NL Wild Card: Cincinnati Reds over San Francisco Giants
This is absurd, seeing as that the Reds are very openly rebuilding.
Probably a little, and it's asking for a miracle, but the talent is still there even if aging. They'd need huge rebounds from Votto and Bruce and to an extent Phillips. Byrd is a major weakness by it'd be sick if he could repeat 2013. That came out of nowhere. And Hamilton is my favorite National League player. I really can't wait to see what he can do.
As far as pitching, I really like the top 4. Cueto is a great ace. Cingrani still has incredible potential. Leake entering what should be his prime. And their #5 went to a rival HS, so I'll step over biases there.
Injuries, both new and lagging, could definitely prevent this team from reaching its potential, but I like what they have. Votto is only 31 and in better shape than Ryan Howard. Phillips is still quite good defensively even if he does not much better than Utley. I see parallels to the Phillies, but I like to believe the role players are better and they will outlast a tough division without injuries. Perhaps wishful thinking.
