We found out on Monday that left-handed pitcher Brandon Williamson would be making his big league debut this evening in Colorado. After last nights game it was announced that it would be as the teams starting pitcher after some speculation that maybe the team would go with an opener and then bring Williamson in.
With the call up, the Cincinnati Reds had to make a roster move to activate Brandon Williamson and that move was to option right-handed reliever Alan Busenitz back to Triple-A Louisville to join the Bats.
After not seeing action in the big leagues since 2018, the Reds called up Busenitz from Triple-A over the weekend after he posted a 1.80 ERA in 15 games for Louisville. He appeared in one game when the Reds were in Miami. The right-handed pitcher struggled, allowing three hits and a walk that led to an earned run in 0.2 innings pitched.
For Williamson, it’s a day he’s dreamed about for a long time. But the circumstances probably don’t feel great as he’ll get to make his big league debut in the most unforgiving ballpark in baseball. The ball flies, so home runs are always a concern there. The outfield is also huge, so bloopers tend to find grass there as well. At the end of the day, though, he made it. Now he just gets to go out there and try to get the job done.
As for what one can expect from Williamson in his debut – I attempted to write about it. Ultimately, though, the conclusion was that he’s just been so inconsistent since the Reds traded for him in March of 2022 that you don’t know what it is that you’re going to get. But this season he’s struggled to throw strikes, struggled to miss bats, and he’s given up a lot of home runs. Put that in any ballpark and you probably aren’t going to get good results. Put that in Coors Field and it’s a recipe for potential disaster. As many Reds fans have seen in the past, though, rookies making their debut can find ways to confound hitters. We’ll all find out together how things go this evening.
At least he’s been doing better his last couple of starts as I understand it.
Busenitz might be coming back to majors later this year if his AAA performance continues to shine.
I read on twitter some comments about Williamson just thrown donw the middle of the plate the most of his pitches during last couple of outings so he could minimize the walks but the home runs are there and the K% rate is lower too.. Let us see how will be this thriller movie tonight starring Brandon Williamson…
Williamson vs Anderson could make for a very interesting game.
I’m expecting Anderson to really shine.
I guess Krall thought that Cessa, Weaver, Overton, Stoudt and Williamson would suffice.
Show’s you how wrong a fella can be.
At least Ramos isn’t starting.
Yes, at least the guy who’s hitting .303 (with a .410 obp) in road games — the guy who was 2-4 with a walk, double, and stolen base last night — isn’t starting. That would just kill this offense.
6-34 .177 counting last night.
“Got to get Myers going….”
Guys go through slumps. He went through one. He’s hitting much better now. Stats say that Myers was a very good hitter, which is why the Reds paid him a lot of money. We can all see that he isn’t a very good hitter right now. Stats aren’t the only way to evaluate a player. Ramos has looked good lately and he’s been getting on base. That’s when you DO want a guy in the lineup.
@ LDS, what do you mean by “6-34 .177 counting last night.”?
Ramos is hitting .250/.348/.317 on the season.
Which stats are you referring to?
J – “Ramos has looked good lately and he’s been getting on base. That’s when you DO want a guy in the lineup.”
Are you trying to say that a “hot hitter” SHOULD be in the lineup? 🙂
Myers is a lifetime .250 hitter with a K rate consistently around 30%.
This season it’s at 40%.
He hit 30 hrs back in 2017 but only drove in 74 runs with it all.
His “slump” is now at 100+ abs.
Now sub-Mendoza.
I’m wondering how we evaluate him outside of those stats?
Expecting more out of him than Ramos right now is wishful thinking at best.
I’m not sure Ramos is a “hot” hitter, but he’s not ice-cold either.
Maybe compared to a guy named Myers he’s pretty hot. 🙂 I do give Myers credit for a great sac bunt last night the ultimately led to a run. Sometimes those kind of things are still needed.
Still haven’t seen stats supporting the “hot hitter” theory. Can’t hurt to ask this again, either: should a guy who goes o-fer in a game be automatically benched for the next one? He’s a cold hitter, after all. If so, India shouldn’t play today. If not, what’s the distinction?
gmt – Not quite the same thing. Baseball is a game of failure. Now if a guy you know is a pretty good hitter goes in a slump of say something like 0 for his last 21 (for example Friedl) it might be a good idea to give him a day off to refocus. Now if a known average to poor hitter (for example Newman) doesn’t get a hit his last game that’s something different too. In other words you don’t “bench” a good hitter because he has a game or two without a hit. Then you have a guy like Barrero who, some say, hasn’t had enough ML ABs to know if he’s a good hitter or not. In that case you might put him at the bottom of the lineup and let him sink or swim for several hundred ABs knowing he’s had success in the minors and has lots of raw talent. Have to always keep in mind that hitting a baseball, I’m told, is the hardest thing to do in any sport. It’s not just having the correct hitting mechanics etc. “Seeing” the ball is an enormous part of hitting. Sometimes hitters will have a hard time picking up the ball and it looks like a golf ball coming in there. Other times a guy is “seeing” the ball really well and it looks like a softball coming in there. Those are the guys that you want in there when that’s happening for sure. Hitting a baseball is about momentum and confidence. Baseball itself, like most sports, is about building momentum. You don’t want to squash momentum. Instead you want to do everything you can to help it grow individually and as a team. Every situation is different. If you have a poor hitting lineup, as often the Reds have had this year, and you have even a guy like Reynolds who may be having “the spurt of his life” and hitting the ball like crazy, he too you probably want to find room in the lineup for until he cools off. There’s also the rare possibility that even a guy the Reynolds could finally figure it out after several years and become a good hitter. You never know. Just keep momentum going for individuals and as a team as much as possible. That’s a big part of building up a good winning record and becoming “winners”. Momentum Momentum Momentum! 🙂
I’m hoping Bell continues using Law as an opener
Lol. Bell is back to the 2 batter and your done plan.
Ugh. 1 batter
So, today is basically a bullpen game. Just unofficially.
A guy who gives up a lot of base runners and a lot of HR’s in L’ville is likely to get lit up in Colorado. Hopefully he makes it thru the 3rd inning, but I guess it’s just a matter of how many runs the Reds want to surrender before they turn to the bullpen.
I see a double digit outburst by the rockets….errr….I mean the Rockies.
I’ve got a different, perhaps more cynical, scenario in mind.
Williamson really brings it. 5+ innings of 1 run ball.
But Anderson shuts the Reds down.
Bullpen implodes after Bell pulls Williamson in the 5th.
Rockies 6-1.
We all have our fantasies.
Ruh roh
Well, I was part right….viz Anderson and Williamson.
Glad I was wrong about the Reds’ bullpen!
Barerro and Newman both riding the pine for the second straight game.
Bell played none of his switcheroo in last night’s game.
How often has that happened?