Nick Rout, a left handed reliever, has been added to the Arizona Fall League by the Cincinnati Reds. The roster spot on the Peoria Javelinas was open for the taking because the Reds had originally had the spot lined up for right hander Daniel Wright. However, the team designated him for assignment to create a roster spot and he was claimed by the Los Angeles Angels and the organization lost him. The rest of the roster was announced just over two weeks ago and you can see who the Reds will send here.
This move actually happened on Friday, but it slipped through the cracks on my radar. Nick Routt turned 26-years-old just over two weeks ago and he is Rule 5 draft eligible this year if he goes unprotected. The lefty split his time between Double-A and Triple-A in 2016 with very different results.
In Double-A Pensacola the left handed reliever posted a 0.89 ERA in 33 appearances. That spanned a total of 50.1 innings where he walked 12 batters and had 46 strikeouts. Those numbers are outstanding and dominant.
With the Louisville Bats in Triple-A things were a bit rough as he posted a 5.00 ERA in 18.0 innings over 17 appearances. He also walked more batters (13) than he struck out (12). It was his final outing that really put a damper on the entire line. While hie strikeout to walk ratio wasn’t great over the first 16 games with eight walks and 12 strikeouts, his five walks without a strikeout in 1.2 innings really put that ratio on the wrong side. That led to his being sent back to Pensacola where he allowed just one run in the final 10 games of the season.
As a left handed reliever he certainly fits the easiest profile to hide on a big league roster. He dominated in Double-A and he’s got good enough stuff that a team in need of a LOOGY could take a look at him in the spring if he goes unprotected just to see what is there. The Reds may be anticipating this and are going to get one last look at him in the Arizona Fall League before deciding on whether or not to add him to the 40-man roster or not.