Colorado @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 16, 2010 ) Colorado 2, Cincinnati 3
While their offense has carried the club at times this season, the Cincinnati Reds are still the envy of most teams when it comes to young pitching talent.
One of those young arms will be making its return on Saturday when Edinson Volquez makes his first start of the season against the Colorado Rockies.
Volquez has been out since early last season after blowing out his elbow in a June 1 start at the St. Louis Cardinals. Tommy John surgery has put the elbow back together and Cincinnati has deemed its 27-year-old right-hander ready to make his return to the big leagues.
One could make a case that Volquez is the most talented of a group of Reds youngsters that includes Travis Wood, Mike Leake and Homer Bailey - and Volquez certainly has had the most success in the majors of the quartet.
After coming to Cincinnati in a swap that sent All-Star Josh Hamilton to Texas prior to the 2008 season, Volquez went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA in his first taste of the National League and represented the Reds at the All-Star Game that season.
He battled some inconsistency through the first two months of the 2009 campaign, but still managed to strike out 47 batters in 49 2/3 innings, overpowering hitters with an assortment of hard fastballs and a changeup that has drawn comparisons to Pedro Martinez.
The 2008 campaign was by far his longest as a professional, and the strain of 196 innings caused him to tire and likely didn’t help his elbow.
Cincinnati plans to be more careful with its asset this time around. The Reds have eased him back into the majors after six rehab starts split between high-A Lynchburg and Triple-A Louisville. Vazquez went 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA in those starts, touching 98 mph multiple times with his fastball.
Vazquez was suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in spring training, but was allowed to serve the suspension while rehabbing. He blamed the positive test on fertility drugs he had been taking as he and his wife attempted to start a family.
Now clean and healthy, Volquez’s addition to the rotation could be like making a big trade-deadline acquisition for the Reds, who are locked in a battle for first place in the NL Central.
Volquez has not had much success against the Rockies in his career, allowing eight runs and 13 hits while walking five and striking out 10 in 10 innings spread over two starts.
Cincinnati claimed the series opener, 3-2, on Friday behind a stellar outing from Bronson Arroyo and a pair of RBIs from Orlando Cabrera. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak and kept the Reds ahead of the Cardinals in the division.
Colorado will send left-hander Jorge De La Rosa to the mound on Saturday. The 29-year-old made his own return from the disabled list on July 9 after missing over two months with a torn tendon in his middle finger. The return didn’t go very well, with De La Rosa allowing seven runs - five earned - and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.
He has made eight appearances - two starts - against CIncinnati in his career, allowing 13 runs and 15 hits while walking 13 in 14 total frames.