Arizona Diamondbacks News: Addison Reed makes 2015 Debut
By John Tenney
Finally, highly thought of right handed pitcher, Addison Reed made his 2015 debut on the mound in a “B” game versus the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona yesterday. Initially held back from pitching in a live game due to shoulder tightness, the young hurler finally made his debut. He pitched a scoreless inning for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Nick Piecoro, who covered the outing for the Arizona Republic, noted that his fastball was at the 88-89 MPH level, and over the course of throwing 13 pitches while facing 4 batters, he was able to hit 90 MPH. He hit the first batter he faced, but then he retired the next three finishing his outing with a strikeout on a slider.
"“I felt normal,” Reed said. “Everything felt good. Other than the first slider I threw that hit the guy’s foot, I thought everything went well.”"
Overall Addison Reed made positive remarks on the outing and remains hopeful to be ready for the 2015 Season opener against the San Francisco Giants on April 6th.
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My Thoughts:
Personally I think Addison Reed needs more work in Spring Training to get ready for the upcoming season. I understand the logic behind holding him back to work out an injury, but he still needs work, especially if he’s going to help solidify a bullpen that needs help.
According to Brooks Baseball, his average fastball velocity in 2014 was 93.33 which shows his fastball isn’t quite ready yet. He needs more game action to get this pitch ready for the regular season.
In 2014, Reed went 1-7 with a 3.48 ERA while pitching 59 1/3 innings over 62 games. This season, FanGraphs projects he will go 3-3, while seeing his ERA slightly fall to 3.42 while averaging nine strike outs per game in 65 games, tossing a total of 65 innings this season.
I think the projection is slightly better. I think Addison Reed has promise, if he gets enough preparation and work during the season, he could prove quite a few critics wrong. This bull pen needs help in closing out close games. It’s time for Addison Reed to shine, it’s now up to him to take the opportunity to do so.