Superb stat should have Reds fans drooling over newest addition to the 40-man roster

On Friday, the Cincinnati Reds added five prospects to the team's 40-man roster.

While most of the attention will go to former first-round pick Hunter Greene, right-hander Alexis Diaz struck out 70 batters in 35 games.

Reds pitching prospect struck out two batters per game.

Alexis Diaz was one of four pitchers added to the Reds 40-man roster last Friday. In addition to Greene and Diaz, Cincinnati also selected Daniel Duarte and James Marinan.

Diaz spent the entire 2021 season at Double-A Chattanooga. The 25-year-old posted a 3.83 ERA over 41.2 innings of work.

Diaz's most startling statistic has to be his strikeout-rate. Punching out 38.9% of the batters he faced, Diaz could be a fantastic weapon out of the Reds bullpen in 2022.

Diaz was a 12th-round pick of the Redlegs in 2015 and signed for $130K.

An injury kept the right-hander from seeing the field in 2016 and 2020's COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the minor league season.

Last season was the first meaningful action that Diaz has seen since his 2019 campaign with the Dayton Dragons.

Diaz appeared in 25 games that season, including four starts. However, all of Diaz's appearances in 2021 came in relief.

Alexis Diaz could be a nice addition to the Reds bullpen.

Cincinnati's bullpen can certainly use all the help it can get in 2022.

After trading Raisel Iglesias last offseason and allowing Archie Bradley to enter free agency, the Reds lost two of their best relievers last winter.

Fans should expect more of the same this offseason, as it's likely Michael Lorenzen will join another team, perhaps in his home state of California.

Cincinnati's most prominent trade acquisition at last year's deadline, right-hander Mychal Givens, is also likely to land elsewhere this winter.

I don't think Reds fans should consider Alexis Diaz to be a lock for the team's bullpen just because he was added to the 40-man roster.

In fact, I'd expect to see Diaz get his feet wet in Triple-A next season before making his big league debut.

Diaz is a two-pitch hurler who'll occasionally mix in a changeup. But, most of the time, the righty will rely on his fastball/ slider combo.

Alexis Diaz is not afraid to come after hitters and his 0.43 HR/9 shows that his aggressive did not result in more balls leaving the yard.

Pitching coach Derek Johnson is always on the lookout for pitcher who can miss bats, and Diaz definitely fits that mold.