On Monday night we got the schedule for the 2020 revised season. The Cincinnati Reds are starting out the year by hosting the Detroit Tigers. And for the 2020 season it’s the Tigers, not Cleveland, who is considered the Reds “rival”, which means that Cincinnati gets to play Detroit six times instead of Cleveland, who they will only play four times. In a shortened season where every game is that much more valuable, playing a team expected to be a bottom dweller instead of a team like Cleveland that’s expected to compete for the playoffs is huge.
That may be a part of the reason why the Reds are the National League Central favorites according to the PECOTA Projections over at Baseball Prospectus.