Cincinnati Reds: Robert Stephenson plagued by walks again

Robert Stephenson got the start, his first of the season, for the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, Stephenson showed the same issues that have plagued him for his entire career.

Robert Stephenson had been dominating opposing batters at Triple-A Louisville over the last two months. This season with the Louisville Bats, Stephenson was 11-6 with a 2.87 ERA. In his last start with the Cincinnati Reds‘ minor league affiliate, Stephenson struck out a career-high 13 batters. There’s one stat though that Stephenson just can’t seem to get under control. He continues to walk too many batters.

The walks reared their ugly head again during Wednesday’s start in the Big Apple. Stephenson walked five batters, all be it two of those were intentional. Stephenson walked 53 opposing hitters last season during his 84.2 innings pitched for a 5.7 BB/9 ratio. Combine that with a 13.8 BB% and it’s a recipe for disaster.

While those numbers were slightly improved (4.5 BB/9) this season in Triple-A, it’s still not good. Stephenson will no doubt face tougher competition at the Major League level, and he can’t afford to give runners a free pass. Especially to the opposing pitcher with the bases loaded. Yes, Stephenson walked Jacob deGrom on four pitches in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the Mets up 2-0.

In all fairness to Stephenson, this was his first start of the season, and he likely had a few jitters. Particularly when you realize that his counterpart pitching for the Mets is perhaps the best in the National League in deGrom.

Stephenson will get another shot. The Cincinnati Reds are off on Thursday and return to action on Friday when they open up a three-game homestand against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Stephenson, however, will likely not get the ball until the interleague series the next week against the Cleveland Indians.

Robert Stephenson will no doubt be looking to rebound during his next start. Time is running out for the former first-round pick. Stephenson is out of options after this year, and the Reds will likely use the remainder of this season to evaluate whether Stephenson will be a viable option for the starting rotation in 2019.