Tony Cingrani

Cingrani's 2017 season was split between Cincinnati and Los Angeles, and the difference in terms of performance was night and day. The lefty posted a 5.40 ERA, 7.01 FIP and 3.47 HR/9 in 25 appearances with the Reds, and 2.79, 1.86 and 0.47 marks in 22 appearances with the Dodgers. Cingrani lifted his strikeout rate by nearly four per nine following the move west (to 13.0 K/9) and shaved 61 points off his BAA. The biggest difference seemed to be that the Dodgers allowed Cingrani to throw his slider again (21.6 percent slider usage) -- the Reds all but scrapped the pitch before dealing Cingrani (2.4 percent). Cingrani also took heed of advice from the Dodgers' analytics department with regard to location of his fastball, per Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs. This new version of Cingrani seems capable of handling primary left-handed setup duties if called upon.

The conventional wisdom surrounding Cingrani was that he needed to go to the bullpen to best take advantage of his plus fastball and not-so-plus offspeed offerings. While that's proven true, the results have still been disappointing. His strikeout rate collapsed in 2016, dropping from 25.1 percent down to 18.1 percent. Even worse, his walk rate was an unacceptable 5.3 batters per nine innings. When you combine that profile with his flyball tendencies, it's easy to see why the Reds sought out other options for the ninth inning and why it's unlikely that he will see consistent save opportunities in 2017.

The Reds haven't quite figured out what role Cingrani should play for them, and his star has diminished in the process. They moved him to the bullpen in spring training, and subsequently buried him as the last man in the bullpen for the first month of the season. He developed a shoulder strain in the middle of the year, spent time with Triple-A Louisville, and generally was an afterthought for much of the season. He's not durable enough to be a max-effort reliever, and his secondary pitches are still not strong enough for him to be a starter, so he's stuck in limbo with the team.

Cingrani last pitched in late June, as a shoulder strain sent him to the DL and a subsequent impingement halted his comeback. Even before the injury, it was a frustrating season for him. Batters started laying off pitches out of the strike zone, and he started throwing more pitches out of that zone. His strikeout rate dropped from 28.6% to 21.8%, with most of that drop coming from hitters making better contact with his fastball. Thus, he started pitching more out of the zone, walking more batters, and giving up more homers when he did allow contact. The question is whether the declining performance from his fastball caused him to compensate and then injure himself, or was he already hurt? He's worth a late flier as a Last Year's Bum to find out the answer to that question.

Cingrani conclusively answered whether his repertoire of pitches can retire big league hitters with a strong rookie campaign. Yes, he needs to improve his offspeed offerings and become more pitch-efficient, but give us a starter with a good fastball that misses bats (10.3 K/9) and we'll take our chances that he figures out the rest. He should open 2014 in the rotation, though the possibility that Aroldis Chapman moves into the rotation does create some volatility.

Cingrani rocketed through High-A Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola to get a September callup with the Reds, where he impressed in brief duty. A third-round pick from Rice in 2011, Cingrani lacks a great breaking ball, but his superb command has allowed him to dominate lesser competition. Many scouts question whether his repertoire will shut down major league hitters and limit his upside to a fourth starter. He'll likely begin 2013 at Triple-A Louisville but could be the first to get the call in the event of injury. He has more polish than organization mate Daniel Corcino, with perhaps a lower ceiling.