2 pitchers who should replace Luis Cessa in the Reds rotation and 2 who shouldn't

Brandon Williamson should not replace Luis Cessa in the Reds starting rotation.

The Cincinnati Reds have a problem on their hands when it comes to what to do with Brandon Williamson. A key piece in the trade that sent Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to the Seattle Mariners, the left-hander has been nothing short of abysmal in 2023.

Williamson had a chance to be part of the Cincinnati rotation prior to the start of the season. Williamson, until the very last week of spring training, was in the hunt for one of those elusive spots. But Williamson laid an egg in his final Cactus League start, was reassigned to minor league camp, and began his 2023 season at Triple-A Louisville.

The southpaw has looked lost on the mound since the season began. How bad has it been? In six starts for the Louisville Bats this season, Williamson is 1-3 with an ERA of 8.46. According to FanGraphs, Williamson has the same K/9 (6.45) as he does BB/9.

Opponents are teeing off on Williamson. He's allowed a .375 batting average against and has a walk-rate of nearly 14-percent. The lefty is also serving a up gopher balls at a rate of 2.01 HR/9. It honestly can't get much worse for the Reds top pitching prospect.

At this rate, the Cincinnati Reds may need to attempt to move Brandon Williamson to the bullpen or perhaps even reassign him to Double-A Chattanooga in order to help him regain his confidence. Williamson has fallen on tough times, but it's unwise to give him a shot in the big leagues if his performance has been as bad as the numbers are reflecting.