When the beginning of the 2015 MLB season arrived in Cincinnati, prized pitching prospect Michael Lorenzen was flying with the Bats of Louisville while Reds' fans were hoping to receive a glimpse of him later in the year. Ironically today, Reds' nation is thankful that the six foot, three inch right hander will not make his next start for Bryan Price's club.

Lorenzen, who was selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft (Competitive Balance Round A), began this year just like in 2014 as he hurled seven shutout frames while collecting the win in his Triple-A debut versus Toledo. After another dominant performance (6.0 IP & 1 ER) five days later, the Columbus Clippers finally figured out the 23-year old with five earned runs in six innings. Fortunately for Lorenzen, Cincinnati's general manager Walt Jocketty looked over the poor start and promoted him to the Big Leagues, where he immediately made a positive impact. 

For the Reds, the Cal State Fullerton product started his career better than expected by having a 3-2 record, a 3.38 ERA, and 39 strikeouts in his first 12 games (10 starts). Yet, like in Louisville, batters eventually learned how to put "bat on ball" causing him to lose his next six out of seven starts. In fact during the span, he averaged over one earned run per inning, ultimately leading to the first demotion of his career yesterday.

Before departing from Dodger Stadium on Friday, Lorenzen was asked if he had any idea what his problem has been and said, "I didn't believe it was a mental issue. I thought it has to be mechanics. But we broke it down. I threw my bullpen today and everything was back to normal. I mean it felt really good. Now I'm a firm believer that it was mental. I'll go down to Triple-A, just apply it and get back up here."

With just over three weeks remaining in the Minor League regular season and the former Top 100 prospect on the 40-man roster, it is very likely that he will be back at Great American Ball Park as soon as the rosters expand.

Left hander John Lamb, who was acquired in the Johnny Cueto deal from Kansas City, will take Lorenzen's spot in Cincinnati's rotation while the 2011 Big West Freshman of the Year is scheduled to take the mound Sunday against Norfolk.

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Peyton Wesner
Editor, that has loved and watched sports. He enjoys traveling the country to watch division one college basketball and professional baseball, basketball, and football. In addition, Peyton is a huge enthusiast of Missouri Valley Conference basketball and International League (Triple-A) baseball as he focuses about these topics and many more on his sports blog Courtside with PW at http://courtsidewpw.blogspot.com/?m=1. You can contact him through his email, [email protected], or his twitter, @courtsidewpw.