Tim Melville is on the cusp of a chance of a lifetime for the Cincinnati Reds. He has overcome great odds from a childhood deformity to reach the point where he is about to break Reds’ camp as a starting pitcher in the team’s rotation.
For the Reds, the fact that Melville is even under consideration for a rotation spot at the start of the season shows just how porous the Reds’ rotation has become.
Injuries have knocked two of last year’s rookies out of the rotation. Michael Lorenzen (elbow) and John Lamb (back). Another rookie from last year – Jon Moscot – is recovering from a strained intercostal muscle but might be ready to start the season.
A late start for Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) and the late addition of Alfredo Simon may prevent those two from joining the rotation at the start of the season. Homer Bailey isn’t expected to be ready in his return from Tommy John surgery until May.
So that leaves Anthony DeSclafani, Brandon Finnegan, Moscot and Melville to start the season.
Melville has the lowest spring training ERA (5.56) among the four. He’s thrown 11.1 innings so far this spring.
The 26-year-old Melville has endured the kind of minor league career that raises the question why he is still even pitching professionally. He has a 4.75 ERA across seven minor league seasons.
Last year Melville pitched his only year at the Triple-A level. He had a 4.63 ERA in 151.2 innings. His WHIP was 1.378.
The Reds may have thought the team would be in a position to start 2016 with decent depth in the rotation. The Reds started rookie pitchers in the final 64 games of last season. Still, Tim Melville is a new rookie on the verge of starting a game in 2016 for the Reds.
Even the addition of Simon can’t completely bridge the gap of rotation depth. The Reds may have to turn to a string of long relievers to help fill the void through the first couple weeks of the season.
And of course, Tim Melville.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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