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    Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo shines in 2022 spring debut

    Doug Gray 7

    Friday afternoon the Cincinnati Reds kicked off their spring training schedule and they sent 2019 1st round pick Nick Lodolo to the mound and he did not disappoint. After missing about half of a season with two different issues last year (blister issues early/midseason, shoulder strain in the final month), a healthy Lodolo arrived in Goodyear a little over a month ago for early minor league camp. Unliked players locked out from the 40-man roster, the lefty was free to head to the complex and start preparing for the season. He pitched on Friday like he had been pitching for the last month because he embarrassed the Cleveland Guardians lineup.

    In the first inning the tall left-handed starter picked up one strikeout and got ground outs to shortstop Kyle Farmer and third baseman Alejo Lopez while throwing just nine pitches – six strikes and three balls. The next inning saw Lodolo strike out the side on 17 pitches. That completed his outing as he tossed 2.0 perfect innings with four strikeouts.

    How did the other prospects perform?

    Let’s move to the offense for a bit. The Reds only scored two runs and had just five hits on the day, but some of those hits were from prospects. Allan Cerda came on late in the game and pinch hit for Tyler Stephenson in the designated hitter spot and he picked up a single in his lone at-bat. Lorenzo Cedrola took over in left field for TJ Friedl and went 1-2 with a single.

    Back on the mound, when Nick Lodolo’s day was finished he handed the ball over to Brandon Williamson. He was making his Reds organizational debut after just joining the organization earlier in the week when he was traded to Cincinnati from Seattle. He allowed a run in 1.2 innings while walking two and striking out two.

    Reds pick up additional 2022 Draft Pick

    On Friday night the Reds picked up an additional 1st round draft pick when Nick Castellanos signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Since Cincinnati offered Castellanos a qualifying offer and he declined and then signed a contract for more than $50M the Reds pick up a pick following the 1st round, but before the competitive balance round that precedes the start of the 2nd round.

    2022 Draft will take place during All-Star Weekend

    Speaking of the draft, Major League Baseball announced that the draft will once again take place during All-Star weekend. This year that means July 17th-19th.

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    7 Responses

    2. We have 4 of the top 72 draft picks…not bad. Wish we would tanked a year earlier though. Druw Jones is a once in a decade type of talent. Orioles are going to be very good in. few years with him and already the #1 farm system in the MLB

      1. We’ll find out. There’s an old saying about counting your chickens before they hatch that feels like it applies here.

      2. Better to have a good farm system than a bad one. Still, it’s winning games at the MLB level that counts most. We’ve been hearing forever about the quality of the Red’s prospects and thus far there’s nothing to show for it.

        1. Nothing at all to show for the farm? Joey Votto? Jonathan India? Tyler Stephenson? Tyler Mahle? Tejay Antone? Nick Senzel? Vladimir Gutierrez? Tony Santillan? I’ll add Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Graham Ashcraft to the list.

        2. Sorry Alex Reds, you’re pointing to a few players that have had good seasons, including some that haven’t made it to the majors yet vs. a host of developed farm talent that has led to playoff victories and winning seasons.

        3. The Reds have had back to back winning seasons. That’s impressive for a small market club. Maybe you are putting your anger at the wrong place. Don’t hate the Reds that the MLB is structured so that the big markets get the most money and a huge payroll that dwarfs and is multiple times that of other teams and makes it very difficult for small market teams to compete.
          The Reds are definitely doing the right thing. They had no chance to win a lot more without a huge infusion of money. Bob’s not rich enough to do that. It’s smart that the Reds sold off when they did. All Reds fans complained that the Reds didn’t do a rebuild earlier and got a weak return for Cueto, Chapman, and Bruce. You can’t have it both ways when they get multiple top 150 prospects and free up payroll for future years. The payroll they have in future years could buy three to four Nick Castellanos in just a couple years, and possibly more. Instead of 2 more average years then a 4 year rebuild (6 total years), we are looking at a 2-3 year rebuild. It’s still a question of how well they will do. But, let’s not judge before they get a chance to prove it worked. If you want, you can be a bandwagon fan and we will see you in three years. The Reds have a loaded farm that will continue to stack up. The question becomes how well they develop these players, and how well they use their excess payroll in future years. I don’t think Minor was a great move to start to use payroll this year, but we will see. The Reds turned Sonny Gray around. If Minor does better or back to good again, he will be worth a prospect at the deadline. It will also take some innings off the prospects.

    3. Nice glad get that Extra Pick.
      Keep stacking talent.
      Along for trades when Might have to make those as well.

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