RedsIntelligence

The two areas we are on equal footing with the big clubs are the draft and Intl FA. We need to excel in those areas and we don't. Our lineup as it stands now has 2 drafted players: TySteve and McLain. (We do better at SP) Step 1: College guys !!!! Less flameouts and quicker results. We have 6 potential SP starting this season. Greene, Abbott, Lodolo, Martinez, Ashcraft, Singer. 5 of those were College Guys. TySteve is the only HS hitter we have drafted since 2015 (!!!) to have made the majors and made an impact. (I know we like some of our current HS guys, but we also used to like Jeter Downs and Taylor Trammell.) Reds keep pushing this philosophy that we'll draft and trade for SS and then play them elsewhere. So far that has failed miserably. Closest we have is Senzel and that was a mixed bag. You have to go back to Hamilton before that. In the meantime, big outfield bats is our biggest weakness. After 3rd round - draft whoever you want but stick to College guys in first 3 rounds. And draft some big OF sticks. Our lineup has 1 Intl player that we signed. Elly. And if you know the story behind that it was almost an accident and the guy that signed him is no longer with Reds. Intl FA is a weird business. But I know we don't do it well. Find out what teams like SD are doing and copy/hire them. I seem to feel that our non-Dominican staff (Venezuela etc.) is doing better than our Dominican. But I haven't really researched that for sure My Draft Database since 2013 #gid=1286392031" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

@Trags I was told it hit the palm of his hand.

Sal Stewart reacts postgame to the line drive off his left wrist

@Tark_mexeira @JonHeyman .722 career

@RedsIntel @JonHeyman Mid?

Nico Hoerner and Cubs agree to 6-year deal

@slabsanity @RedsInFour He hits righties better than lefties too.

@RedsInFour It’s an overreaction but I’ve genuinely watched 85% of Noelvi’s AB’s since 2021 through MiLB, WBC Qualifiers, AFL, DWL, MLB everything if the reds use him like this might as well trade him to someone who values a bat with the potential to hit .275 with 30/30 upside. Just insane

Explain pinch-hitting for Noelvi Marte but not Ke’Bryan Hayes to me like you’re a geriatric manager of my favorite baseball team.

@HeyGingersaurus C'mon guys. He'll throw a complete game at that pace

Crochet retires the #Reds in order on 4 pitches in the first.

@LouisvilleBats Who do we think are starters besides Petty and Aguiar?

Your 2026 Louisville Bats Opening Day Roster

@RedsInFour Tito strikes again. Myers for Friedl.

2025 88 wRC+ vLHP leading off and 64 wRC+ vLHP in the 3-spot with Myers on the bench. Midseason form, baby.

Should still be more worried about offense than pitching. Had 7 starters and now we have 5. Anxious to see Petty in AAA. If he's finally harnessed things we have 8. Can move someone at deadline. Hayes can't hit. TySteve and Marte might struggle. And Tito hates to take guys out when they under-perform. We might have better guys in Bleday and Hinds, but we may never find out. We need Sal (if he's as good as we think) to get 500 at-bats not 350. We need Geno to get at least 30 homers.

I'll say 85 wins for the #Reds We started the offseason worrying about the offense. We start Opening Day worrying about the pitching. Figures. I think Year 2 of Tito is being underplayed. He knows his guys better. They know him. Hard to forget him rolling out Ian Gibaut to close last Opening Day. Hard to forget how stubborn he was with guys like Matt McLain in the No. 2 spot and Elly playing 162 games. I'll be curious to see how much he pinch-hits for Ke'Bryan Hayes when they trail later in games. I'll be curious IF they are more aggressive on the bases. I believe in Matt McLain. A year ago they got a .210 batting average from seven different hitters out of the No. 2 spot. He probably won't hit .300, but he will make an impact. Eugenio Suarez won't approach 49 homers. He will hit in the 30's and that impact this lineup. His daily impact in the clubhouse can't be overstated. Elly played a large chunk of last season with a bad quad. He takes the next step this season. All-Star. Chases 30-30. His D will be fine. I really, really like Sal Stewart. Things aren't too big for him. I worry about the SP depth. They are going to asking a lot from Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson. Each will have their workload monitored throughout the season. Beyond that trio is Julian Aguiar, Chase Petty and Jose Franco. That's concerning. How do they cover all the innings? Yes, we probably won't see Hunter until probably late July. But he only made 19 starts last season and they won 83 games. But so much for my thought/goal of 120 combined starts out of their top four starters. I'll believe Andrew Abbott is OK, until he's not. I do worry about the follow-up season for Emilio Pagan and Tony Santillan. Both had heavy workloads in 2025. I fear they got the best out of Pagan last season. What does less than the best version of Pagan look like this season? Nathaniel Lowe gives the pop off the bench. I like that. I'm curious to see how much Dane Myers plays, and what it means for TJ Friedl. I'm not sure I mentioned Spencer Steer more than a handful of times the entire spring. He should have never played the first month of last season. What can he be when healthy this season? He's hit just .231 with a .722 OPS the last two season. In reality, he's had just one above league average MLB season in his four. I'm excited to see Will Benson. They were shutout 13 times last season. They scored one run in 21 games, and two runs in 20 games. They scored less than three runs in 54 games. When they scored at least four runs: 65-25 When they scored less than four runs: 18-54 When they homered: 58-36 When they didn't homer: 25-43 They are going to score more this season. How much more will be needed to HELP offset the pitching concerns? I'll say it. Stick with it. 85 wins.

