Before the eventual postponement of Thursday’s contest between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians which was set to take place at Progressive Field, the Reds held a record of 3-3 since last Friday. That came in a series against the Indians and one against the Colorado Rockies. In that period of time the Reds saw a few players in particular catch fire on offense, young starter Amir Garrett get sidelined by injury amidst his recent struggles, and Joey Votto create yet another perplexing moment via fan interaction. It is all just business as usual for the Cincinnati Reds Weekly Review.
Cincinnati Reds Weekly Review: Week 8
Pitching
It was a good week at the plate for a few Reds young guns and seasoned staples alike. That can’t exactly be said about the team’s performance on the mound though. The team’s total ERA of 4.70 for 2017 ranks 24th in the MLB while their 6.30 ERA in the past week was the worst mark in all of baseball.
The reliable personnel from the bullpen have been Raisel Iglesias, Drew Storen, Wandy Peralta, Michael Lorenzen, and Blake Wood who have ERA’s ranging from 0.73 to 3.57. The only starter putting up a consistent fight is Scott Feldman with a 3.99 ERA. The rest of the rotation is either fighting an injury or putting up an ERA of 6.00 or higher. However, the recent performances of 24-year-old Austin Brice and 28-year-old resurgent Asher Wojciechowski have looked more than promising.
Offense
The last week though, belonged to the bats…and the feet. Aside from his phenomenal play during Wednesday’s game in which he scored from first on a Zack Cozart single, Billy Hamilton stole three bases in four attempts to contribute to his league-leading 23 stolen bases. His success rate on steals is 89% on the year. Eugenio Suarez and Scott Schebler each popped three home runs with slash lines of .364/.444/.864 and .286/.333/.714. Club vets Votto and Devin Mesoraco also had solid weeks respectively with a home run each and OPS’s of 1.125 and 1.015.
Note for later
In the current 2017 season, Votto has hit 12 homers and a 17.2% walk rate with a slash of .299/.422/.591.
So about Votto
On Monday, Votto once again contributed to his ever growing fan-unfriendly approach that has seemed to actually turn a large amount of public sentiment in favor of within the past year or so. A Cleveland Indians fan busted out with, “I remember when you used to be good.” and Votto retorted with, “I remember when you used to be thin.”
It seems like an odd interaction to be stapled across the sporting world’s news, but Votto’s dry-renegade persona that he has either taken on or finally grown comfortable enough to deploy is making him one of the more infamous players who all the home fans love and the opposing fans can’t stomach.
Amir Garrett Injury News
Young lefty Garrett has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with hip inflammation. This comes after yet another tough start for the promising former college basketball player. In eight starts this season he has a rough 6.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and is allowing an unsightly 2.4 HR/9.
The Reds responded to the disabled list placement by claiming 27-year old RHP Jake Buchanan out of the Chicago Cubs bullpen. They made room for him on the big league club by designating power-hitting prospect Peter O’Brien to Triple-A Louisville.
Buchanan has thrown 50.1 innings of relief for the Cubbies and Houston Astros since 2014 and holds a career 3.75 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. However, his yearly ERA and WHIP have improved each season from 4.58/1.50, 2.00/1.00, to 1.50/.67.
Looking Forward
Until next Friday, the Reds will be facing the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays, both outside of Great American Ballpark. Follow the Reds as the following week goes along at the LWOS Cincinnati Reds Twitter page, follow the LWOS Reds Instagram account for additional content, and be here next week to catch up on all Redlegs action.
