The Cincinnati Reds made a set of roster moves today, calling up right-handed reliever Jimmy Herget. To make room for him on the roster the team designated left-handed reliever Zach Duke for assignment.
For Jimmy Herget, whenever he takes the mound he will be making his Major League debut. The right-handed pitcher was added to the 40-man roster in the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft in December.
The 2019 season did not get out to a good start for Jimmy Herget. He was optioned back to Triple-A during mid-March after spending the first few weeks in spring training with the Major League team. After posting a 3.47 ERA in 59.2 innings for the Louisville Bats in 2018, and a 3.06 ERA in 32.1 innings for the Bats in the second half of 2017, part of a third year in Triple-A probably didn’t seem like it was an ideal situation. And in April, Herget really struggled for the Bats. His ERA was 5.68 in 11 games, and he walked more batters, 14, than he had innings pitched, 12.2. He did strike out 15 batters, and with everyone – including your grandmother – hitting home runs at a record pace, he only gave up 1 during the month.
But things turned around very quickly in May, and he hasn’t looked back since. In the 22 games since April ended, Jimmy Herget has thrown 25.0 innings, allowed 22 hits – including 4 home runs – , walked 10 batters and he has struck out 29. His ERA in that time is 2.52. That’s helped bring his ERA on the season down to 3.58.
He’s only pitched once in the last 10 days – throwing 1.2 shutout innings against Toledo on June 27th. Before that he last threw three times in a four day stretch from June 19th through the 22nd.
Jimmy Herget Scouting Report
What can we expect to see from Jimmy Herget when he goes out there and takes the mound? A lot, actually. He’s mostly a fastball/slider pitcher. But there’s a lot more to it than just that. His fastball will range anywhere from 91-96 MPH. But he will bring that fastball from multiple arm angles, ranging anywhere from nearly side-arm to more of a high 3/4 arm angle. His “normal” arm angle is a lower one, but he does mix things up. The slider works more low 80’s, and it’s an above-average offering with 2-plane breaking action. If he’s facing a left-handed hitter, a change up will show up at times – but it’s a below-average offering. Herget will also change up his timing to the plate.
He’s shown at times where he will pause in his action to the plate before coming home with the pitch. April aside, Jimmy Herget will generally throw strikes. His stuff won’t blow you away, but he does a little bit of everything else on top of having solid stuff.