Cincinnati Reds links, 4/16/15: The Kris Bryant case and Reds service time

Over at MLBTradeRumors, Tim Dierkes compiled a list of 11 former top prospects who weren't stashed in the minors (a la Kris Bryant) and instead were placed on Opening Day rosters, and a pair of Cincinnati Reds hurlers made the list.  Both Mike Leake and Johnny Cueto cut their big league teeth with the Reds beginning on Opening Day of each's respective rookie season, and the resulting accrued service time has effectively cut their potential time in Cincinnati short by a year.  While Dierkes does acknowledge that the extension signed by Cueto that still has him as the ace of the Reds may not have come to fruition had he been held back, there's no denying that the Reds probably wish they'd dragged an anchor on Leake's arrival time just long enough to where he'd be around in 2016.  Bryant's case has made headlines of late that place quite a spotlight on this odd logistical rule, but it's one that we probably should highlight in regards to Michael Lorenzen, too.

At first, it crossed my mind that the Reds might've opted to use Raisel Iglesias as the team's 5th starter over Lorenzen to begin 2015 due to this specific distinction and because Iglesias was already under contract for a 7th year that the team would lose out on with Lorenzen had he broken camp on the 25-man roster.  That's before noticing that year one of the seven in Iglesias' deal was actually last year, a year in which he didn't even pitch until the Arizona Fall League.  Iglesias only made $500K in salary (and the deferred portion of his signing bonus) in 2014, but it's the team control portion that I find more perplexing.  In the current landscape of signing international free agents, odd contractual quirks like this aren't at all uncommon, however.

And while we're on the topic of top pitching prospects, it appears Robert Stephenson will return to the mound for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Sunday, which is great news.  Stephenson missed most all of spring training with a shoulder issue and has spent much of the 2015 season away from the team due to a personal matter.  All this depends on the awful weather, of course, which has already kept the Blue Wahoos off the field on three separate occasions already this season.

Serial Johnny Cueto underappreciator Dave Cameron noticed a stat that will likely surprise everybody who watched last night's game against the Chicago Cubs.  If you're an "ignorance is bliss" kind of person, you probably shouldn't click on this, though, since it'll show you that the number Cameron linked to is astoundingly out of line with his career numbers.  You smell that?  Smells like regression's blowing in from the west.

Finally, over at Redleg Nation, Kevin Michell batmans his way through the early returns displayed by Anthony DeSclafani with the Reds, and it's a solid look at the young righty's diverse - and so far, successful - pitching arsenal.