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Right as the 2012 season was about to begin, the Reds successfully locked up their MVP 1B, Joey Votto, to a 10-year, $225M extension that will pretty much guarantee that Votto will remain with the Reds until he's 40. Votto made it a point this season to not let anyone regret such a mammoth commitment, and up until his injury, was absolutely killing the baseball. Check out Votto's line from this season:
Those numbers are superstar numbers. Those are MVP numbers. In fact, Votto's 36 doubles are leading the NL. His 66 walks, .465 OBP, and 1.069 OPS are also best in the NL. Votto hasn't played since 7/15 after undergoing knee surgery to repair torn cartilage. In his last game before the surgery, Votto went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double.
In his absence, Todd Frazier and Miguel Cairo have taken over 1B duties, and haven't been doing a very good job of it.
That said, the rest of the team has definitely been picking up the slack. Despite Frazier's poor batting numbers while playing 1B, over the past 30 days, Frazier, along with Brandon Phillips, Ryan Ludwick, and Chris Heisey have all been doing a fine job, each posting a wRC+ over 130 (meaning they have been at least 30% above league average during that timespan, with a 100 wRC+ being league average). Phillips, over that timeframe, has been batting nearly .340 while Ryan Ludwick has crushed 6 bombs.
Much as I would like to keep praising the Reds' offense and drooling over Joey Votto (I mean really, isn't this how we all felt when Todd Helton was in his mid-to-late 20s?), I would be remiss if I didn't speak about how much the Reds' pitching staff has done their part over the past month.
Fun fact #1: No member of the Reds pitching staff has an ERA above 4.00 in the past 30 days.
Fun fact #2: Only 2 members of the Reds staff have a FIP over 4.00, and only 3 above 3.50.
Fun fact #3: Reds starters are averaging at LEAST 6 innings a start.
Fun fact #4: This guy
90 strikeouts in 48 innings is just stupidly good. Over the past 30 days? 13 games, 12 innings, 11 saves, 0 runs, 3 walks, 29 punchouts. That's a strikeout rate of 21.16 per 9 innings. Those numbers aren't even real. The man has a FIP of nearly -1. Yes, negative 1. Let's hope Colorado can turn the fortunes of the rotation around so we don't have to see Chapman at any point where it might count.
Expected Pitching Matchups
Friday, July 27, 6:40PM MT
Bronson Arroyo vs Drew Pomeranz
Saturday, July 28, 6:10PM MT
Johnny Cueto vs Christian Friedrich
Sunday, July 29, 1:10PM MT
Mat Latos vs Jonathan Sanchez