Parting ways with pitching prospect Joe Boyle was the right call for the Reds

Joe Boyle, a hard-throwing right-hander was the Cincinnati Reds' final pick the abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft. The Reds shipped Boyle out to Oakland on Monday night in exchange for left-handed pitcher Sam Moll.

Moll will hopefully pay immediate dividends for a Cincinnati bullpen that was seriously lacking another left-handed pitcher. With Reiver Sanmatin now out for the year, the Reds will rely upon the lef-handed duo of Moll and Alex Young.

As with any trade, you have to give up something in order to get something. In order to help solidify their bullpen, the Reds gave up one of their bright young pitching prospects. However, the Reds' patience may have worn thin.

Parting ways with pitching prospect Joe Boyle was the right call for the Reds.

Joe Boyle may have the best overall stuff of any pitcher in the entire Cincinnati Reds farm system. So why in the world did the Reds let him go for a middle-of-the road relief pitcher?

Well, unfortunately for Boyle, he's been unable to gain control of that elite-level stuff. And let's face it, if a pitcher is unable to locate his pitches, it doesn't matter how hard he throws.

Boyle appeared among the Top 30 prospects in the Reds farm system after Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, and Spencer Steer all "graduated". Prior to Monday's trade, Boyle ranked as Cincinnati's 28th-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

While Boyle able to light up the radar gun with a 100-plus mph heater and has a strikeout-rate of 31.5-percent according to FanGraphs, the soon-to-be 24-year-old also has a walk-rate of nearly 20-percent.

Joe Boyle would have needed to be added to the Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster this offseason in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. As Reds fans saw with Ricky Karcher, you've got to be able to get the ball over the plate at the highest level.

If Boyle, after over 200 minor league innings is still struggling to do that, you have to wonder if he's ever going to straighten things out. Unlike Andrew Abbott, Lyon Richardson, and Connor Phillips, Boyle never jumped from the Double-A to Triple-A roster this season.

More than likely, if Boyle makes it to the big leagues, it will be as a high-velocity relief pitcher. Hopefully he finds success in Oakland, as this trade has a chance to be a win-win for both the Reds and the A's.