Cincinnati Reds should let Alex Blandino show them what he’s got

After struggling on and off throughout his career in the Cincinnati Reds minor leagues, Alex Blandino has earned his shot.

The Cincinnati Reds lost their young third baseman, Eugenio Suarez, to a fractured thumb.  Jameson Taillon threw a pitch a bit too far inside in an otherwise spectacular start.  That resulted in the Reds calling up infield prospect Alex Blandino, who almost made the team out of spring training, from Triple-A Louisville.

When Blandino arrived, the Reds threw him into the starting line-up.  He went 0-for-3.  Since then it has practically been playing time for him every other day.

He has started two games and come in off of the bench in three other games.  He is getting an at-bat everyday.  However, he is not getting consistent playing time.

In his first two starts Blandino went a combined 0-for-6 with a total of three strikeouts.  In day in between he went 0-for-1 on as a pinch hitter.  He did not start for three days after that.

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After getting his first MLB hit coming off of the bench, Blandino received his third start of the season in the last game of the series vs. the Saint Louis Cardinals.  He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.  The Reds want him to be a back-up infielder in the future, but now they should play him or send him back to Louisville.

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Alex Blandino has proven that he can play everyday on his way up through the Cincinnati Reds system.

The Reds drafted Blandino in the first round of the 2014 draft.  He played so well in Billings that the Reds promoted him to Dayton.  He batted .261 in 34 games there.

In 2015 he played for both Dayton and Pensacola.  He batted a combined .278 with ten home runs.  At this time the Reds still viewed Blandino as an MLB shortstop.

2016 saw his stock drop both offensively and defensively.

Blandino went from a shortstop to an infielder and a sure thing to a possible thing.  He only batted .232 with eight home runs.

Last season, Blandino corrected course.  He played in both Double-A and Triple-A.  He played second, short, and third defensively, as well as turning his offensive output around.

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Now the Reds have a chance to see what Blandino has become.  However, instead of playing him everyday to see if he is ready to be a big league player, they are playing him off of the bench.  This team is historically bad right now, so they might as well yet the young man show what he can do.