Nick Lodolo sets sights on a strong finish for the Cincinnati Reds

177 pitchers have logged at least 60 IP so far this season in Major League Baseball, and Cincinnati rookie Nick Lodolo is one of them. Of those 177, only 9 have a larger K/9 than Nick, too - his 11.01 K/9 sandwiched in between the star-studded duo of Shane McLanahan and Corbin Burnes, for what it’s worth.

He has accrued 1.3 bWAR in his 13 starts so far this year, the kind of pace that has him on what would be a roughly 3.5 bWAR season had he stayed healthy for the duration. Somewhat quietly, he’s put together a 105 ERA+, and he’s even cleared 7 full innings in two of his last three starts.

In a year in which little has gone right for the Reds, Lodolo rounding into form and finishing the season strong would certainly be one thing on which we could all collectively hang our hats. The talent is there, the reputation is there, and he’s finally got a stage where we get to watch him ply his trade, with today’s start against the Colorado Rockies the next opportunity for him to continue working towards the finish of a rock solid rookie campaign.

(If Mother Nature allows, which is another story...)

The Reds host the Rockies and German Marquez at 12:10 PM ET for the first of what should be two games on Sunday, with Chase Anderson starting the second one for whatever reason. That’s a big pile of Sunday baseball between two teams going absolutely nowhere, so be glad you at least have Lodolo on the bump to earn your focus.

Here’s how they’ll line up for the opener:

Reds Lineup

Rockies Lineup