Reds news: Tyler Stephenson draws his first major league start

The Reds are ushering in the Tyler Stephenson-era this evening.

Reds Country has been waiting, not so patiently, for Tyler Stephenson to make his first start behind the plate. The wait is over, as the Cincinnati Reds inserted Stephenson into the starting lineup tonight. The Reds rookie will bat seventh and hang the signs for starting pitcher Sonny Gray.

Stephenson made his big league debut back on July 27th against the Chicago Cubs. He was initially called up when Tucker Barnhart went on the paternity list. Stephenson went yard in his first at-bat and ended the game 2-for-2 with a walk, a homer and two RBIs.

That, however, was the only game in which Stephenson saw any action and the 24-year-old was sent back to the alternate site at Prasco Park. The Reds No. 4 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, was called up a few days to replace Matt Davidson on Cincinnati’s active roster. Davidson was designated for assignment.

Stephenson had been part of the team’s three-man taxi squad for virally every road trip this season, so this is not all together foreign territory for the young backstop. It is interesting, however, that David Bell chose this game to deploy his rookie catcher, as typically Curt Casali is hanging the signs for his former Vanderbilt teammate.

Tyler Stephenson, a right-handed batter, will be taking his hacks against Adbert Alzolay of the Chicago Cubs. The right-hander drew the start tonight at Wrigley Field and has a 2.08 ERA in three games this season. In his last start versus the St. Louis Cardinals on September 5th, Alzolay lasted just 2.2 innings after walking five batters and allowing two earned runs.

Both Stephenson, and fellow rookie José García drew the start tonight. García made his major league debut back back on August 27th at Milwaukee. Hopefully Stephenson adjusts to the speed of the big leagues quicker than García has. The young Reds shortstop is just 5-for-34 (.147) on the season and has yet to record and extra-base hit.

Tonight’s game in Chicago, and virtually every game from here on out, is a must win for the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds sit at 19-24, which puts them 2.5 games out of Wild Card in the National League. Winning tonight’s game would bring them within 4.5 games of the first-place Cubs with a three-game set in St. Loui over the weekend.