Ranking the Reds 4 best replacements for injured starter Nick Lodolo

2. Brandon Williamson could fill Nick Lodolo's spot in the Reds starting rotation.

Now we're getting somewhere. Brandon Williamson is basically a clone of Nick Lodolo in terms of stature. Williamson, just like Lodolo, is a tall and lanky left-handed pitcher who relies heavily on his breaking ball in order to get outs.

The problem, however, for Williamson has been his lack of effectiveness. Quite frankly, the southpaw has been rather ineffective since coming to the Reds organization in the trade that sent Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners.

During his 2021 season, which was spent at the High-A and Double-A levels of the Seattle organization, Williamson put up terrific numbers. The left-hander recorded 153 punch outs in less than 100 innings pitched. His strikeout-rate was sitting at 37.4-percent and his walk-rate was just 8.1-percent.

Since joining the Reds prior to last season, Williamson's number have changed dramatically. The Texas Christian University alum owns a 20.9-percent strikeout-rate and 13.5-percent walk-rate along with a 5.02 FIP according to FanGraphs.

Brandon Williamson's last two outings at Triple-A Louisville showed improvement. Williamson is on the 40-man roster, so calling him up would be rather simple. At some point, the Reds need to see what they have in Williamson. With an end date in sight in terms of Nick Lodolo's IL stint, perhaps the time is now for his former TCU teammate.