While waiting for a decision on the rotation, I found myself wondering, if they skipped the fifth starter as often as possible, how many times the Reds had to use one. I played around with the schedule in iCal (whichever staffer made that available as download should get a raise) and I came up with this (it only adds up to 161 games because it would be Latos turn on the last day of the season and, unless it were vital, I assume the Reds would have someone spot start to line things up for the inevitable playoff series):
1st starter – 35 starts
2nd starer – 35
3rd starter – 34
4th starter – 32
5th starer – 25
So, if Chapman does get the fifth spot, they could limit him to 25 starts. At 5 innings/start, that’s 125 innings. If he averages 6IP/start it would be 150. So yes, the inning can be sufficiently limited. At least, in an ideal world.
This is what happens when I have just a little too much time before bed.