The Cincinnati Reds sure wish they’d brought Disco back

Disco returns to the Queen City tonight! The Cincinnati Reds will battle a familiar face this evening when Anthony DeSclafani toes the rubber against his former team. Cincinnati sure could’ve used DeSclafani on their staff this year, but chose instead to allow him to sign a one-year/$6M contract with the San Francisco Giants.

DeSclafani joined the Reds in December of 2014 after the Miami Marlins dealt the right-hander along with fellow pitcher Chad Wallach to Cincinnati in exchange for Mat Latos. DeSclafani went 35-37 in five seasons with the Redlegs and owned a 4.19 ERA during that time.

The Reds sure could use Anthony DeSclafani this season.

Anthony DeSclafani was never the best pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds rotation, but given the way things have turned out for Derek Johnson’s group this season, Disco could’ve been the team’s ace. The San Francisco Giants starting staff sits atop the National League in ERA (2.68) while the Reds rank 13th with an ERA of 4.69.

DeSclafani himself is off to a terrific start. The 31-year-old is 3-1 with a 2.14 ERA in eight starts this season. Disco has a complete game shutout on his resumé this season, his first since 2016 with the Reds.

Only one member of the Reds starting staff, Tyler Mahle (2.93), has an ERA below 3.00. Even Wade Miley, who pitched a no-hitter while on the road in Cleveland a little over a week ago, has a 3.69 ERA.

And don’t even get me started on the Reds so-called ace Luis Castillo. The right-hander has been the worst starting pitcher in all of baseball and owns 7.71 ERA while only striking out 29 batters over the course of 37.1 innings.

Anthony DeSclafani will be opposed by Luis Castillo tonight.

Speaking of Luis Castillo, he’ll be opposing Anthony DeSclafani this evening at Great American Ball Park. During his 55 career starts at GABP, Disco owns a 4.62 ERA while allowing 54 balls to leave the yard.

It’s a good bet that David Bell will send a left-handed heavy lineup to the plate, as DeSclafani has allowed a career slash line of .277/.339/.484 versus lefties in his career. Disco’s .647 OPS-against when a right-handed batter is in the box is pretty good. This season, however, DeSclafani’s numbers are even better, with right-handed batters only posting a .408 OPS-against.

Look for Tyler Naquin to draw the start in center field. The former Cleveland Indians outfielder is one of the few Reds players who has a history against Anthony DeSclafani. Naquin is 3-for-8 lifetime against Disco with a .944 OPS.