Crooked Pitch

23-year-old pitching prospect, Greg Reynolds is being called up to enter the Colorado Rockies rotation this Sunday, as Mark Redman has been sent to the bullpen. Reynolds, who is 6′7″, is a ground-ball specialist who was taken in the first round of the 2006 draft (second overall).

Last season, before a shoulder injury ended his season, Reynolds was 4-1 in eight starts with a 1.42 ERA and a 3.88 strikeout to walk ratio (35:9) at the Double-A level. He hasn’t been quite so stellar this season in seven starts. His record is 1-2 with a 4.86 at Triple-A Colorado Springs, but it’s his strikeout to walk ratio of 1.77 (16:9) that is troublesome.

The Rockies front office seems to be less than thrilled with the promotion of Reynolds, as they would have preferred to wait a while longer. That’s just an option that is no longer available to this pitching staff.

Officially, the Rockies said they were acting cautiously with the prized prospect’s tender right ankle. Unofficially, they have been unable to complete a trade for Cincinnati’s Josh Fogg or Boston’s Julian Tavarez, leaving Reynolds as the most viable alternative for a disappointing rotation.

General manager Dan O’Dowd’s preference was to promote Reynolds next month, allowing him more time to increase strength in his surgically repaired right shoulder. A Triple-A teammate said Wednesday that Reynolds, just 21, has shown huge improvement in his last few outings after eschewing off-speed pitches early in counts and regaining command of his sinkerball.