The Cincinnati Reds have optioned left handed pitcher Cody Reed to Louisville. The top prospect has had big time struggles transitioning to the Major League level. After last night his ERA in the big leagues stands at 7.36 through 10 starts and 47.2 innings pitched.
He’s been absolutely killed by the home run as he’s allowed 12 of them on the season. He’s got the highest home run per fly ball rate in the Major Leagues, at 28%. His batting average on balls in play has also been very high, sitting at .362 on the season, which ranks 12th highest in baseball (of 303 players with at least 40 innings).
As long as the Reds bring Cody Reed back to the Major Leagues within 19 days then they won’t burn an option by sending him down, which would leave them with three usable option years moving forward. That amount of time should get Reed three or four starts with the Bats before the team would need to call him back up.
Command within the strikezone is going to be key for Reed. He’s missed in the strikezone often in his time in the big leagues, particularly up in the zone with his fastball. Throwing more strikes in general could also be an emphasis as his walk rate was a bit high in his time with the Reds.
The team will replace Reed on the roster, at least for the time being, with outfielder Kyle Waldrop. The Reds called him up in the middle of July, after hitting .356/.408/.533 in the first two weeks for Louisville. He then got four at-bats in two weeks with the Reds, before going back to Triple-A. Since his return he’s struggled, hitting .191/.219/.235 with the Bats in 18 games.
Who steps in to fill the rotation spot for Reed the next time it opens up is unknown. Alfredo Simon is on the same schedule and has been rehabbing with the Bats, but isn’t stretched out at this point. Tim Adleman has pitched well in Louisville of late, allowing just two runs in his last four starts combined. Robert Stephenson has also pitched better of late, walking just four batters in his last three starts (though he did walk six in the start prior to that). The team would have to alter the usage between starts for each of those guys to have them step in though. Daniel Wright followed Alfredo Simon in the game for Louisville yesterday, so he may be another option to step in for the short-term. Perhaps they just let Keyvius Sampson step into the spot for the short-term.