Cincinnati Reds could be ready to see if Tyler Mahle is the perfect solution to pitching woes

After pitching a perfect game for the Cincinnati Reds’ Double-A affiliate, Tyler Mahle may be forcing the hand of the front office.

The Cincinnati Reds are still having tremendous difficulty getting enough innings out of their starting pitchers, while Tyler Mahle is looking like the best prospect in years.  Entering the season, Mahle was the 10th ranked prospect in the Reds’ minor league system.  Last year Mahle pitched a no-hitter at High-A in Daytona and followed it up with a perfect game in Double-A Pensacola this season.

And let’s start with the season that Mahle is having at Pensacola this year.  He is 4-0 five starts into the year with an ERA of 0.55.  That goes along with striking out 34 in 32 2/3 innings.

Mahle was OK at Pensacola last season, but not nearly as spectacular.  He went 6-3 over 14 starts with an ERA of 4.92.  Those are solid numbers, but his 12 home runs allowed were the difference between OK and great.

For the first half of 2016, Mahle was in High-A at Daytona.  In 13 starts for the Tortugas he was 8-3 with a 2.50 ERA.  His only complete game shutout of the season was his no-hitter in Daytona.

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Overall, Mahle has been impressive throughout his minor league career.  He is 37-21 with a 2.94 ERA over four minor league seasons.  Over that time has averaged 5 2/3 innings per appearance, including 2013 when he split time between starting and the bullpen.  The Reds’ fans have been waiting for him to develop since his first full season as a starter in 2014.

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The Cincinnati Reds need to do something to get more innings out of their starters and Mahle may be the solution.

Only three of the Reds’ starters are averaging more than five innings pitched this inning in Scott Feldman, Amir Garrett and the ever reliable Tim Adleman.  Adleman has only made two starts since Brandon Finnegan went down, while Feldman and Garrett have been in the rotation all season.  No one else on the staff has averaged more than five innings.

Meanwhile, Mahle is averaging more innings and has pitched more innings than anyone on the Reds’ roster.  He is a starting pitcher and has been positioned to go deep into games.  This is what the Reds have been missing.

This year he has pitched between 86 and 94 pitches every time out and always made it at least five innings.  That would make him every bit as impressive as Amir Garrett at the big league level.  Even more impressive, Mahle has yet to allow more than one run in any start this year.

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Production like this on a team that is risking injury and inconsistency on its bullpen should be in Cincinnati.  It may be only a matter of time before Mahle is with the big league club.  He will need to be added to the forty man roster.  There must be room with only three starters even being passable.  Hopefully, he can continue his dominance wherever he is pitching for the rest of 2017.