Cincinnati Reds 2018 season awards: Newcomer of the Year

Blog Red Machine continues to hand out the Cincinnati Reds 2018 season awards and today we focus on the Newcomer of the Year. Which member of the Reds, not on the team last season, stood out the most? That would be, hands-down, back up catcher Curt Casali.  

There were several newcomers to the Cincinnati Reds organization this season and Curt Casali was hands down the best acquisition the Reds made this year. Casali finished the 2018 season slashing  .293/.355/.450. Not bad for a backup catcher picked up in the middle of the season.

Casali came to the Reds from the Tampa Bay Rays on May 31st in exchange for cash and on June 1 became the backup catcher for Tucker Barnhart. All of this followed the Reds’ trade of Devin Mesoraco to the New York Mets in exchange for pitcher Matt Harvey.

It’s no secret that Reds Country was a little unsure of this change when it first happened. After all, why would the Reds need Casali with a Gold Glover behind the plate? While Casali may not have a Gold Glove, his catching statistics are more than comparable to Barnhart’s.

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In the 2018 season, Casali was behind the plate for the Reds 38 times, matching the number on his jersey. Casali had 265 putouts, 18 assists, 2 double plays, and stopped 5 stolen bases.

The opportunity for Casali to really show what he could do presented itself in late August when All-Star first baseman Joey Votto was placed on the disabled list after being hit by a 96-MPH pitch on the knee by Ryan Madson against the Washington Nationals.

During Votto’s 13-day stint on the DL, Riggleman called on his two catchers to help fill Votto’s shoes. In fact, during those 13 days Casali started in 10 games; 7 at catcher, 3 at first base. The situation also meant that Casali made several more appearances at the plate, and he was nothing short of impressive.

In the month of August Casali saw 51 at-bats, almost twice as many as any other month of the season. During that time he maintained a stellar .333 batting average, a .375 on-base percentage, and a .510 slugging percentage. Those stats break down into 17 total hits, 6 runs scored, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, and 11 runs batted in; an unbelievable month for Casali.

This outstanding performance in August led to several more starts at catcher as well as some pinch-hit appearances throughout the rest of the season. With his success at the plate, Casali became a go-to for Riggleman against left-handed pitching, whether as a pinch hitter or in the starting lineup.

Curt Casali has been a great player for the Reds since coming over in May. Though Reds Country is likely facing a lot of changes in this offseason, Casali will undoubtedly be a valuable player going into the Cincinnati Reds 2019 season.