Maybe we should talk about Robert Stephenson the Reliever

[paulrichjr]

I'm trying to contain myself here because I remember when Garrett and Peralta both looked like gangbusters in April/May only to climb aboard the struggle bus as their seasons wore on


but boy does Stephenson look good. Like, really good. Honestly one of the more overlooked stories so far through 15 games.

Watch the video of his pitches last night vs Iggy's. Stephenson's stuff was unhittable. Iggy's? It looked like it was throwing a softball compared to Stephenson.

[*BaseClogger*]

It’s pretty clear Bob Steve himself noticed, too, and maybe the new coaching staff he’s working with did, too. He began to not just throw his slider, but to lean on it tremendously, and in the limited sample that is his 2019 season he’s thrown it a whopping 54% of the time, all while reducing his fastball usage to a much lower 39%. The results have been tremendous, too, as out of the 187 relievers who have thrown a qualifying amount of innings so far in 2019, Stephenson’s slider has been valued as the absolute best of the bunch by a rather wide margin.

https://www.redreporter.com/2019/4/1...ti-reds-slider

[DGullett35]

I like Bell using Bob Steve in some high leverage situations. I was asking for this earlier this week. So far so good

[Kinsm]

I'm trying to contain myself here because I remember when Garrett and Peralta both looked like gangbusters in April/May only to climb aboard the struggle bus as their seasons wore on


but boy does Stephenson look good. Like, really good. Honestly one of the more overlooked stories so far through 15 games.

It's always interesting to see the outcome when failed starters move to the pen. They stop pitching their worst pitch (or 2 or 3) and typically focus on just 2 pitches and sometimes those 2 pitches get marginally better.

His FB is up 2 mph and his slider looks a hell of a lot better. He's basically all but eliminated any kind of curve-ball and thus far is throwing almost no change-ups. This might be simple progression, or it might be a result of new coaching - we'll probably never know.

I just hope it stays that way, his entire career as a professional he's had problems locating pitches ---> I hope this is here to stay.

[Kinsm]

Wouldn't surprise me if Hughes &/or Hernandez are re-signed (if the price is right).

Hughes has a reasonable team option; assuming his fastball velocity perks back up here, I'd assume he gets picked up.

Too many players possibly FA's this winter: Puig, Kemp, Gennett, Dietrich, Iglesias, Wood, Roark, Duke, Hernandez, Hughes.

[TRF]

The new regime isn't the old regime. Imagine for a moment two things: 1, Price is retained. 2. the emphasis on analytics is reduced. Both actually could have happened, especially if the latter were true.

Stephenson would have been let go or shoe-horned into a position he simply isn't right for.

The Reds have struggled out of the gate this year, losing a lot of games by 1-2 runs. They do have three starters pitching well, and some dominant performances in the pen from Stephenson, Garrett and Peralta. Lorenzen can creep into this area.

Really happy the Reds gambled on Stephenson over Wisler.