Yesterday the Cincinnati Reds made several roster moves at the Double-A level. Kyle Skipworth was activated off of the disabled list and LHP Joel Bender was sent to Daytona. The third move was that RHP Barrett Astin was promoted from Daytona up to Pensacola.
Astin was brought over to the Reds from the Milwaukee Brewers in the trade of Jonathan Broxton last year. The former 3rd round draft pick has been outstanding for the Tortugas this season. He’s made 11 starts and five relief appearances, though his last nine games have all been as a starter.
The 23-year-old posted a 2.29 ERA in the Florida State League over 74.2 innings pitched, he didn’t allow a home run and walked just 18 batters. He also struck out 61 batters, boosting his strikeout rate significantly versus where it was last season in the Midwest League with the Brewers organization.
He’s been an extreme groundball pitcher so far, posting a groundball rate of 63% this season. That’s up from the 2014 season when it was still a rather high rate when it was 56% with the Timber Rattlers. Lots of groundballs and throwing strikes tends to be a good combination and for now, it’s one that Astin has shown the ability to do quite well.
Who takes over his spot in the Daytona rotation isn’t know at this point. Nick Routt, who has made two starts this season for the Tortugas, is scheduled to pitch this time through the rotation. Whether that is a permanent move or if someone will be joining the team (say, Jonathon Crawford) or if someone will be called up from Dayton.