I mentioned in my NL Predictions that the Cincinnati Reds have been tipped by many to be a surprise package this season (whether they can be a surprise when so many people are talking/writing about them is another matter). One of the main reasons for this optimism is the presence of several outstanding young players in their organization, ready to complement the likes of Dunn, Griffey and Harang in a roster that has a genuine chance at competing in the NL Central.

With Homer Bailey having been sent down for more seasoning at Triple A, Johnny Cueto is the pitching prospect everyone has their eyes on in Cincinnati and, having just watched the majority of his first start on MLB.tv, it’s not hard to see why scouts are raving about him.

Cueto pitching brilliantly in his Major League debut for the Reds against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mainly working off a fastball that sat at around 92 MPH and topped out at 94 MPH, he mixed in his slider and change while showing impressive command. The twenty-two year old righty pitched seven innings, striking out ten, walking none and giving up just a single hit.

That hit accounted for the lone earned run Cueto conceded. The harsh reality of life as a pitcher is that just one slight mistake can cost you dearly. The mistake came in the sixth inning: laying a fastball into Justin Upton’s wheelhouse that was promptly despatched into the sparsely populated seats in the cold and rainy confines of the Great American Ballpark. Still, you can forgive him that one error because he didn’t make many with the other ninety-one pitches he threw. Indeed, up until Upton’s blast to lead off the sixth, Cueto was working on a perfect game having retired all of the first fifteen Arizona batters in order.

David Weathers took over for Cueto in the eighth and had the home crowd fearing that their young starter’s work would go unrewarded. The Reds had managed to put three early runs on the board against Doug Davis, but the D-Backs’ bullpen was able to keep them quiet for the rest of the game, leaving little margin for error. Weathers walked three to load the bases and a helpless Cueto could only look on as his debut ‘W’ came under serious threat. Thankfully for him, Arizona failed to capitalize on the situation, plating just the one run on Alex Romero’s sacrifice fly off Mike Lincoln.

Francisco Cordero came to the mound in the ninth and did what the Reds gave him a four year/ $46m contract to do: close out tight games. Three up, three down and Cueto’s great debut was capped off with a maiden big league victory at a final score of 3-2.

On this evidence, there will be plenty more wins for Cueto over the rest of his career, and possibly plenty more victories for the Reds over the course of this season.

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