Cincinnati Reds look to Amir Garrett to fulfill his potential right now with others coming along slowly

The Cincinnati Reds penciled Amir Garrett into the number four spot in the rotation during the off-season.

With the trade of Dan Straily to the Miami Marlins the Cincinnati Reds moved Brandon Finnegan into the number two spot in the rotation and penciled Amir Garrett into the number four spot. Since that time, the Reds have added swingman Scott Feldman and former ace Bronson Arroyo to the rotation.

Also, since that time, Anthony DeSclafani injured his arm, Homer Baily underwent surgery, Rookie Davis was hit by a pitch when betting, Finnegan strained his shoulder and Nick Travieso showed up to camp with a sore shoulder. Arroyo, also, feel ill and got off to a slow start. To all of this, add the fact that Robert Stephenson did not impress in camp and has been exiled to the bullpen.

Early in camp only Garrett and Bailey’s replacement, Tim Adleman, looked like they were ready for 2017. Of course, spring training is used to get ready for camp beyond just competing for positions. Feldman, for example, just used spring to get ready while he backed into the Opening Day start due to the injuries. Meanwhile, Adleman looked so bad in camp that his first start of the season wasn’t until April 21.

There was great hope entering the spring training that the pitching could be a point of strength in 2017. That quickly dissolved as the injuries mounted. However, the Reds are still in position to be better than in 2016 in the pitching arena with a bullpen that has been better than expected.

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Amir Garrett leads a group of young pitchers ready to make an impact for the Cincinnati Reds in the next few seasons.

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Garrett and Stephenson are both top 100 MLB prospects, but the starting pitching depth goes deeper than that for the Reds. In spring training Garrett and Stephenson bunked with another pair of starting pitching prospects in Cody Reed and Sal Romano. Reed, who came over with Finnegan in the Johnny Cueto deal, is a top prospect in his own right.

The Reds also brought Tyler Mahle into camp, who like Romano, is still likely a year away. Those five could all be in the rotation in a few years. That doesn’t even take into account Finnegan or DeSclafani staying in the rotation in their own right.

Garrett is viewed as the best of the prospects right now. More so than his three roommates, Garrett appears positioned to go late into games. In his Triple-A debut last year he had trouble with the strike zone driving his pitch count up.

If things go right for Garrett, he could be a top of the rotation starter for years to come. In order for that to happen he has to make sure that his control is not an issue. That needs to be his focus this season. Three starts into his MLB career, he has only walked three batters.

Next: The defense needs to support young Reds pitchers

Garrett appears to be well on his way to being an integral part of the starting staff for the Reds this year. The team has plenty of relievers, but are running low on starters due to injuries. Hopefully, Garrett can continue to fulfill his potential right now.

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