Lyon Richardson to make MLB debut for Reds in series finale vs. Nationals

That Lyon Richardson is making his MLB debut today for the Cincinnati Reds is a tremendous development, in many ways. The talented righty and former 2nd round pick has long possessed excellent stuff, and at age 23, he’s right in the same mix with the rest of this youth movement and in position to be the latest in that wave to revamp the entire franchise.

That he’s making his MLB debut in these kind of circumstances, though, is a bit a sign of the times around these parts. Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Connor Overton, Reiver Sanmartin, Justin Dunn, and Vladimir Gutierrez are Reds arms with starting experience who currently reside on the 60-day IL, while Ben Lively recently landed on the 15-day IL, too. Richardson, for all his talents, was not in the grand plans to be first choice today. Add-in that the club is reeling through a 5-game losing streak as their claim to 1st place in the National League Central fades, and it’s going to be a pressure-packed start from the very first pitch.

Regardless of scenario, however, it’s a start that we’re excited to see. Richardson has recovered slowly from Tommy John surgery, but the velocity for which he was once known appears to have returned, and while he’s still ramping up slowly - he’s yet to go deeper than 4.0 IP in a single outing or throw more than 76 pitches - we could well see him excel in a short outing today. Following him will be the rest of the beleaguered bullpen, so it sure would be nice if the team’s offense finally showed up again.

Washington will roll out eminently hittable Jake Irvin, who Joey Votto will take deep for a homer.

First pitch is set for 1:40 PM ET, and it sure would be nice for the Reds to end this losing streak before welcoming Johnny Cueto and the Miami Marlins to town.

Reds Lineup

Nationals Lineup

TBD, they’re one of those teams that waits an annoyingly long time to post theirs