Johnny Cueto in 2014: Best Reds Pitcher Ever?

Chances are, Johnny Cueto just polished off what was the greatest single-season pitching performance in the history of Cincinnati Reds baseball.

There is no hyperbole in the above statement—the assertion is incredibly realistic.

To set the stage, we must first journey back to a dark and desolate time in Cincinnati Reds playoff history—2012. The Reds fell just a game short of having the best record in the regular season that year and came into the playoffs with a full head of steam. Due to the wacky Postseason scheduling, although they had the better record, the Reds played the first two games on the road in San Francisco (which they won), before returning home for the final three.

Until the time they slam closed my coffin and I can no longer profusely kick and scream, I will claim in 2012 that the Reds were the best team—and it wasn’t even close. That is, until Johnny Cueto went down.

Then in what could have been their redemption season in 2013, Cueto tossed all of 60.2 innings before being pummeled in the inaugural Wild Card playoff game last September.

After tying for the league lead in games started in 2012 with 33, Cueto had cratered down to 11. Not since 2010 had his ERA finished at anything above three, but there were legitimate concerns about Cueto and whether his Luis Tiant-like pitching motion was making him susceptible to injury at a higher rate than most pitchers.

Cueto answered any and all of those critics by tossing 243.2 innings in 2014—the most in the National League.

Where the line is crossed being dominant and legendary is deeper inside the numbers. Take a look at some of the incredible stats tweeted out by the @MLBStatOfTheDay account from Monday afternoon:

Determining who the “greatest” is at something so unique as flinging a white sphere towards home plate becomes almost impossible to decipher. In comparison to what pitchers of Reds past were doing, Cueto’s 243 innings tossed this season were what most had accumulated by July.

Let’s take a peak at some of the other candidates for this “greatest season ever” Reds debut. Warning: there is an extremely high chance you will mouth “Who?” when looking over some of these candidates.

1890 – Billy Rhines – 493 IP, 28-17, 1.95 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, .219 OAV

1923 – Dolf Luque – 339 IP, 27-8, 1.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .235 OAV

1939 Bucky Walters – 336 IP, 27-11, 2.29 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .220 OAV

1902 Noodles Hahn – 372 IP, 23-12, 1.77 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, .236 OAV

1907 Bob Ewing – 353 IP, 17-19, 1.73 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, .231 OAV

1919 Dutch Reuther – 281 IP, 19-6, 1.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .223 OAV

1909 Art Fromme – 296 IP, 19-13, 1.90 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, .201 OAV

1977 Tom Seaver – 262 IP, 21-6, 2.58 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, .209 OAV

2014 Johnny Cueto – 243 IP, 20-9, 2.25 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, .194 OAV

Of course, there are is a vast majority of more in-depth sabermetrics we could dive into if we wanted to treat this code as if it were the Da Vinci, but for now, settling for healthy banter will have to do the trick.

From quick glance at the list provided above, two conclusions can be ascertained: 1.) amongst the elite of the elite seasons in Cincinnati Reds pitching history, no pitcher has ever had as low of a WHIP and as low of a batting average against as Johnny Cueto, and 2.) Cueto’s innings are the lowest for any pitcher on that list.

Outside of Tom Seaver in 1977, and maybe, maybe, Bucky Walters in 1939, there is a good chance no one reading this article was alive to see that specific pitcher take the mound. Having charted and devotedly followed Cueto throughout 2014, I can say without an ounce of wavering confidence, he was not reaching his limit. If the Reds had made it all the way to the World Series, there would be a solid chance Cueto would have approached the 300-inning mark in a single season.

In terms of single season WAR in Reds history, Cueto does not even crack the top-10. The list is populated by pitchers whose seasons took place prior to World War II (sans Jose Rijo in 1993).

While Cueto did lead all of Major League Baseball in the fewest H/9 IP with 6.2 (even beating out Clayton Kershaw who just had one of the greatest seasons for any pitcher ever), it is just fifth on the all-time single season sheet for the Reds. A spot ahead of him in fourth place? Tony Cingrani from 2013.

His total strikeouts are fifth. His K/BB ratio is tenth. His adjusted ERA is ninth. His Base-Out Runs Saved (RE24) is fifth. His Win Probability Added (WPA) is third. His Sit. Wins Saved (WPA/LI) is third. His Base-Out Wins Saved (REW) is tied for second.

While it would make for great fodder to claim that one pitcher had a greater season than the other, it may not be an accurate statement. This much is for sure: no Cincinnati Reds pitcher since Tom Seaver in 1977 has been this dominant. For back when the balls were compromised with anything and everything hurlers could get their hands on, those statistics will forever be skewed.

In the modern-era, no pitcher who has worn a red and white Cincinnati Reds uniform has ever been better than Johnny Cueto in 2014.