Cincinnati Reds – the trials and travails of reliever Michael Lorenzen

The Cincinnati Reds have seen Michael Lorenzen have the best of times and the worst of times to start 2017.

The Cincinnati Reds’ fans have been clamoring about what is wrong with Michael Lorenzen.  The answer may be not much.  Originally he was viewed as a the next Mike Leake, but with better stuff before his transition to the bullpen.  His ERA is a whooping 5.84, but that doesn’t tell the whole story at all.

Lorenzen has pitched in 10 games covering 12 1/3 innings.  That just over an inning pitched per average.  The Reds are primarily using him as a single inning reliever.

In 7 of those games covering 8 1/3 innings Lorenzen hasn’t given up a single run.  In the other three appearances Lorenzen has surrendered 8 runs.  Even that doesn’t tell the whole story, though.

Half of the runs that Lorenzen has allowed this season were scored by the Brewers on Friday the 14th.  In one inning, with the Reds already down 6-4, Lorenzen surrendered 4 runs on 4 hits.  Cody Reed pitched the last two innings to finish up the game for the Reds.

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That’s how Lorenzen’s season has gone.  He has only given up four walks and has struck out 13.  He is pitching as advertised minus one awful outing against the Brewers in the middle of April.

Lorenzen even had a save to his record.  The night after he gave up four runs to the Brewers, he recorded his only save of the season.  It has been an up and down season for the Reds’ reliever.

The Cincinnati Reds need to use Michael Lorenzen more consistently in similar situations, so that he can get in  a groove.

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With a rainout in Saint Louis the last Saturday of April, the Reds had the golden chance to reset their bullpen.  The night before the Reds only used three relievers following the ever reliable Tim Adleman, so the bullpen was already fresh.  After an off day those three, plus all four of the rest of the relievers were fresh heading into Sunday’s game.

What the Reds have recently shown is a tendency to not use Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias in the same game.  That is somewhat unfortunate, as the duo could lock down a lead after five for the rest of the night.  That would let the other five pitchers mix and match the next night.

With Lorenzen and Iglesias pitching on opposing nights, it can be difficult for Bryan Price to manage the bullpen at every step of the way.  Lorenzen has already been used both as the closer and as the long man, though, for the Reds this year.  The team wants him to pitch in the high leverage situations but if they are not lengthening him to join the rotation, he needs to be saved for later in the game.

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That’s where Lorenzen and the Reds stack up leading into May.  Lorenzen has the stuff and the mentality to be a good MLB reliever.  Therefore, the Reds need to use him to help return to their early season winning ways, so they can remain more competitive this season.