Will the return of Alex Reyes provide relief or starting pitching depth for the reeling St. Louis Cardinals?
The St. Louis Cardinals will welcome Alex Reyes with open arms when he returns to the mound against the Milwaukee on May 30th. Yes, the Redbird’s top rookie (eligible) prospect is back, providing even more depth to the stout St. Louis Cardinals pitching arsenal.
After enduring Tommy John surgery, which sidelined him for the entire 2017 campaign and the start to 2018, Alex Reyes appears (more than) ready to return to the St. Louis Cardinals.
During his 2018 rehabilitation stints with the St. Louis Cardinals minor league organization, Alex Reyes has been flat out dominant. In four starts, he’s tossed 23 scoreless frames, 44 strikeouts, including 13 in one game during his time in Springfield (Double-A) — a club record.
Cardinals SP Alex Reyes will make his season debut Wednesday May 30th at Milwaukee.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) May 26, 2018
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According to Joe Trezza of MLB.com, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak anticipates that Alex Reyes will not have “any restrictions.” Based upon his latest outings, that is no surprise, but most St. Louis Cardinals fans are wondering where he’ll fit within the pitching puzzle.
Will he join the five-man, starting rotation? Or, will he help stabilize a shaky bullpen? According to CBSSports.com, Alex Reyes will join the starting rotation, replacing John Gant who is filling in for an injured Carlos Martinez.
What will become of Alex Reyes once Carlos Martinez makes a return of his own? The St. Louis Cardinals will have plenty of options, but using him as did late in 2018 would be the wisest decision — in any role imaginable.
Coming in during middle relief, setting up St. Louis Cardinals closer Bud Norris, or even filling in for a spot start are all options — giving the Birds on the Bat, a wild “card” option that no other MLB team has in their arsenal.
What’s more encouraging is that his secondary pitches are already at a high level.
According to our MiLB expert Benjamin Chase:
"Reyes averaged 97.3 MPH on his four-seam fastball, 95.8 MPH on his sinker, 88.2 MPH on his changeup, 83.4 MPH on his slider, and 78 MPH on his hammer curve."
He’s even hit 100 MPH on the radar gun and as we’ve mentioned before:
"His hard curveball is the toughest pitch for Alex Reyes to locate. He tends to use it only when he’s in the bullpen, as he’ll pound hitters fastballs, followed by dirt a hard curve as his swing and miss pitch."
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Even though the return of Yadier Molina is their most dire need, Alex Reyes isn’t a bad option for the time being, who is capable of winning games single-handily — turning the tide in the NL Central in the process.