@redlegs4ever @RedsInFour Maybe his 7.50 ERA in ST.

@RedsInFour Be kinda dirty after they already told Franco he made the team but intriguing for sure. How the hell did he not make the Rockies??

@RedsXtra_ Stoked. Very nice rotation.

#Reds rotation to start the season: Andrew Abbott Brady Singer Chase Burns Rhett Lowder Brandon Williamson How we feeling?

Although Burns went 5 yesterday so that problem seems moot. Rotation of Abbott, Burns, Williamson, Lowder and Singer. That works. I am a little stoked to see what Petty does this year. Having a rotation going forward that has 3 guys on rookie deals for a while (Lowder, Burns and Petty) would be helpful. (Oending the new CBA)

@RedsIntel @bryce_spalding Petty is as ready as he's going to be. Time to see if he can be Dylan Cease like

I’d rather just put him on the IL and let it heal and give BWill a start and have an extra arm in the pen than Lodolo push it and make it worse. Call up someone who can give you length in a pinch and roll with Abbott, Singer, Burns, Lowder & Williamson.

@RedsInFour I think Maxwell makes most sense. I look at the 40 and for the first time in while, I like everyone on it.

In reality it should be someone with MiLB options. Jose Franco would actually make some sense if they truly think Nicolas isn’t ramped up enough yet. I’d like to let Petty ramp up as a starter. Maxwell & Mey really wouldn’t hurt anything either.

👏👏 👏👏👏 Ha - Gen Danner 👏👏 👏👏👏

@bryce_spalding I'd like to see 1 more inning

39 pitches through 3 IP for Chase Burns in Milwaukee. 1 ER 4 K/0 BB 39 pitches - 30 strikes.

@HeyGingersaurus I vaguely recall Krall recently saying there was some restriction on calling up starters within the first couple weeks of the season. Does anyone know what the rule is? I remember thinking that's the first I've heard of that.

Burns struck out the side in the first. #Reds

@mlbtraderumors Wait a minute..... is that the straight version of Adam Lambert?

Astros' Peter Lambert Granted His Release mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/astros…

@bryce_spalding Will be curious to see how many innings Burns throws today

Williamson should have been in the rotation to begin with. If we're going to use Burns in the "Opener" role, I'd bring up Petty as his follow up. What I'd do: Bring up Petty as starter. Option Burns to AAA till he's built up/fixed. Call up Maxwell or Nicolas. (Probably Maxwell since Nicolas might not be ready)

@bryce_spalding I hope you are right.

@RedsIntel Sure, but players can flip switches on a dime. May not be perfect, but I think he will keep the Reds in the game like he does nearly every time he takes it

We talking about the guy with 166 innings with a 2.87 ERA last year? Yea, I feel exactly the same as I would if he had a 0.00 ERA this spring. He’s going to go out there and get outs.

@CharlieG__ You should handle a bunch of guys who won't go too long by having a full strength pen of 8 actual relievers.

An underrated part of the conversation around Reds pitching: Long relief. Guys aren’t going to throw a bunch of pitches in their first start. It’s like this around baseball. Chase Burns isn’t quite all the way built up yet due to the de load situation. We’ll see how many innings he and Lowder go tonight. Lowder’s longest spring start was 3 2/3 innings. He’s building up. Even in a best case scenario, when Lodolo is back, he missed a part of his build up. Singer threw 5 2/3 innings a spring start in 2025, but his longest start this spring was four innings (one start ended prematurely with a blister issue). The original six for five plan, finalized before Lodolo’s blister, was meant to help the Reds cover those innings with a built up sixth starter. There may be even more work to do and innings to cover if Lodolo’s blister turns into a setback. The Reds don’t have a true long reliever. Ashcraft or Phillips may be able to give you two innings. They only have seven relievers right now. Also, most of the Reds bullpen doesn’t have minor league options, so it’s harder to shuffle day to day to add a new arm to the active roster. Structuring nine inning plans early in the year as the starters keep building up will be a big storyline.