It may be hard to focus on the day-to-day action of a team that currently sits in the basement of the National League with a record of 24-39, especially when the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals, and the MLB Draft coincide with each other throughout the week. However, this week, the Reds turned in a record of 3-3, losing the series 1-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals before taking two out of three games from the visiting Oakland Athletics. The Reds Week 10 Review examines the looming changes to the Cincinnati rotation and bullpen, as well as the several Redlegs who have turned in fantastic performances and exponential improvement in the past six games.
Raisel Iglesias will Relieve Reds in Relief: Reds Week 10 Review
There are two pieces of news hanging their head over Reds action this week. First off, it was announced that when Raisel Iglesias makes his return, possibly at the end of June, he will return to the struggling bullpen as opposed to the spot where Iglesias left off as the Reds’ number one starter. With a total team ERA of 5.49 on the season and the most prevalent relievers (Ross Ohlendorf, Blake Wood, and Tony Cingrani) posting ERA figures of 4.23, 3.73, and 4.08, it is safe to consider Iglesias the front runner for the closer role once he returns from the DL. With Cingrani being the team leader in saves (six) and holds (seven) while still struggling to find consistent and steady success in relief, Iglesias will be thrown into high-leverage relief situations as soon as Bryan Price is comfortable putting him back on the mound.
In a second nugget of news, when C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer recently asked if Daniel Wright would be making additional starts, Price alluded to a complete rotation overhaul in the form of calling up Robert Stephenson and Cody Reed. Anthony DeSclafani made his anticipated return to the Reds rotation this week and tossed six innings while allowing just one earned run. When DeSclafani came off of the DL, he replaced Alfredo Simon, who was struggling severely this season as a starter with a 9.11 ERA and 1.97 WHIP.
With pitchers on the Cincinnati staff such as Jon Moscot, Wright, J.C. Ramirez, A.J. Morris, and John Lamb producing ERA numbers as ghastly as 8.02, 7.20, 7.04, 6.23, and 5.14; it is hard to imagine both Stephenson and Reed, who are both pitching well at Triple-A Louisville with ERAs of 3.29 and 3.38, respectively, not finding a place in either the Reds rotation or a high-leverage role in the bullpen.
Billy Hamilton was, unfortunately, occupied on the seven-day concussion DL this week, so the outfield was manned by players like Tyler Holt and prospect Kyle Waldrop. While Adam Duvall has struggled in the past week with just one home run and a .240 average, Brandon Phillips brought a thirteen-game hit streak to an end against the A’s, concluding a stretch that started on May 25, in which Phillips improved his average from .241 to .263. Jay Bruce has also hit a bit of a blip in the last week by hitting just one home run and batting .190. With Phillips and Bruce still major potential trade pieces for the July 31 deadline, their continued success and appeal is instrumental to the Reds adding in a significant way to their growing farm system.
Joey Votto has allowed Reds fans to breathe a little easier of late. He has busted out of his early season slump by batting .333, hitting a home run, and stealing his fourth base of the season in the last week. He improved his average from .221 to .231. Votto’s home run on Tuesday against the Cardinals was a dramatic walk-off homer to give Cincinnati a 7-6 victory.
Bottom line: The Reds bullpen has been consistently looking better, at least better than the horrid start it got off to in 2016, and it will soon get a fresh breath of life in the form of Iglesias. With DeSclafani looking as good as new and the prospect of Stephenson and Reed joining him in the rotation, there is plenty of learning and development to look forward to as the season progresses. While Votto attempts to make good on his hefty contract, Bruce and Phillips continue to add to their asking price, and the young core of offensive players like Eugenio Suarez and Duvall work out the kinks of MLB regular season play, the upside for the rest of 2016 looks high, as there is only improvement to be made.
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