Red Report 2016 - Tony Cingrani

Fast Facts:

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Left, Throws: Left
Height: 6' 4", Weight: 210 lb.

• Attended Lincoln Way Central HS in New Lenox, Illinois
• I looked up Lincoln Way Central to see if anyone else notable had graduated, and the only person of any notoriety was Rob Ninkovich (Patriots Defensive End) and some local TV guy.
• Played at Rice University before he was drafted by the Reds in the 3rd round of the 2011 amateur draft
• Debuted in the majors only a year after being drafted on September 9, 2012, at the age of 23
• 2016 Contract Status: Pre-Arb Eligible
• How to say "Tony Cingrani" in Japanese: トニー・シングラーニ 統計

Career Stats:

2016 Projections:

Transaction History

• June 7, 2011: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 3rd round of the 2011 amateur draft. Player signed June 13, 2011.

Tony Giffaroyo

Outlook

This year Tony will be coming out of the bullpen, but his role is not completely defined yet. Some, such as Mark Sheldon, are projecting that he will beat out JJ Hoover and Jumbo Diaz for the closer role this season. Formerly a starter, he moved into the bullpen in 2015, essentially when we ran out of options and didn't want to throw Kevin Gregg on the mound when things got rough.  He performed well in those roles, although his stats did not looks stellar, going 0-3 with a 5.67 ERA. Coming out of Spring Training last year he lost his Cingrani lost his starting role to Raisel Iglesias, which you can read about here. He was more reliable than others, but that's not saying much considering the dumpster fire that was the Cincinnati Reds bullpen in 2015.

Also, according to Mark Sheldon, he has changed his pitching mechanics from last year, looking to put less strain on his shoulder and throwing arm, after the shoulder injuries he suffered in 2013 and 2014, keeping him in Louisville for most of the year. Even last year, he was shut down halfway through June and then was sent down to Louisville for most of the season, where he only pitched 24 innings. If you take a look at this super slo-mo of his delivery, you can see just how much stress it puts on his shoulder.

As fans, we can only hope that this works out and doesn't backfire on him, since he already has an extremely effective fastball. Last season he spent almost the entire second half of the season in Louisville, before he was called up in September. His non-throwing shoulder has presented issues over the last years, and we have to hope that it doesn't come back this year. This spring, Tony has actually performed really well, as he is yet to give up a run in 8 innings of work. At this rate, he is set to give up 0 runs for the entire season, and if he does, it will be an MLB record! Wow!

Overall, we have a lot to look forward to in Cingroyo this season, since we haven't seen him fully healthy since 2012 and early 2013, and we might finally get to see what he was hyped up to be. Only time will tell.

Bonus gif: He has no idea how to open a bag of something