Cincinnati Reds: Three players who could benefit from expanded rosters

1. Tyler Mahle, Right-handed pitcher

The biggest winner if rosters are expanded would be Tyler Mahle. A starter last season, Mahle was essentially replaced in the rotation by Wade Miley, a left-hander who signed a two-year/$15M contract this offseason. Multiple doubleheaders would mean the need for an additional starter and Mahle certainly fits the bill.

The Cincinnati Reds have arguably one of the best starting rotations heading into the 2020 season. Cy Young candidates Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray are coming off All-Star seasons and former All-Star Trevor Bauer is looking to regain the form that saw him compete for the AL Cy Young in 2018.

Anthony DeSclafani is cemented as one of the five starting pitchers following a solid 2019 campaign, and Miley will grab one of the five spots as well. The thought going into camp was that Mahle, who has two minor-league options remaining, would begin the season at Triple-A Louisville. If the rosters expand, that may not be the case.

Mahle has been a highly-touted prospect for the Reds and despite last season’s 3-12 record, the right-hander showed improvement from his 2018 rookie season. According to FanGraphs, Mahle saw his roundball-rate increase from 38.7% to 48.0%. Mahle’s strikeout-rate also jumped from 21.7% to 23.1% and his walk-rate dropped from 10.4% to 6.1%.

Tyler Mahle may not have ace-potential, but he easily profiles as a mid-rotation starter. Mahle went away from his changeup last season and we saw him become much more reliant on his curveball. The key to Mahle’s success in the big leagues will be keeping the ball in thee ballpark, as last season, in 25 starts, Mahle surrendered 25 round-trippers.