Cincinnati Reds fans have been asking, if not screaming, “Was getting Mat Latos worth it?”  “Will he be a real number two pitcher in a Cincinnati Reds uniform?” 

In a word….probably.

How’s that for committing, huh?  Mat Latos has been a bust, by any measure you want, so far for the Cincinnati Reds.  Thus far, he has:  3 starts, 2 losses, an ERA of 8.22 and 8 walks to show for those 3 starts.  Although his contract is quite small, relative to MLB standards, obviously the Reds are not getting their money’s worth so far from Latos. 

On a team that is full of underachievers for the 2012 season so far, he seems to lead the pack in underachieving in many Reds fans’ eyes.  His fastball is flat and belt-high way too often. His command of the strike zone is practically non-existent.  His fielding tends to show a lack of effort more than skill.  In short, he is off to a terrible start.

Buck up, though, Reds fans.  He has a history of slow starts.  Looking through the statistics on Mat Latos, you will find that April is, historically, his worst month of the season, by far.  He has a very unimpressive record of 1-6 and an ERA of 5.57.  However, the following months (which is the bulk of the very, very long MLB season) are 2.41, 3.55, 2.54, 3.35 and 3.93.  All of those months are far better numbers than the opening month for him.  So there is hope that history will repeat itself with Mat Latos.

I believe that Reds fans should cut him some slack for his horrible start and give him time.  As the heat starts to rise on the ball field, Latos’ ERA starts to dive and he starts to win.  Once he gets acclimated to life in Cincinnati and pitching in GABP, he will be the solid number two man the Reds expected him to be at the beginning of the season.

So Reds fans, put away the pitchforks and douse those torches.  It is a little premature to storm the castle and demand Mat Latos’ head on a platter.