Cincinnati Reds pitcher Cody Reed’s plan for 2018

The Cincinnati Reds have a group of pitchers with no plans for 2018 and Cody Reed is one of them.

The Cincinnati Reds had sixteen different pitchers start at least one game for them in 2017 and Cody Reed was one of those pitchers.  Heading into spring training in 2017, the Reds had Reed penciled into the starting rotation.  By the time the season rolled around, Reed was destined to start the season in the bullpen and now the Reds need to decide if he is a starter or a reliever.

The first thing of note is that when the Reds traded Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals, they sold Reed as the best of the trio of lefties that they got in return.  The truth is that Brandon Finnegan is now and always has been the best prospect.  The only question with Finnegan was whether he possessed the make of an MLB starter.

John Lamb was what Lamb was then.  He is a fringe MLB prospect.  He is essentially a replacement level pitcher and few people expected him to be more than that when the Reds acquired him.

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Reed, though, was a bit of a wild card.  He was a starting pitching prospect who showed that he could pitch.  The question at the time of the time of the trade was whether he would develop into a pitcher good enough to stay in an MLB rotation.

After the 2017 experiment, it appears that Cody Reed could have a future in the bullpen for the Cincinnati Reds.

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As a reliever, Reed provided great support for the starters over multiple innings.  Reed possessed an ERA of 1.72 over 15 2/3 innings in 2017.  He went 1-0 and had a batting average against of .140.

In his only MLB start in 2017, Reed surrendered seven runs, including a pair of home runs in only two innings.  He also walked an incredible five batters, while striking out three.  Reed just couldn’t duplicate his success from the bullpen in his starting role.

In Triple-A this season, Reed did OK as a starter.  He made 21 appearances, including 20 starts averaging just over five innings per appearance.  He struck out 102 batters in 106 1/3 innings.

Reed continued his issue with walks.  He surrendered 61 of them causing his WHIP to be an incredible 1.56.  That is not the type of domination that you want to see from a big league starter while spending time in the minors.

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Reed looks custom made for the old Tony Cingrani role.  Let him face all of the tough lefties and keep him in against most righties.  Reed appears to have a better career ahead of him as a reliever instead of a starter.