Cincinnati Reds: Jimmy Herget Spring Training preview

Jimmy Herget, a former fifth round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2015, is getting his first real shot at making the club out of Spring Training.

Laugh now, but right-hander Jimmy Herget has a chance to leave Goodyear, Arizona with a spot on the 25-man roster. Though a lot of other pitchers on the Cincinnati Reds roster will be able to say the same thing, none of them deliver the ball like Herget.

Full disclosure, Jimmy Herget is one of my favorite young players on the Reds. Cincinnati protected Herget from the Rule 5 Draft earlier this offseason for a reason. After the flurry of trades we’ve seen this offseason, Herget now finds himself as the No. 11 ranked prospect in the Reds farm system according to MLB Pipeline.

Herget has been working his way up through the minor leagues over the last few years and he’s now on the doorstep of making it to the big leagues. Herget is a relief pitcher all the way. He was a starter in college for South Florida, but the Reds saw reliever written all over him when they drafted him in 2015. He hasn’t taken the mound to start a game during his professional career.

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Since he began playing for the Reds organization, Herget has found a spot at the back of the bullpen. He has 64 career saves in the minor leagues and led the organization in saves during the 2017 season. However, pitching last season for the Louisville Bats, Herget didn’t record a save and was used more like an eighth inning setup man.

Jimmy Herget is a flamethrower, with a fastball that routinely reaches 97-MPH. He’ll induce a lot of swings and misses with a top-notch slider as well. However, Herget’s best asset might be his arm angle, or should I say arm angles. Herget has three different arm angles from which he delivers his fastball, making it very difficult for opposing batters to make contact.

Last season at Triple-A Louisville, Herget went 1-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 50 games played. Herget pitched in almost 60 innings, striking out 65 and walking only 21. For his minor league career, Herget has now played in 176 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.199 WHIP.

Jimmy Herget definitely has the makeup of a big league pitcher, and while a spot on the Opening Day roster isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, it isn’t likely. That’s not a knock on Herget, who I think will get a few chances throughout the season when a reliever inevitably has a stint on the DL. It’s more of an assessment of the Cincinnati Reds current depth, especially in the back of the bullpen.

One could argue that the Reds’ bullpen is the team’s biggest strength. With Jared Hughes, David Hernandez, and Michael Lorenzen setting the table for Raisel Iglesias, if the Reds take a lead into the seventh inning, it’s going to be an uphill climb for the opposing team. With those four players securely positioned and the likes of Cody Reed, Sal Romano, Amir Garrett, and Wandy Peralta vying for spots, it’ll take a great spring for Herget to make the 25-man roster.

Jimmy Herget is very likely, at the very least, to make his Major League Baseball debut this season. When that opportunity may come is anyone’s guess. His chances coming out of Spring Training aren’t great, but his pitching repertoire helps increase his value to the Cincinnati Reds organization.