Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Levi Stoudt has a reputation as a fearless strike thrower. He doesn’t have the most overpowering fastball or the most devastating slider in the Reds’ organization, but the Reds traded for him last summer because they saw a pitcher who locates pitches and understands his strengths.
Stoudt, the Reds’ No. 14 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, made his MLB debut on Wednesday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays. He threw a lot of strikes against the best offense in baseball. But the Rays hit those pitches very hard and spoiled Stoudt’s debut.
The Rays beat the Reds, 8-0, in the series finale in front of 10,205 fans, and Stoudt allowed seven runs in four innings. He’s at his best when he locates his fastball, gets swings and misses with his slider and mixes in his changeup to get weak contact. None of those pitches fooled the Rays on Wednesday.
Stoudt was making a spot start, and he’s expected to go back to Triple-A on Thursday. The Reds needed an extra starter to give Hunter Greene another day to recover from a tibia contusion, and the Reds hoped that Stoudt could fill in for the short term and make his best case to earn a rotation spot later in the year.
Stoudt is still projected as a potential No. 4 or 5 starter down the road for the Reds, but the Rays showed why Stoudt hadn’t been called up yet to replace Luis Cessa in the rotation.
Stoudt’s debut started with a bad break. Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz hit a low line drive that snuck over the left field wall to give the Rays the lead right away. Then, Stoudt allowed two doubles, four singles and a walk as the inning snowballed.
A run scored on a balk. Stoudt received multiple mound visits to try to stop the Rays’ momentum, but nothing worked.
The Reds’ win over the Rays on Monday was Cincinnati’s most impressive victory of the year. They showed what happens when the Reds play great defense, work long, patient at-bats and get consistent production out of the bullpen. But after that game, the Reds suffered two blowout losses.
Takeaways from Reds vs. Rays
1. Stoudt recovered from his frustrating first inning and only allowed one run over his final three innings. He got five swings and misses with his slider, which is the pitch that has helped him develop into a prospect who’s on the verge of a full-time spot in the Reds’ rotation. Stoudt used to rely on his changeup more often, but now his slider has become a more consistent weapon. Later in the outing, Stoudt showed why his slider could be a big piece of his future success.
2. The Reds’ infield defense was a concern at just about every position. Jose Barrero has failed to convert routine plays, he made a poor throw to first on a potential double play and he dropped a potential pickoff throw on Wednesday. India hasn’t shown great range at second base, and the Reds are using fill-in third basemen as Spencer Steer recovers from a knee injury.
3. Reds reliever Lucas Sims threw a scoreless inning in his first appearance in an MLB game since May 10, 2022. After missing 11 months with a back injury, Sims hit 94.8 mph with his fastball and used his slider to get weak fly outs.
Stat of the day
According to SIS baseball, as of Tuesday, the Reds were the worst team in baseball at converting ground balls into outs.
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