Flame-throwing Reds prospect Chase Petty limiting the damage in his last 5 games

Several Cincinnati Reds fans were upset when the front office traded Sonny Gray this past spring. But the Reds did get a top-notch pitching prospect in return.

The Minnesota Twins shipped their 2021 first-round draft pick Chase Petty to Cincinnati in exchange for Gray. The move represented a shift for the Reds, as the organization was looking to "align their payroll to their resources".

All kidding aside, this was not a bad trade on the part of Nick Krall. Sonny Gray was under contract this season and had a $12M team-option for 2023. With the Reds unlikely to pick up that option, Krall made the logical decision to deal Gray while his trade value was relatively high.

Chase Petty is one of the more intriguing Reds prospects.

With Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo ready to make their major league debuts in 2022, the Cincinnati Reds needed to clear the way. Parting with Sonny Gray and Wade Miley helped the team accomplish that. But the Reds also landed one of Minnesota's top pitching prospects.

Chase Petty pitched just five innings for the Twins organization last season after being taken with the 21st-overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. Petty has an electric fastball and at just 19 years old, the right-hander is working to refine his secondary pitches. According to MLB Pipeline, Petty possesses a slider and a changeup as well.

Petty has appeared in 12 games at Low-A Daytona including seven starts. Every one of Petty's appearances has lasted at least 2-plus innings. His last start went five innings where he allowed one run on two hits with four punch outs.

One thing that Chase Petty has done of late is keep the ball in the ballpark. Petty watched three balls leave the yard in 23.2 innings of work to begin the 2022 season. He owned a 4.18 ERA and a 1.14 HR/9.

But Petty has turned things around in his last five games. He has a 28.0% strikeout-rate and hasn't allowed a ball to leave the yard. Opponents are hitting just .188 and his WHIP is an impressive 0.93 according to FanGraphs.

Make no mistake, Chase Petty has a long road ahead of him before we see if he has what it take to make it to the big leagues. While there is some reliever-risk, the Cincinnati Reds still plan to develop Petty as a starter. It'll be interesting to see if the right-hander makes the jump to High-A later this year or if the Reds keep him in the Florida State League for the entire 2022 season.