Cincinnati Reds reliever Tanner Rainey has had a rough start to his major league career. He is better than he has looked thus far.
It is easy to fall in love with the raw stuff that Cincinnati Reds reliever Tanner Rainey possesses. With a fastball in the upper 90s and an excellent slider, Rainey certainly matches the profile of a potentially dominant reliever. With the Reds still rebuilding, Rainey would seem to be the type of pitcher that could be a part of the future.
However, his first taste of the majors has not gone well. In his eight outings, spanning seven innings, Rainey has put his greatest weakness, a lack of control, on full display. He has a 24.43 ERA and a 3.751 WHiP, with 12 walks and four homers allowed. He does have seven strikeouts, showing that he can get major league hitters to swing and miss, but more often than not, his command has done him in.
That performance is a far cry from what the Reds have seen in the past two seasons. The 71st overall selection in the 2015 MLB Draft had a breakthrough campaign in 2017, his first season as a full time reliever. Between the Florida State League and the Southern League, Rainey posted a 3.19 ERA and a 1.000 WHiP in 62 innings. He notched 13 saves while striking out an incredible 104 batters and issuing only 39 walks. Rainey even made a strong impression in Spring Training, as his two pitch combination drew attention.
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Despite those struggles at the major league level, Rainey has pitched well in AAA this season. In between his mostly disastrous stints with the Reds, he has posted an excellent 1.57 ERA and a 1.151 WHiP. He still displayed those control issues, with 21 walks in 28.2 innings, but has allowed only 12 hits while striking out 42 batters. The stuff is certainly there for Rainey to dominate.
That strikeout ability, and his ability to dominate with those two pitches, will lead to Rainey continuing to get a look. At this point, he has come close to doing everything he needs to in the minors. Should he continue to dominate in AAA, and cut down on that walk rate, he will have done everything the Reds could ask for. Rainey is potentially only a few more minor league outings from showing that he has nothing left to prove.
It is just a matter of having that success translate to the major league level. That may take a mechanical tweak, or an adjustment to where he stands on the mound. But with that arm, and his devastating slider, Rainey will continue to get chances to prove he belongs in the majors. Considering his success in the minors, that day is coming.
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Tanner Rainey is a better pitcher than he has shown with the Cincinnati Reds. Just give him some time.