Cincinnati Reds Call Up David Holmberg, Keyvius Sampson

The Cincinnati Reds have announced more roster moves, as they’ve called up pitcher David Holmberg to start tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and optioned catcher Kyle Skipworth back to Double-A Pensacola. Meanwhile, pitcher Nathan Adcock has been placed on the disabled list with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and pitcher Keyvius Sampson has been promoted.

Holmberg is 7-6 with a 4.40 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in Triple-A Louisville this season. The lefty has also struck out 61 (5.1 K/9) and walked 38 (3.2 BB/9) in 108.1 innings. As you might expect, given the low strikeout rate, he’s allowed a ton of hits (129) and has been taken deep 13 times.

More from Blog Red Machine

• Reds vs. White Sox: Pitching preview, prediction, and more
• Reds: Reiver Sanmartin adds another twist to offseason roster construction
• Reds: Signing Tyler Mahle to a contract extension should be a top priority
• Reds: Reiver Sanmartin should get first major league start vs Pirates
• Reds should unquestionably bring Wade Miley back in 2022

While his overall numbers aren’t great, Holmberg has been solid in July, going 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He was also a part of the first nine inning no-hitter in Bats history on June 12. Holmberg is coming off of one of his better starts this season, in which he threw six innings of one-run baseball.

The 24-year-old has been slated to start two other games for the Reds this season, but both wound up being rained out. With the trade of Johnny Cueto, he finally gets his chance and Bryan Price says Holmberg will be around for more than one start.

Joining Holmberg in Cincinnati will be Sampson, who the Reds claimed off of waivers from the San Diego Padres in January. The 24-year-old right-hander has pitched in Double-A Pensacola and Triple-Louisville this season, appearing mostly as a starter. After going 1-2 with a 1.85 ERA in Pensacola, he was promoted to Louisville in early June. There, he’s 2-4 with a 5.08 ERA and 1.59 WHIP. Sampson’s most recent start was his best with the Bats, as he threw eight innings of shutout baseball, allowing only five hits and two walks.

Before the 2014 season, Sampson was ranked as the Padres’ ninth-best prospect by Baseball America, but a rough year on the mound caused him to fall out of favor in San Diego. He’ll need to work on issues with his command (5.0 BB/9 in 2015), but the upside is there, as he boasts a fastball that’s been clocked as high as 99 mph. If and when Sampson appears in a game with the Reds, it will be his big league debut.

Sampson will presumably head to the Reds’ bullpen to replace Adcock, who has a 6.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 13 appearances in Cincinnati this season. Per the Cincinnati Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans, Adcock will miss the remainder of the season and will require Tommy John surgery to repair his torn UCL.

Next: Getting to know Cody Reed