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The Reds Report: June 18

by:Eric Roseberry•06/18/17
[caption id="attachment_223465" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports[/caption] It's going to be difficult to find a silver lining in this edition of the Reds Report. Cincinnati lost every game they played this week, and the team is currently on a nine-game losing streak. This run has left them in last in the NL Central. The Reds trail the first-place Brewers by seven and a half games.

The End of the Line for Bronson Arroyo?

The biggest piece of news from Sunday is that Bronson Arroyo might have pitched his final major league game. In today's start against the Dodgers, Arroyo threw three innings and gave up five earned runs. That ran his ERA to 7.35 for the season. Arroyo made a few postgame comments that suggested this could have been the final appearance of his career. It was easy for fans to be frustrated with Arroyo's performance this season, but it's pretty remarkable he was able to return to a major league rotation at age 40 given his injury history. Arroyo accomplished a lot of good during his time in Cincinnati. Everyone will be wishing him well if this was, in fact, his last time on the mound.

Cincinnati Gets Rave Reviews at the MLB Draft

The MLB Draft took place this week, and the Reds entered with the second overall pick. They selected Hunter Greene from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA. Mark Sheldon has a helpful breakdown of the 17-year-old's potential. At least once, he was clocked throwing 102 mph. Reds fans, I think you're going to love this kid. Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com provided a helpful roundup of what other executives thought of Cincinnati's draft. Gray cites a Jon Heyman interview where an unnamed executive said, "Cincinnati won the draft by far." You can read more quotes from around the league in Doug's write-up. 

A Few Pitching Updates

As of now, the thing most Reds fans are looking forward to is the return of a few key starters. This week Homer Bailey and Brandon Finnegan both took a few steps forward.
  • On Wednesday, Bailey started for low-Class A Dayton. He pitched six shutout innings and struck out six. According to Zach Buchanan, Bailey threw a bullpen session in Cincinnati on Friday, and he's slated to start for Louisville at some point this week. If that start goes well, then it's possible he could be back in a Reds uniform sooner rather than later.
  • Brandon Finnegan also made a rehab start this week. He pitched four scoreless innings for Double-A Pensacola. Mark Sheldon notes that Finnegan will make a start for Louisville this week, and he's expected to make at least two appearances at that level. Check out Sheldon's article for more details on Finnegan and Bailey.

Zack Cozart Takes the Lead

Why don't we end with a little bit of good news? Zack Cozart's impressive play is finally being rewarded. In the most recent NL All-Star voting, Cozart took the lead as the potential starter at shortstop for the National League. Zach Buchanan has details on all of the voting, including Joey Votto's current status. Speaking of Votto, he continues to insist that if Cozart makes the All-Star team he'll buy Cozart a donkey. "I don't have the internet." You know, Votto is the one guy I kind of believe when he says that.

This Week

The Reds head to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays on Monday. They'll finish the week with a trip to Washington for a three-game series against the Nationals. You can read Eric’s writing all season long at The Sporting News, Red Reporter and Baseball Prospectus. He also hosts the On Baseball Writing Podcast and appears on the Red Reporter podcast.

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