at least a couple key guys who absolutely obliterate lefties (Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suarez), though they do also have the ability to stack the lineup with lefties.
Hey, look at me. Getting way too far ahead of myself on the nittiest gritty.
