Fragen und Antworten » What can the Reds expect from Lorenzen and his ever-

evolving role on the team in 2019?"Fast FactsRight-handed pitcher27 years oldbig swole boiHomered four times in 2018 Will Middlebrooks Jersey , and slugged .710 in 34 plate appearancesOrganizational historyDrafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round (38th overall) of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Cal State Fullerton.Made his MLB debut on April 29, 2015.Is in his first year of arbitration eligibility, and will be a free agent after the 2021 season.Career statsScouting reportSource: FanGraphsKen Gif-y Jr.ProjectionsOutlookBeginning this by talking about Michael Lorenzen, the pitcher, feels a bit like burying the lede. It’s the thing he’s generated the most value with over the course of his career, finding enough success out of the bullpen to post a 121 ERA+ in 214 innings over the past three seasons. But it’s also the least interesting thing about him. Regardless of his track record pitching in relief, the most notable thing about Michael Lorenzen is that he can do this:Now, I’ve written about how I feel regarding the best way to utilize Lorenzen’s talents from the Reds’ perspective, and I don’t know that I’ve changed my stance much. Using him as a possible multi-inning reliever and giving him an at-bat as often as you can when he’s pitching seemed like it worked wonderfully in 2018, and I’m on board with that being the focus moving forward. Cincinnati, however, sees it another way. Just over the weekend, Lorenzen pitched an inning on the mound in a spring training game, and then shifted into center field when it was time to bring in the next arm. The Reds don’t have a particularly strong defensive center fielder on the roster, and when Lorenzen was a two-way player at Cal State Fullerton, one of his calling cards as a position player was his outfield defense. He’s been vocal about wanting to add more innings in the field and more plate appearances this season, and the Cincinnati front office seems http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-pat-neshek-jersey Jersey , at the very least, open to exploring what his limits might be.Regardless of where you feel he best fits on this club, it’s hard to argue with the fact that there are few players in the sport more fun to watch than Lorenzen. The uproar caused by the arrival of Shohei Ohtani stateside was based largely around the idea that he could be the closest thing to Babe Ruth we’ve seen since, well, Babe freaking Ruth. Ohtani justified that hype early in the season, but unfortunately, ran into elbow troubles that necessitated Tommy John surgery. He’ll be limited to hitting duties only in 2019, which means that as far as two-way threats go across the sport, you can’t do any better than Lorenzen.And while the dingers and exit velocities are what deservedly grab headlines when it comes to Lorenzen, a large part of his usefulness as a two-way player is the fact that he’s a pretty damn good pitcher. His underlying peripherals aren’t without spooks — his strikeouts per nine fell from 8.7 to 6.0 last year while his walk rate stayed roughly the same, his 4.16 FIP was substantially higher than his 3.11 ERA, and his xwOBA places him around the bottom third of all pitchers in baseball. But he has maintained his impressive fastball velocity to his point in his career, averaging over 95 piles per hour with both his sinker and four-seamer, and as far as his batted ball profile goes, he’s ranked among the best in baseball in opponents’ exit velocity over the past two seasons.It will be important for Lorenzen to miss more bats in 2019, just as it will be important for him to maintain his sterling track record of limiting home runs (opponents hit just six in 81 innings last year). But he’s already damn close to the kind of player Cincinnati needs him to be. The Reds’ bullpen was a strong one last year, and with Raisel Iglesias Jake Arrieta Jersey , Jared Hughes, David Hernandez and Amir Garrett all returning, there isn’t any pressure for Lorenzen to take an extra step toward being an elite arm. His team would certainly take that, for sure, but they would also take a guy who looks just the way he did last year.Big, honkin’ dingers included, of course. NEW YORK — On Friday night, Aaron Nola moved into a tie for the National League lead by earning his 16th victory.On Saturday night, Max Scherzer not only broke that tie, he notched his 17th win by becoming the second pitcher in the NL to throw a second complete game this season.Your move, Jacob deGrom.Article continues below ...The ace of the New York Mets will look to keep pace with his competition for the NL Cy Young Award on Sunday afternoon, when deGrom takes the mound in the finale of a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.DeGrom (8-8, 1.68 ERA) is scheduled to oppose the Phillies’ Vince Velasquez (9-10, 4.10) in a battle of right-handers.The Mets evened the series Saturday night, when Todd Frazier hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs in a 10-5 victory. Noah Syndergaard earned the win by allowing four runs over a 6 2/3-inning stint that ended when he was hit in the right rib cage by a comebacker off the bat of Cesar Hernandez. X-rays were negative and Syndergaard expects to make his next start as scheduled.The last two days have tightened a Cy Young Award race that has appeared to be tilting in deGrom’s direction over the last couple weeks. Nola’s win Friday snapped a two-start hiccup in which he went 0-1 while allowing seven runs over 12 2/3 innings. Scherzer’s victory ended a three-start winless streak in which he posted a 3.79 ERA.DeGrom, meanwhile, has been doing all he can to take wins out of the equation. He once again didn’t earn a win for his efforts Monday Nick Williams Jersey , when he didn’t factor into the decision despite allowing one run on two hits over six innings in the Mets’ 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.It was the 25th straight start in which deGrom gave up three runs or fewer, which broke the modern record set by Dwight Gooden when he won the Cy Young Award for the Mets in 1985 and tied the major league record set by Leonard Cole of the Chicago Cubs in 1910. It was also his 20th straight quality start, breaking the team record set by Tom Seaver in 1973.In addition, it was the 12th time this season deGrom has not earned a win despite pitching at least six innings and giving up two runs or fewer. Mets manager Mickey Callaway has been hoping for weeks deGrom’s tiny ERA — he is more than half a run better than Nola (2.29) and Scherzer (2.33) — will outweigh the lack of wins. No starting pitcher has ever won the Cy Young with fewer than 13 wins.“He’s been the best pitcher in all of baseball,” Callaway told reporters Monday night. “It’s grit and determination. He just won’t be beaten.”The Phillies (74-67) have not been quite as formidable over the past month. If Philadelphia can’t figure out a way to beat deGrom and the Mets (64-77) on Sunday, it will mark the 10th straight series in which Phillies have not earned a series victory.The Phillies are 11-19 since a four-game sweep of the Miami Marlins from Aug. 2-5. Despite the slide, Philadelphia is only 3 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.Runs have been at a premium during the skid for the Phillies, who are averaging 3.7 runs per game over the last 30 contests. In hopes of reviving the offense, manager Gabe Kapler unveiled an unorthodox lineup Saturday, when usual first baseman Carlos Santana played third base and range-challenged Asdrubal Cabrera started at shortstop.After the Phillies scored five runs Saturday, Kapler said he might be willing to sacrifice defense again Sunday.“Going up against a pitcher like Syndergaard, going up (Sunday) against a pitcher like deGrom, you have to find a way to score runs,” Kapler said. “Sometimes that means making that tradeoff, putting your best offensive team on the field. We’ll think about doing it again tomorrow.”Velasquez took the loss in his most recent start Monday, when he allowed three runs over five innings as the Phillies fell to the Marlins 3-1.DeGrom is 7-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 14 career starts against the Phillies. Velasquez is 1-3 with a 3.78 ERA in seven career starts against the Mets.