This surprise starter leapfrogged Wade Miley on the Reds minor-league depth chart

The Cincinnati Reds’ rotation is one of the team’s greatest strengths, but as seems to always be the case in Cincy, injuries have sidelined quite a few of the team’s starters. Hunter Greene, thankfully, is back in action, but Carson Spiers, Rhett Lowder, and others are facing setbacks. The Reds are looking to a former Brewer on a redemption tour… but it’s not the one you think.

The Reds signed Wade Miley, the constructor of the most recent Cincinnati no-hitter, to a minor league contract this offseason. His veteran know-how and leadership seemed like a perfect fit amongst the Reds’ young lineup. Unfortunately, Miley has had an extended recovery from Tommy John surgery, which has allowed his former Milwaukee teammate Aaron Wilkerson to step up.

Aaron Wilkerson, not Wade Miley, may be the most likely former Brewers pitcher to join the Reds’ rotation this season

Wilkerson, who turned 36 this week, is the definition of a journeyman, and that journey took him to Korea, Japan, and the Dominican Republic in search of playing time. He has appeared in Triple-A games for five different MLB franchises, but he last threw a pitch in the big leagues in 2019. A recent hot streak at Triple-A Louisville may change that.

At face value, Wilkerson’s stats aren’t eye-popping. A 3.83 ERA at Triple-A is nothing to write home about. However, Wilkerson has had three truly terrible outings in which he allowed 17 earned runs across 12 innings. If you were to ignore just one of those outings – an Opening Weekend rout in his first start of the season – his ERA would be 2.61.

Wilkerson attacks the zone and, as of May 28, has a 5.75 K:BB ratio. He has walked just eight batters in 51 ⅔ innings. This approach would fit right in with the current Reds rotation which ranks third in the National League in walks per nine innings.

Wilkerson does have a knock: his tendency to allow home runs. In fact, he has given up more dingers than he has allowed walks. This is typical of Wilkerson, whose HR/9 during his 2023 stint with the Athletics' Triple-A club was 2.30. So far, his mark with Louisville is 1.74.

Given Great American Ball Park’s standing as a launching pad, Wilkerson may be a short-term answer for the club. But in light of Miley’s setbacks at High-A and Triple-A, Wilkerson may be the safer bet for rotation depth.

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