For the large part of his minor league career, Daniel Wright has been used as a starting pitcher by the Cincinnati Reds. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2013 draft out of Arkansas State and in that first year the Reds used him out of the bullpen for the Billings Mustangs. In 42.2 innings he walked just five batters and had 43 strikeouts. The control that he showed stood out, and it’s stood out ever since.
In the 2014 season and the 2015 season, Daniel Wright was moved into the starting rotation and threw a combined 307.1 innings where he walked just 72 batters and had 271 strikeouts. That came between A, A+ and AA. When the 2016 season rolled around the Reds moved Wright into the bullpen in Double-A Pensacola.
The right hander would make three appearances in the first week out of the bullpen and threw 4.1 innings, allowing a run with a walk and three strikeouts. Then he would make two spot starts for the Blue Wahoos where he was dominant. Against Biloxi and Jackson he allowed three hits and two walks over 11.0 innings with 12 strikeouts.
At that point he transitioned back into the bullpen where he continued his dominance of the Southern League. In his next three appearances he threw 4.2 shutout innings with a walk and seven strikeouts. After those three appearances he was promoted to Triple-A Louisville to help fill out their rotation.
In his first start with the Triple-A squad he allowed two earned runs in 5.0 innings to go along with a walk and two strikeouts. Last night was the highlight of the season thus far for Wright. Taking on Scranton/Wilkes-Barre the Tennessee native was lights out against the RailRaiders. He was charged with an unearned run in a complete game where he allowed just three hits, walked no one and had eight strikeouts.
For the season, in 34.0 innings pitched, Wright has posted a 0.79 ERA with just 17 hits allowed, five total walks and he’s struck out 32 batters. That’s good for a WHIP of 0.65 in the early going as he’s split up his 2016 campaign between the bullpen and rotation.
With the Cincinnati bullpen in shambles right now and a large part of that reason, aside from the injuries to the rotation that has led to many pitchers being put in the bullpen that would otherwise be in the minor leagues, has been that hardly anyone in the bullpen can throw strikes on a consistent basis. The 11 pitchers that the Reds bullpen has used this season have walked 67 batters in 125.2 innings pitched, good for a walk rate of 4.8 batters per 9 innings pitched. That’s terrible for a single pitcher, much less for an entire bullpen.
There are only two, yes two pitchers out of those 11 who have posted a walk rate of under 4.0 batters per 9 innings pitched this season. Ross Ohlendorf and J.C. Ramirez. That’s it. Everyone else has walked a boatload of batters.
That brings us back to Daniel Wright. While he’s got way more experience as a starting pitcher, he’s shown success as a reliever this year and just as important, he’s a guy who pounds the strikezone. He’s not going to come out there and light up the radar gun like Blake Wood will, but he’s very likely to come out there and throw strikes every time you put him on the mound. In a season like the Reds are currently experiencing, it could be quite beneficial to put someone in there who can throw strikes. The right hander isn’t on the 40-man roster currently, but the team can make room for him if they would like to rather easily.