The Reds just announced that Michael Lorenzen will make his MLB debut with the Reds tomorrow at 12:35 against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds will push Mike Leake back to Thursday against the Atlanta Braves. That move is most likely to let Lorenzen get his first big league start in Cincinnati, and not on the road.
Our own Doug Gray actually just wrote earlier today about Lorenzen in Checking in on the Reds top prospects.
Michael Lorenzen | RHP | Louisville Bats
After being the last man cut in big league camp this spring, Lorenzen is off to a good start for Louisville, though he did run into troubles in his last start. Overall though he’s posted a 2.84 ERA in 19.0 innings with 12 strikeouts and just four walks.
Level | IP | ERA | BB | K |
AAA | 19.0 | 2.84 | 4 | 12 |
It will certainly be nice to see Lorenzen get his shot in the big leagues. This kid has certainly earned it after his performance in spring training. In 49 career games in the minor leagues (28 starts), he has a 3.08 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9.
If you decide to head down to GABP to watch Lorenzen’s debut, be sure to use TiqIQ (an official sponsor of Redleg Nation). They have tickets for tomorrow’s game starting at just $4!
Just as a comparison, Johnny Cueto threw nearly 350 minor league innings before he was called up in 2008.
— Joel Luckhaupt (@jluckhaupt) April 28, 2015
Lorenzen threw 45 innings in college. Making MLB debut less than 2 seasons after being drafted. https://t.co/KpeCvRV8ju
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) April 28, 2015
Lorenzen showed much more feel for pitching than expected for converted, high velo college RP.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) April 28, 2015
I like the idea of @Lorenzen55 pitching at home first game. May buy a ticket and go see it. https://t.co/mw0tf5wTjI
— Steve Mancuso (@spmancuso) April 28, 2015
Lorenzen has logged 160.2 minor-league innings in 2+ yrs of pro ball. Now a key piece for a team that fancies itself a contender. Wild.
— Grant Freking (@GrantFreking) April 28, 2015
Photos are courtesy of Kareem Elgazzar of the Cincinnati Enquirer, and are used by permission.ÂÂ
All statistics are used courtesy of Fangraphs, ESPN Stats and Info, and Baseball-Reference (including Baseball-Reference Play Index).ÂÂ