Cincinnati Reds probable pitchers & starting lineup vs. Tampa Bay Rays, April 19

Probable starting pitchers

Welcome to The Show, Levi Stoudt. The Cincinnati Reds called up one of their top pitching prospects today and optioned reliever Casey Legumina back to the minors. Stoudt is getting the start in order to give Hunter Greene some extra rest after taking a comebacker off his right shin in Monday's game.

After being traded from the Seattle Mariners last July, Stoudt has spent time at both Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville. Stoudt has had two good outings with the Louisville Bats this season, but has struggled to keep runners off the bases with nine walks in three starts.

Opposing Stoudt will be by Drew Rasmussen. The Tampa Bay Rays right-hander is 2-1 on the season with a 2.60 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work. Let's hope the Reds put up more runs on Wednesday afternoon than they did on Tuesday night; that shouldn't be too difficult.

Cincinnati Reds starting lineup

Spencer Steer was supposed to return to day, but the Reds rookie is still absent from the Cincinnati starting lineup. Jonathan India, TJ Friedl, and Jake Fraley will take their normal spots in the top three of the Reds lineup. Tyler Stephenson will be the team's DH today and Kevin Newman will actually be playing third base.

Jason Vosler is back in the Reds lineup and playing first base. He'll be followed by left fielder Stuart Fairchild, shortstop Jose Barrero, and catcher Luke Maile. The trio of Steer, Nick Senzel, and Wil Myers are all out of the starting lineup today.

Which Cincinnati Reds player needs to bounce back in today's game?

Oh goodness, where to begin, right? The Cincinnati Reds were trounced on Tuesday, however, this was just one day after the ole Redlegs put the beatdown on the best team in baseball. But the player most in need of a bounce-back performance is Tyler Stephenson.

The Reds catcher went 0-for-3 on Tuesday night with three strikeouts. The Reds really need Stephenson to tap into his power. Whether it's a home run or a bases-clearing double down the right field line, Cincinnati's lineup needs a boost from No. 37.

Which Cincinnati Reds player will be the X-factor in today's game?

Levi Stoudt will be facing a tough Tampa Bay Rays lineup that hung 10 runs on the Reds Tuesday night. And that was against Nick Lodolo. After Hunter Greene was lifted early on Monday night due to injury and Lodolo failed to make it out of the fifth inning, the Reds are hoping that Stoudt can just give them a quality start today.

In fact, David Bell would probably just settle for five innings of three-run baseball at this point. If Levi Stoudt can just keep the Rays hitters off balance with his fastball/ breaking ball combo and keep the free passes to a minimum, he'll be the X-factor in today's game.