Cincinnati Reds should start prepping Anthony DeSclafani for 2018 now

The Cincinnati Reds lost Anthony DeSclafani for the entire 2017 season.

After establishing himself as the ace of the rotation for the Cincinnati Reds, Anthony DeSclafani has had a pair of rough seasons. He missed the first half of 2016 and all of 2017. This is after the Reds penciled him into the Opening Day start for 2017.

None of the projected starting rotation at the end of 2016 made all of his starts in 2017. Only lefty Brandon Finnegan even made it to Opening Day in the rotation. Robert Stephenson lost his spot due to a bad spring.

The Miami Marlins traded for Dan Straily in a surprise move. Homer Bailey didn’t make his 2017 debut until mid-season. DeSclafani never made his.

In 2016 DeSclafani was the best starting pitcher in the second of the season. He made 20 starts, 14 of which were quality starts. He also went 9-9 meaning he had 18 decisions in those 20 starts.

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By holding opponents to a batting average of only .259, DeSclafani was able to allow a WHIP of only 1.22. That contributed to an ERA of just 3.28. DeSclafani also had 105 strikeouts in just 123 1/3 innings of work.

His walk number of 30 wasn’t too bad, but he did allow a high number of home runs at 30. He also also allowed nearly a hit per inning at 120. The highlight of his year, though, was his first complete game shutout in his MLB career.

Cincinnati Reds fans think Anthony DeSclafani may be an ace, but his career hasn’t shown that yet.

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The Reds need to get DeSclafani ready for next year, as he makes progress towards the end of this one. He was able to throw 184 2/3 innings over 31 starts in 2015. That is the DeSclafani that the Reds need, not the one who felt discomfort in his last rehab start.

They wanted the potential ace that they saw in the second half of last season, but that DeSclafani never made it to the mound in 2017. A good pitcher is better than no pitcher any day of the week.

The Reds need to keep DeSclafani throwing all off-season long.

Last off-season they gave Bailey some time off to go hunting on his ranch and he wasn’t the same. Next thing that you know, he isn’t ready to pitcher until mid-season.

The other thing that they should be doing is having DeSclafani pitch off of the mound. The repetition in front of a coach is necessary. They need him to be consistently right.

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DeSclafani could still leave the last two seasons of injuries behind him. He could be a mid-rotation starter. The Reds just need to focus on his health.

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