Young Arm Stock Watch 2014: Tony Cingrani

Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

2014 should be the year of the young arms in baseball as a number of pitchers will be entering into their sophomore seasons, while a handful of others will likely be making their debuts this year as well. In 2013, Tony Cingrani made his Major League debut for the Cincinnati Reds after Johnny Cueto landed on the disabled list in April. This prompted the Reds to bring the southpaw up from Louisville after making six starts for the Bats in Triple A where Cingani finished with a record of 3-0 and an ERA of 1.15.  Cingrani also struck out forty-nine, while only issuing eleven walks in Triple A as well.  Cingrani’s call up was the be a temporary one for the Reds until Cueto was able to return.  However, Cingrani looked poised to be a mainstay on the Reds roster for the remainder of the season.

On April 18 against the Miami Marlins, Tony Cingrani made his Major League debut, going five innings, striking out eight, and issuing three walks in the process of what would be a 11-1 victory for the Reds.  It was a sign of things to come, more importantly, it was a stellar debut for Cingrani.

Through the remainder of the season, Cingrani, who in the course of making eighteen starts, finished with a record of seven wins and four losses and an ERA of 2.92, which was solid for a debut season and something to build on going forward.  He also finished with 120 strikeouts, while walking 43 batters.

Overall, it was a good start to career that has a lot of potential, not just for Cingrani to improve, but also for the Reds to have another pitcher who has the potential to be a quality starter, if not eventually become the ace of the staff.  Well, this year will be an interesting one as Cingrani continues his Major League development.

As the season and more importantly Spring training approaches, Cingrani’s development will be key for the Reds pitching. It will be important to build on last seasons success, but to also make some mechanical improvements. There are some kinks in his delivery.  At times, he will show the ball when he begins his throwing motion towards the plate.  Things like these can be improved so he does not tip his pitches.

So far, the projections for 2014 based on what the fellows over at Fangraphs (via Steamer projections) have Tony Cingrani’s 2014 season finishing with a record of 9-8 over the course of twenty-four starts and with an ERA of 3.58.  While these are just projections, it is a good base in which to work. It is a possibility that Cingrani has either an above average to mediocre season – or even the possibility of an outright stellar one – where he emerges as the one of the best pitchers for the Reds. Only time will tell this as the games have been yet to be played.

Cingrani is definitely worth the watch this season, as the potential is their for this young southpaw to become a key pitcher on the Reds staff.