Cincinnati Reds: Predicting the 2020 bullpen after adding Pedro Strop

3. Robert Stephenson, Right-handed pitcher

At this time last winter, fans were ready to shove Robert Stephenson out the door. But after watching Stephenson dominate out of the bullpen last season, hopefully Reds Country has been busy writing their apology letters. Bob Steve emerged as one of the biggest bright spots in the Cincinnati bullpen last season. Hopefully that level of success continues.

If you’re looking for a breakout player from the Reds relief corps, take a long look at Robert Stephenson. The right-hander finally seemed to gain the control fans were hoping to see and his slider was one of the most devastating pitches on the entire Reds staff outside of Luis Castillo‘s changeup.

Stephenson was aggressive last season, attacking hitters with a combination of his fastball and slider. The soon-to-be 27-year-old was relentless, dropping his slider more than 56% of the time according to FanGraphs. Stephenson, who’d previously claimed that walks were part of his game, seemed to change his tune last season.

After putting up a walk-rate of 19.2% in 2018, Stephenson gained control of his pitches and saw that number dip to 9.2% in 2019. Bob Steve’s WHIP also fell from 2.486 in 2018 to 1.036. Our friend Jeff Carr over at Locked On Reds likes to refer to pitching coach Derek Johnson as a wizard, and Stephenson seems to be walking proof that Carr’s assertion is accurate.