When the deal became official and Cincinnati Reds' ace Johnny Cueto was on his way to Kansas City in exchange for a trio of lefties, Brandon Finnegan, the first player from the 2014 MLB Draft to make his Major League debut, gave the Queen City its first taste of excitement not from a Todd Frazier home run or Billy Hamilton stolen base. Nevertheless, General Manager Walt Jocketty is not recalling the former TCU star but John Lamb for tomorrow's start against the National League West leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lamb, a fifth round pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, was by far the most deserving for a promotion to the big club out of the three southpaws as he enters today with a 10-2 record, 2.67 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 111 1/3 innings between Omaha (Triple-A) and Louisville (Triple-A).
Although the 2015 Pacific Coast League All-Star had a very rocky first inning of International League action in his organizational debut against Charlotte (affiliate of the Chicago White Sox), Lamb has been unstoppable by only permitting two runs to cross the plate in sixteen innings since (1.13 ERA). Yet he has not only been hiding home plate from IL opponents, but is sending them back to the dugout empty-handed at the great average of seven whiffs per game!
With the 25-year-old's journey to the majors involving multiple instances of overcoming adversity (a fractured elbow his senior year of high school and Tommy John surgery in 2011), there is no doubt he is very capable of rising past a very good Dodgers' team in addition to turning in a fantastic performance like great left-handed hurlers before him.
While 50-62 Cincinnati eagerly looks to the future, John Lamb will be the sixth rookie starter this season to make his first offering in a Reds' uniform.