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Wednesday, June.26th, 2013

Joey Votto might not be hitting with the same kind of authority as a few years back, however he still has a 3 Slash of .325/.439/.963 – with 14 HRs and 38 RBI,  The Canadian 1B is also on pace for a Career High in Hits (probably near 200 Hits.)

Richie Devotie (Guest Baseball Writer): Follow @MrBaseballMan

Well it’s that time of year again, we are almost to the all star break of 2013 ( My How time fly’s by when you’re having fun ). I am going to take a look at the Reds on what they have have done in first half of ’13.

Jay Bruce has been on fire since his twitter rant. Is the last 29 games he has played., Bruce is batting .292 with – 11 Homeruns and 23 knocked in. This just might be on of, his best ever hot streaks.  In  a 7 Game Stretch last week, he had 7 Tater Trots!

Center Fielder Shin-Soo Choo has cooled down a lot in June, but still has a OBP of .421 – and Leads the majors with 20 HBP ( Hit by Pitches ).  Choo is 4 short of a club record held by C Jason LaRue ( 24 HBP ). I don’t think he will approach the NL Single Season Record of 50 (set by Ron Hunt of the Expos in 1971), however it is still an astounding feat – and a tough way to make it aboard base.

@DatDudeBP is having a great year with 11 HRS and 60 RBI – including having all 6 RBI in a game recently for the REDS – which was a 1st time that a Cincy player has driven in all 6 runs since Johnny Bench in 1974.  Will the voters see to not only elect him to the Second Base Position for the All – Star Game – but also to receive some serious consideration amongst fellow NL MVP Candidates.  Many Reds feel he is our modern ERA version of  Barry Larkin.

Joey Votto has not been driving runs a ton, the first half of 2013 but he has been drawing walks, he leads the majors with 59.

The Reds 1st baseman also an 3 slash line of .325/.439/.963.

The Reds second Baseman ( on Paternity leave ) has been the club’s first half MVP Batting .265 – with 11 round trippers and 60 knocked in.

The club did however,  place Brandon Phillips on the Paternity List, they expect him to back Friday vs Texas.

Entering play on 6/25, the Reds have a record of 12-20 vs teams above .500 – and a record of 32-13 vs teams below .500. The Reds are going to have to get better vs .500 if they want to see October for a 2nd straight year.

Reds have 11 Games left before the All Star break.

1 at Oakland who is 45-34.

3 at Texas ( 1st place AL West ).

4 vs Giants (Last Years World Champs) at Great American Ball Park ( Reds have 26-14 Home record ).

3 vs The Seattle Mariners ( 34-44 ).

Reds Should/Could Be ALL STAR’S

Joey Votto who is the best hitter in the National League I think get’s my vote at first, although it was tough not voting for Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks.

2B Brandon Phillips is in the lead for the NL and for Good reason. The guy should have had a Gold Glove last year.

Jay Bruce also got my Vote in RF.

Mat Latos also got my vote as a pitcher. The guy has been the victim of 5 blown saves this year, from a bullpen that has had some bad meltdowns.

NEWS AND NOTES

Reds placed 2B Brandon Phillips on Paternity list, Recalled INF Henry Rodriguez from AAA ( Louisville ).

OF Chris Heisey Off the DL.

Option OF Donald Lutz to AA ( Pensacola ).

The Reds are were amongst the early favorites with Bookmakers for winning the World Series in 2013. They will look for their 1st title since 1990 this season. To do this, they must fight with the hard NL Central Rivals. All 3 teams are on pace for over 90 Wins. Heading into play Tuesday, Cincinnati was in 3rd place, 1.5 Games Behind the Pirates for 2nd and 2.5 Games behind St. Louis for the Division. They still hold the 2nd Wild Card Slot.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

A big thank-you goes out to Guest Baseball Writer Richie Devotie. Richie grew up in Southwest Ohio and is a Cincinnati Reds fan. He has been involved with baseball since hewas 10 years old, and now is 25.

Richie loves crunching baseball numbers.  Being a Reds fan the last few years has been very good to him as they are amongst the World Series Favorites for the 2013 Year – after winning 2 Divisions in the last 3 years in the NL Central. You can follow Richie on twitter  Follow @MrBaseballman

Please e-mail me at: mlbreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

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