3 Reds pitchers who will be tested early and often in 2022

3. Reds RHP Tyler Mahle will be tested early and often.

Suggesting that Cincinnati Reds Opening Day starter Tyler Mahle will be tested early and often seems like a bit of misnomer, but I feel pretty confident about this. While Mahle, unlike Jeff Hoffman and Tony Santillan, will only pitch every fifth day, the Reds are counting on Mahle to go deep into games. That's something Mahle struggled with in 2021.

Forget Mahle's home/ road splits. Odd as they may be, when you pitch in the band box that is Great American Ball Park, your stats are bound to look different. But, what Mahle has to do in 2022 is avoid going deep into counts and thereby increasing his pitch count, which inevitably leads to an early exit.

If Mahle is flanked is by second-year starter Vladimir Gutierrez and a trio of rookies (Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Reiver Sanmartin), the coaching staff will need Mahle to get past the fifth and even sixth inning on a routine basis.

Tyler Mahle started 33 games in 2021 and was quite impressive. However, Mahle made it past the fifth inning just 18 times and pitched past the six inning on just six occasions. During the early-going, it shouldn't expected for Mahle to go six-plus innings on a regular basis, but the Reds cannot afford to see Mahle chased before completing five innings. That happened five times in 2021.

The Cincinnati Reds relief corps will be tested early and often in 2022, as will their veteran starter. If the Reds pitching staff can weather the storm during the first month of the season, Cincinnati could be in good shape when Luis Castillo and Mike Minor return.