Kyle Lohse came to the Reds on August 1st in a trade with the Twins, as I'm sure you remember. Cincinnati gave up Zach Ward, a prospect who was pitching pretty well, but a guy who was a little old for his level. Obviously the outcome of that trade will rest quite a bit on whether or not anything ever becomes of Ward, but right now the Reds still have Lohse.
Kyle Lohse came up with the Twins in 2001, and was a starter pretty much right away. His performance seemingly fell apart in 2006, ending with him being sent to the bullpen in Minnesota, and eventually out of town. His ERA was definitely worse, but his peripheral stats remained relatively solid. He seemed like an entirely new pitcher when he arrived in Cincinnati.
Lohse threw 32.2 innings in August for the Reds, posting a 2.78 ERA with 29 strikeouts and 11 walks. He fell apart in September though, with a 6.46 ERA over 30.2 innings. That left him with a 4.57 ERA in 63 IP for the Reds, a mark that I'd love to see over the course of an entire season.
But is that a reasonable expectation? Should we be expecting more of August or September when we think about this guy for 2007?
Here's a few more questions to get the ball rolling for Kyle Lohse:
- Would you even keep the guy around?
- What do you think he'll command with arbitration?
- Would you sign him to a longer deal?
- Do you think Wayne will?