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The Cincinnati Reds lost 7-6 Tuesday as pitcher Josh Smith made his Major League Debut. Smith looked rocky from the start and didn’t look much better as he lasted only three innings after walking six batters. Smith’s performance served as a reminder of a problem the Reds face: that their farm system lacks arms with true “ace” potential.
The Reds have seen rookies Michael Lorenzen, Rasiel Iglesias, Jon Moscot and Josh Smith make their respective Major League debuts. While they have served as respectable pitchers, none of them have shown much promise in potentially being a future “ace” of a pitching staff.
The lone pitcher to have any promise would be Lorenzen; however, he seems to be a pitcher that tries induce ground ball out than strike the opponents out like current ace Johnny Cueto. The problem gets worse when you look down on the farm.
Of the Reds’ top 10 prospects, five of them are pitchers, but only one seems to have the potential to be an ace for the Reds. That prospect is Robert Stephenson. Stephenson has proven to have the ability to strike out opponents as he racks up 10.74 strikeouts per nine innings. He has held batters to a .194 batting average. The one knock against Stephenson has been his inconsistency and erratic control at times.
Given that the Reds could be on the verge of shipping both Cueto and Leake out at the trade deadline, the fact they don’t have a potential ace could create problems. The only way they have acquired an ace is through trades and now the Reds don’t even have the proper trade chips to reel in a pitcher of such caliber. How the Reds’ pitching staff performs in the future will be something to keep an eye on, but one thing is for sure – the Reds will not find the ace they need in the farm system they have.
Chad Troyan is a baseball and football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChadTroyan15, “Like”him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
