25-year old righty swinging CF Drew Stubbs has really put a good year in for the Reds in 2010. Stubbs has played in 146 games so far this year for the Reds and he is 126 of 502 (.251 avg, .758 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 21 homers, 73 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. Stubbs has whiffed 165 times this year and the Reds hope he cuts down on them in the future so that he can get his batting average up a bit. But to me, Stubbs looks like he will be a 30/30 man in the very near future, possibly in 2011.

If I had a vote for the MVP Award in the N.L. I would cast it for 27-year old lefty swinging 1B Joey Votto. Votto has played in 147 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 175 of 539 (.325 avg, 1.027 OPS) with 104 runs scored, 34 homers, 111 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He also leads the major leagues with a .425 on-base percentage. The Reds wouldn’t be a playoff team without Joey Votto, period. Votto has his head back together after off-field issues the last couple of years and he is living up to his amazing potential right now.

24-year old righty starting pitcher Johnny Cueto has had good first halves in all three of his years with the Reds but this if the first time he has finished strongly. He has started 29 games for the Reds this year and he is 12-5 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has improved his ERA and WHIP in each of his three years in the majors and if that continues in 2011 he will be one of the best pitchers in the N.L. Cueto has now started 90 games in his first three years with the Reds and he is 32-30 with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The sky is the limit for Cueto.

22-year old lefty reliever Aroldis Chapman is making major league hitters look bad against him so far. Chapman has pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Reds this year and he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. He has only allowed 4 hits in 7 2/3 innings while whiffing 11 so far as he has been throwing seeds up to the plate. The best thing though about Chapman so far is that he has only walked 2 batters as control was an issue for him in AAA-ball this year. The sky is the limit for Chapman and his consistently 100+ mph fastball.

The Reds have designated 24-year old righty reliever Enerio Del Rosario for assignment to make room on the roster for Willie Bloomquist. Del Rosario pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Reds this year and he was 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. He also pitched in 50 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 4-4 with 4 saves, a 3.09 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. I have a feeling that the Reds want to keep Del Rosario if he can clear waivers but some team might claim him.

UPDATE: (9/16/2010) - The Reds have dealt Enerio Del Rosario to the Astros for cash considerations.