What They Need - Cincinnati Reds: A fifth starter

Posted by Nick Kapur on Saturday May 31st 2008, 9:58 am - filed in Diamond cuts

If I wrote a post a week ago about what the Reds really need, the answer would have been to sack Corey Patterson already (he of the .200 average and .240 OPS), and bring up Jay Bruce to play center already. Or at the very least, stop having Patterson bat leadoff (fer chrissakes!).

But seeing how those problems have been (finally) solved, what the Reds really need now is a fifth starter.

Any kind of fifth starter would do, actually.

The Reds actually have a pretty awesome rotation from 1-4, with ace Aaron Harang, Rookie sensation Edinson Volquez, an improving Bronson Arroyo, and high upside flamethrower Johnny Cueto. Their lineup is also pretty stacked, now that Bruce has finally been called up (as long as someone will tell Dusty Baker to stop doing stupid things like telling Adam Dunn to bunt).

But what has really been dragging the Reds down is a guaranteed loss every fifth day. Current fifth starter Matt Belisle has been thoroughly execrable, allowing 47 hits in 29 2/3 innings while posting a 1.79 WHIP and a 7.28 ERA. Original fifth starter Josh Fogg was amazingly even worse, putting up a 2.09 WHIP and a 13.09 ERA in his 3 starts.

Even the most replacement-y of replacement pitchers would be a drastic improvement at this point, and you certainly have to think that AAA stalwart Homer Bailey or Double-A ace Ben Jukich (5-2, 2.34 ERA at Chattanoga), could do better.

- What They Need Index -


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