Cincinnati Reds: Greg Reynolds to start in double header

Greg Reynolds has earned his chance to prove himself in the big leagues. On Tuesday, in one of two doubleheader games against the San Francisco Giants, he will get that chance from the Reds.

So far in his career, Greg Reynolds has been a massive disappointment. He was drafted as the second overall choice in the 2006 draft by the Colorado Rockies, and thus had some big expectations for his performance. After pitching well out of the gate in the minor leagues, with a 2-1 record and 3.33 ERA in A+ Modesto in 2006 and a 1.42 record with a 4-1 record in AA Tulsa in 2007, the Rockies decided to promote Greg Reynolds to AAA in 2008. Following a decent showing at AAA, he was promoted to the majors.

He made his major league debut on May 11th against the Padres, and struggled. He allowed 4 earned runs on 2 homers in just 5.2 innings. His next start was a beauty, 6 innings of 3 hit ball against the Twins, but then things started to get ugly. In his next starts, he allowed 4, 6 ,4 ,2 ,8 ,1 ,3 ,and 4 runs. His final start before his demotion came on July 4th, where he allowed 7 earned runs in just 1.1 innings to the Miami Marlins. The Rockies had seen enough.

He was later recalled in September, but his struggles continued. He pitched one clean inning out of relief before re-entering the rotation. In his final 2 starts, he allowed 13 earned runs in just 3.1 innings for an ERA of 35.10 over that span. He would finish 2008 with a 2-8 record and an 8.13 ERA over 62 innings. He wouldn’t pitch another game in the majors until 2011 where he pitched to a 6.19 ERA and a 3-0 record, mostly out of relief.

He was traded by the Rockies to the Texas Rangers for first baseman Chad Tracy. He really struggled in AAA Round Rock for the Rangers, somehow going 11-9 but with an ERA of 5.30. He was eventually released outright by the Rangers.

Prior to the 2013 season, he was signed by the Cincinnati Reds and sent to AAA Louisville. He’s found much more success this year than in the past, going 10-2 with a 2.54 ERA and 79/23 K/BB ratio over 127.1 innings pitched. He will be called up to pitch one of the games of a traditional doubleheader against the Giants, according to C Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2013/07/21/greg-reynolds-to-start-one-game-of-tuesdays-doubleheader/) in front of his hometown crowd.

If the former superstar prospect can find his stuff that made him so desirable in the draft, the Reds could have a massive steal on their hands.