Reds news: Jared Solomon joins the Cincinnati pitching staff

Jared Solomon was added to the Reds 40-man roster.

The deadline to add players to the 40-man roster was yesterday. The Cincinnati Reds chose to add three prospects including Jared Solomon. The former 11th-round selection looks to have a future with the organization, but it may be as a reliever rather than a starter? Let’s see what Solomon brings to the table.

Jared Solomon was taken with the 317th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. The same draft brought the likes of Hunter Greene, Jacob Heatherly, Packy Naughton, and Stuart Fairchild to Cincinnati. Naughton and Fairchild were dealt this past season at the trade deadline.

Greene and Heatherly, both taken out of high school, do not have to be added to the 40-man roster until next offseason. Solomon, however, who attended Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania needed to be added to Cincinnati’s 40-man roster if the Reds wanted to protect the right-hander from the Rule 5 Draft.

According to FanGraphs, Solomon has a fastball the sits in the low-to-mid-90s, but can ramp it up to 97-MPH when needed. The 23-year-old also possesses a cutter and slider, though neither one would be considered an above-average pitch at this point in his career.

Throughout his career, Jared Solomon has been a starting pitcher, but his current repertoire might be better suited for the bullpen. Solomon has yet to play above high-A, but there’s every reason to believe that the right-hander will be ready to start the 2021 minor league season at Double-A Chattanooga with the opportunity to reach Triple-A Louisville if he performs well.

Solomon currently rates as the Reds No. 19-ranked prospect according to FanGraphs and the No. 28 rated player according to MLB Pipeline. Both entities expect the right-hander to make his major league debut in 2021, though that may seem a bit optimistic following the loss of the 2020 minor league season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cincinnati Reds General Manager Nick Krall has stated via MLB.com that the team’s interest in bringing in young, controllable bullpen arms that have minor league options. Jared Solomon certainly fits the bill as the youngster still has all three minor league options available. Whether we see him in 2021 or not may greatly depend on his development heading into spring training.