Injury woes might corner Reds into trusting shaky rookie once again

Despite winning a ridiculous ballgame on August 4, the Cincinnati Reds were met with some devastating news in the aftermath of the 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Starting pitcherNick Lodolo was placed to the 15-day injured list with a blister issue on his left hand.

Lodolo joined staff ace Hunter Greene on the IL, not to mention top prospect Rhett Lowder and veteran Wade Miley, among others.

That lengthy injury report is pushing the Reds to the brink with their pitching depth, as the team recalled reliever Yosver Zulueta to fill the roster spot on Tuesday and plan to move Nick Martinez into the starting rotation. Should the rotation need further reinforcements, though, top prospect Chase Petty may need to step into a larger-than-comfortable role during the stretch run.

Nick Lodolo's injury could force Chase Petty into spotlight during Reds' playoff chase

Replacing Lodolo's production will be impossible, and even with trade acquisition Zack Littell set to soak up a number of innings in Lodolo's absence, the Reds may need to turn to the minor league ranks to help fill in for their injured star.

The only other starting pitchers currently on the 40-man roster are Sam Benschoter, who has spent the majority of this season pitching out the bullpen in Triple-A, and Petty, a top-100 prospect who has been lit up in limited action in the big leagues this year.

Petty has made three appearances this season with the Reds, totaling just six innings. That small sample introduces a necessary and important caveat, but it's hard not to groan in disgust at his 19.50 ERA or comical 20.0% walk rate. Considering how few innings he's pitched, it's remarkable that he's already accrued -0.8 bWAR.

However, if you want a reason to hope, Petty still has the triple-digit fastball that makes him so revered as a prospect, and his Triple-A stats are far more tolerable (4.66 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 21.2% strikeout rate).

Don't expect the team to turn to Petty — who's already above 80 innings pitched this season after setting a career-high last year with 137 — unless it absolutely needs to. Still, as the prospective "next man up" if any of the current starting quintet go down, the rookie may yet get a chance this season to redeem his ugly debut.

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