Why Reds fans should be excited about Ricky Karcher

Reds Country was so excited about the additions of top infield prospects Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte to the team's 40-man roster, that it's quite possible one of the organization's best strike-throwers flew under the radar.

Ricky Karcher, who was originally selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 13th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, was added to the 40-man roster as well.

Karcher will arrive at Goodyear, Arizona in a few weeks and look to establish himself as a potential relief pitcher on next year's squad. Why should the Cincinnati faithful be excited to see Karcher?

Why Reds fans should be excited about Ricky Karcher.

The Cincinnati Reds have made no bones about it in recent years; the organization is focused on drafting and developing young pitchers. The club saw the likes of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, and Alexis Diaz all make it to the big leagues in 2022.

Andrew Abbott and Connor Phillips were both invited to major league camp this spring, and Brandon Williamson and Levi Stoudt will both be looking to make their mark once spring training begins.

But Ricky Karcher has flown under the radar, which is rather indicative of how his entire professional career has gone to this point. The overwhelming majority of 13th round draft selections never crack a major league roster. But Karcher's determination and skill have been too much for the Reds' brass to ignore.

Last season, while splitting time between both Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, Karcher posted an ERA 3.65 in 52 appearances out of the bullpen. Karcher logged 56.2 innings of work and racked up 88 punch outs.

Like many young pitchers, Karcher will certainly have some command issues to iron out before becoming a key contributor at the big league level. While his 35.1% strikeout-out is quite impressive, his 40 free passes (15.9% walk-rate) are definitely an area of concern.

However, Diaz had similar issues last season and turned in a fantastic 2022 campaign and even garner some Rookie of the Year consideration. With as awful as the Cincinnati Reds bullpen has been in recent years, Ricky Karcher will surely receive a chance to make an impact during the upcoming season.