It looks a lot like the one we saw not too long ago in Pensacola.
Four of the five starters have played for the Blue Wahoos. The fifth, veteran Homer Bailey, spent some rehab time with the Double-A affiliate, so I guess he is sort of a former Blue Wahoo.
Luis Castillo, Sal Romano and Amir Garrett are the guys I’m talking about.
The case could be made that Castillo should be the ace of the Reds’ staff. But his lack of Major League experience, and Bailey’s contract, is holding him back.
Not that it matters. The end goal is to win games and Castillo will do that. He went 4-4 while in Pensacola last year and then got called to the Reds to finish out the season. He won three games with the Reds.
Romano spent parts of the 2015 and 2016 seasons in Pensacola before getting the call to Cincinnati in 2017. He is a gamer and his toughness will serve him well.
Tyler Mahle will be one to watch, too, and big things are expected of him.
He really felt that last season he should have been a starter in Cincinnati, and you could almost sense that he had a chip on his shoulder because he started the year in the minors.
Mahle went 7-3 with the Blue Wahoos in 2017 and threw a perfect game against Mobile last season. He also threw a no-hitter in High-A Daytona in 2016.
Mahle ended up getting his MLB opportunity, appearing in four games for the Reds near the end of the 2017 season. He fashioned a 1-2 record in that time.
Now, with a rotation spot, this is his chance to prove he has what it takes to be a great at this level. The Reds need him to be great if they are going to be successful and judging by what I saw from Mahle last season, I think he’ll be just fine. He may go through some growing pains, but ultimately he’ll live up to his expectations.
The one pitcher I’m most interested in going into the 2018 season is Amir Garrett. He is the fifth man in the rotation, at least until Brandon Finnegan gets healthy. Garrett played in Pensacola part of 2016 before jumping up to Louisville. Last season, he started the year with the Reds and he made his presence felt right away, winning a game on the road against St. Louis. It was the first of three wins in his first five starts. That prompted me to begin the #FEARAMIR campaign on Twitter.
Then something went wrong. Garrett never won again in Cincinnati in 2017. He was demoted to Louisville in June before getting brought back up in September.
Garrett used to play college basketball at St. John’s, so he’s athletic. He also has a ton of confidence. If he can find his golden touch again, the #FEARAMIR campaign will be revived.
Not much is expected of Cincinnati this season. The Reds are still in rebuild mode. But this young cast of pitchers gives the Reds hope, and perhaps at some point, a World Series championship.
