Both the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins have already turned their respective attentions away from 2017 and towards the future. Each figure to be sellers before the deadline if the right offers come their way. These two teams, ultimately, are far more similar than different. Terrible starting pitching is the weakness for both squads who each have some quality positional pieces. These teams met last weekend, too, with Miami winning two of three on the road.
This series will be contested from Thursday, July 27, 2017 through Sunday, July 30, 2017 at Marlins Park in Miami.
Bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Pitching Matchups
Thursday will mark the second chance for Robert Stephenson against the Marlins. He allowed a pair of homers to J.T. Realmuto last weekend, losing what was his first start of the 2017 season.
While Saturday was Stephenson’s first start, the 24-year old right-hander has made 14 big league appearances this year, tossing 30 innings. After pitching to a 6.08 ERA in eight starts last year, he’s 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in his time in the Majors this time around. He’s walked 18 batters and allowed nine homers.
Stephenson is a former top prospect so he has the upside to be a useable piece, but he’s failed to develop the way the Reds hoped. He’s already a -1 WAR player in is limited time in on a big-league mound in 2017.
Overall, there is very little expectations for Stephenson’s second start. The only positive take away from the first one was improved command and, most importantly, a sharper slider.
Pitching opposite of Stephenson is another pitcher with command issues in southpaw Chris O’Grady.
Like Stephenson, O’Grady is an inexperienced big leaguer. Unlike Stephenson, O’Grady no longer holds any luster as a potential piece in the future.
The 27-year old has pitched to a solid 3.24 ERA in his minor-league career. In three major league starts, he’s 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA. His command was really bad against the Marlins last time out, walking four in two innings. He settled down after that, but ultimately allowed three runs in 4.2 innings while walking six.
Moving on to the second game, that’ll pin Sal Romano of the Reds against Tom Koehler of the Marlins.
Romano got the win against the Fish last time he pitched, going six innings while introducing a change up in that start. Much like Stephenson, Romano remains an unproven question mark. Koehler, on the other hand, is much more established. He’s just not that good.
Koehler gave up six runs—including three homers—in 5.2 innings against Cincy last time out. He’s 1-5 with a 7.92 ERA and 6.90 FIP. Simply put, he’s been incredibly hittable.
With a couple questionable matchups in the first two games, things get a bit better on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday, Tim Adleman will match up against Adam Conley and Sunday will feature Luis Castillo against Dan Straily.
Adleman is prone to the longball and has seen his numbers get inflated over the last few weeks. He’s now 5-8 with a 5.11 ERA which passes for respectable on the Reds. Conley is coming off his best start of the year. The lefty showed promise after seemingly having fixed a few things down on the farm.
As for Castillo and Straily, Castillo is a former Marlins’ farmhand and is having a pretty solid rookie campaign. In seven starts, he has a 4.05 ERA though he’s only 1-4. He’s striking out 10.1 per nine innings and can get out of a jam that way if needed.
Straily, meanwhile, is the bright spot for the Fish. The righty is 7-6 with a 3.84 ERA and 1.185 WHIP in 117.1 innings. He, however, is coming off a terrible start, allowing six runs and 10 hits—three going out of the park—against Texas.
Who's Hot?
Zack Cozart may not be on the Reds for this whole series. He’s a trade chip for the Reds and he’s doing his part to build value. The shortstop is hitting .323 with three homers in 10 games since the All-Star break. The All-Star starter at short is also getting on base a .462 clip.
Cozart is not alone amongst Cincy sluggers swinging the bat well right now. Scooter Gennett keeps impressing. He’s now hit 18 homers and has a .310 average and .956 OPS as the Reds fight to find him more and more playing time. He’s hitting .308 since the break and has three homers and 11 RBIs in 11 games.
Another Reds player swinging the bat well is Billy Hamilton. The speedster has five steals and a .367 OBP since the break. The outfielder needs to find more consistency with the stick to use his speed. For now, however, things are going well.
With those bats going and the Reds still getting lights out production from Raisel Iglesias out of the pen, there’s hope for Cincy in this series.
Kyle Barraclough has been equally lights out for the Fish since the break, striking out five in 5.2 innings. Junichi Tazawa has looked better, too.
At the dish, Giancarlo Stanton is hitting just .244 in his last 11 games, but has six homers to bring him neck-and-neck with Aaron Judge for the Major-League lead in homers. Stanton has hit 32 in total.
Christian Yelich is also hot. The centerfielder has had a down year, but he’s possibly the best overall player amongst Miami’s three outfielders. He’s hitting .317 with a couple bombs and a few doubles since the break.
Who's Not?
While some of the lesser names on the Reds roster are swinging hot bats, the big boppers in the middle have gone cold.
Between Joey Votto, Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler, the trio is 16-for-114 with no homers and five RBIs. They’ve also combined for 37 strikeouts.
Splitting things up a bit further, Votto is hitting .123, Duvall is batting .195 and Schebler’s average is just .088.
On the pitching side, Michael Lorenzen is struggling. He’s allowed nine runs in six innings since the break, including surrendering a pair of homers.
As for the Marlins, Justin Bour is now on the DL taking yet another positional strength away. The Marlins can match up with anyone in the outfield, but the infield—particularly without Bour—leaves plenty to be desired.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
