The Cincinnati Reds have promoted right handed pitcher Robert Stephenson to Triple-A Louisville after spending the 14 starts of the 2015 season with the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
Stephenson, the Reds #1 prospect, had posted an ERA of 3.68 on the season with Pensacola. He had allowed just 53 hits in 78.1 innings to go along with 89 strikeouts and 43 walks. Since May 6th, a span of 10 starts, the right hander posted a 2.36 ERA with a .166 batting average against.
The real big run spans back six starts for Stephenson where he’s thrown 39.0 innings with a 2.08 ERA, a WHIP of 0.87 and 43 strikeouts with 14 walks. He’s improved his control over the course of the season, though he did have some struggles at times earlier in the year.
In total, the 2011 1st round draft pick made 45 starts at the Double-A level with the Blue Wahoos between late 2013, 2014 and the first half of the 2015 season. The 2015 season was easily his best of the three and while his overall numbers aren’t overly impressive, his early struggles hide what he did down the stretch.
He will join a Louisville Bats rotation that only has two of the starters that began the year with them as injuries with the Cincinnati Reds have led to more than a few call ups. He will be the youngest player on the team when he’s officially added to the roster.
2015 Stats
| ERA | IP | H | HR | BB | K | WHIP |
| 3.68 | 78.1 | 53 | 8 | 43 | 89 | 1.23 |