Cincinnati Reds legend Joe Nuxhall was the team's greatest hitting pitcher of all-time

Major League Baseball has seen many dominant players over the years, but Shohei Othani is opening the door for more two-way players. Winning the AL MVP this past season, Ohtani has displayed his dominance as both a hitter and pitcher. But who was the Cincinnati Reds greatest hitting pitcher of all-time?

Last year, Ohtani hit .257 with 46 home runs and 100 RBIs. While tying the league leader in triples with eight, Ohtani also posted an amazing .592 slugging percentage which was third-highest in league. The Japanese start also put up an OPS 965, good for the fifth-best in the AL.

Let's not forget the 130 innings Ohtani pitched. The right-hander went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA while also owning a 10.8 K/9 percentage. Opposing batters hit just .207 with a .637 OPS-against. Ohtani's dominance at the plate and on the mound helped him accumulate a league leading bWAR of 9.1.

Joe Nuxhall was the Reds best hitting-pitcher of all-time.

Joe Nuxhall, the youngest player in MLB history, debuted for the Cincinnati Reds in on June 10, 1944 at just 15 years of age. Over his 15-year career in the Queen City, Nuxhall went 130-109 with a 3.80 ERA. The Ole Left-Hander accumulated 20 shutouts and 83 complete games over 2,169 innings with the Redlegs.

Nuxhall spent just two seasons away from his hometown, playing for both the Kansas City Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels during his 16-year major league career.

At the plate, Nuxhal hit .190 with a .507 OPS. There wasn't a great deal of power in Nuxhall's bat, but he did drive in 65 runs a recorded 13 round trippers during his Reds career. Nuxhall also homered twice during his time with the Angels.

A .278 slugging percentage is not going to help you win a Silver Slugger nowadays, but Nuxhall did nab19 doubles and two triples with Cincinnati. For a player with just 785 plate appearances as a Red, Nuxhall posted an impressive 2.8 offensive bWAR. In his 616 plate appearances in the big leagues, for first-round pick Nick Senzel has an offensive bWAR of just 0.1.

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer is one of the most underrated athletes in team history. While Michael Lorenzen, now off to Los Angeles, was one of the better hitting pitchers the last few seasons, Joe Nuxhall was the best hitting pitcher in Reds history.