The Cincinnati Reds finished the first half of the 2011 season with a 45-47 record which has them in fourth place in the N.L. Central, 4 games behind the Cardinals & Brewers. The Reds are also 9 games behind the Braves in the Wild Card race in the N.L. The Reds will likely be buyers at the trade deadline as long as they don’t fall much further behind the teams that are currently ahead of them. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact in the first half of 2011 for the Reds:

Team MVP: I could have went with 1B Joey Votto hear but I’m picking 24-year old lefty swinging RF Jay Bruce instead. Bruce has played in 88 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 90 for 336 (.268 avg, .852 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 21 homers, 57 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Reds need Bruce to have a big second half if they are going to make a playoff run in 2011.

Biggest Surprise: 25-year old righty starting pitcher Johnny Cueto has a new Luis Tiant-like delivery and batters just can’t seem to pick up the baseball. Cueto has pitched in 12 games (all starts) for the Reds so far this year and he is 5-3 with a 1.96 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has only given up 57 hits in his first 82 2/3 innings so far this year as he has been dominating. The Reds hope that Cueto can stay healthy in the second half because he’s unhittable right now.

Biggest Disappointment: 27-year old righty starting pitcher Edison Volquez has been awful for the Reds so far this year. He has started 16 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 5-4 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He has given up 15 homers so far this year and he has also walked 55 batters in his first 85 innings this year and that is a bad combination. Volquez still has 85 whiffs though, so the stuff is there. He is trying to work things out in AAA right now.

The Reds rushed out of the gate by sweeping the Brewers last weekend. They outscored them 23-11 as the Reds hit .350 as a team with a 1.053 OPS against the allegedly improved pitching of the Brewers. The pitching was pretty solid for the Reds too. A lot of “experts” felt that the Reds were a mirage in 2010, but after watching them last weekend….I think they are more than capable of defending their division crown of 2010.

The Reds are 49-41 on the season which has them in first place in the N.L. Central, 1 game ahead of the Cardinals. The Reds have had a lot of surprises and a couple disappointments this year and here’s a closer look at them:

Pleasant Surprises: 35-year old Scott Rolen’s power has finally appeared to come all of the way back. He has played in 79 games for the Reds this year and he is 82 of 283 (.290 avg, .909 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 17 homers and 57 RBIs. 29-year old Jonny Gomes has pretty much pushed himself into a full time starting job in the outfield. He has played in 83 games for the Reds this year and he is 77 of 278 (.277 avg, .801 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 11 homers and 60 RBIs. 22-year old righty starting pitcher Mike Leake decided he didn’t need any stinking time in the minors. He made his professional baseball debut with the Cincinnati Reds this year. He has started 17 games for the Reds this year and he is 6-1 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. 40-year old lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes made his first All-Star Game at the age of 40. He earned it by pitching in 41 games (0 starts) in the first half of the season for the Reds and he is 3-3 with a 1.54 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP.

Disappointments: 34-year old catcher Ramon Hernandez was brought back over the winter to provide some power for the Reds. He has played in 57 games for the Reds this year and he is 52 of 181 (.287 avg, .768 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers and 23 RBIs. 32-year old righty starting pitcher Aaron Harang continues his recent slide of the last couple of years. Harang has started 17 games for the Reds this year and he is 6-7 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. 28-year old righty reliever Nick Masset was outstanding in 2009 for the Reds but not so much in 2010. Masset has pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Reds this season and he is 3-3 with 1 save, a 5.26 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP.

The Cincinnati Reds have lost 5 games in a row dropping them to 5-8 on the season which has them in fifth place in the N.L. Central, 3.5 games behind the Cardinals. The Reds have been outscored 69-53 this season as they aren’t hitting or pitching well right now. Maybe they will be able to turn things around this week as they played six home games, three against the Dodgers and three against the Padres.

The Reds are off to a decent start as they are 3-3 on the season despite being outscored 27-22 so far this year. The Reds are only hitting .230 with a .650 OPS so far this season and that just won’t get the job done. They are wasting some really good starting pitching because they aren’t hitting. The Reds travel to Florida (4 games) and Pittsburgh (3 games) this week so maybe they can get the bats going as neither of those teams have a pitching staff that scares anyone.