Cincinnati Reds’ young pitchers don’t fair well on their trips to Louisville

The Cincinnati Reds continue to use the express shuttle between Louisville, but only one passenger seems to have Triple-A solved.

Eight pitchers have pitched for both the Cincinnati Reds and the Louisville Bats this baseball season.  Five of them have looked average or below when they pitched in Louisville after trips to the big leagues.  Two still looked themselves, while just one has come up never to return to Louisville, he hopes.

Tim Adleman had a rough spring followed by a great start to the season in Louisviille.  After losing his spot in the rotation during spring training, Aldeman made a terrific seven inning start in Triple-A.  The Reds then called him up to replace Brandon Finnegan in the rotation and Adleman is still starting every fifth day.

Amir Garrett, on the other hand, did it the way that the Reds meant for it to work, somewhat.  He was sent down on May 10 to save his arm from fatigue.  He pitched 2 scoreless innings in one start before returning to the Reds.  Unfortunately, when he returned to the Reds, his first start back was not good.

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Sal Romano was a different story in his own right.  Romano had two starts to begin the season in Louisville, allowing 2 runs over 13 innings.  Then he made a rough start for the Reds before making a pair of starts back in Louisville ending up on the DL after only nine innings pitched.

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Those were the good cases for the Cincinnati Reds, while the rest of the pitchers struggled in Louisville.

Both Cody Reed and Rookie Davis are currently starting down at Louisville.  Davis has made one start since his demotion, allowing three runs over six innings.  Reed, meanwhile, has only pitched 13 2/3 innings over three starts.  O f course, Reed has often been linked to Robert Stephenson in regards to development.

Then you have the case of Barrett Astin.  He made two spot starts during his last trip to Louisville to lengthen his arm.  After an inauspicious visit to Cincinnati, Astin is back in Louisville for the third time this season.

Lisalverto Bonilla and Austin Brice have both pitched better in Cincinnati than in Louisville.  Bonilla has looked more comfortable as a starter in Cincinnati than in any role he has this season.  Meanwhile, Brice has only allowed one run in his first five outings, covering nine innings in Cincinnati.

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What should worry the Reds is that most MLB pitchers can dominate Triple-A when they visit on rehab.  That only Garrett has done so is disconcerting.  On the other hand, as long as the pitchers contribute positively when they are in Cincinnati, then the complaints will be few and far between.