As reported at 9:30am this morning in the comments section by NC Pat, the Cincinnati Reds have called up Josh Smith.
Smith has been in the system since 2010 when he was drafted in the 21st round as a senior out of Lipscomb. He has a career ERA of 3.62 in the minor leagues, but 2014 was his worst season, posting a 4.70 ERA for Triple-A Louisville.
Smith did not get invited to big league spring traning, nor did he appear in a game in spring training for the Reds. He’s also not on the 40-man roster, so a move will be coming to make room for him.
It’s a strange move in the sense that he’s the first player called up despite not even being in big league camp, nor pitching yet in 2015. He was slated to pitch in the Louisville Bats rotation, but look for him in the bullpen for the Reds. He pitched out of the bullpen in 2010 and looked very good there, pitching in the 92-94 MPH range with a very good curveball, but his velocity hasn’t been there since moving into the rotation.
Scouting Report
Last season as as starter with the Bats, Smith was throwing a fastball, curveball, slider and a change up.
Fastball | As a starter he’s worked in the 89-91 MPH range with good control of the pitch, for the most part. He touches a little higher than that at times.
Curveball | The curveball is his best offering, coming in at 74-78 MPH with 12-6 breaking action and flashes itself as an above-average offering.
Slider | A harder breaking ball, Smith brings this pitch in the 81-84 MPH range and it’s more of an average offering.
Change Up | This is his worst offering of the bunch, coming in at the low 80’s and is a fringy pitch that is a clear 4th pitch.
Prior to 2014 he had always shown good control, but last season it got away from him at times and he saw his walk rate jump up. It wasn’t a case of better hitters laying off of pitches out of the zone, but more that he struggled more to find the zone.
If he can show the control he showed prior to the 2014 season, he’s got enough stuff to find some success against big leaguers, especially if he can pick up a tick or two on his fastball while pitching out of the bullpen.