ST. LOUIS – On a staff with one of the hardest throwing pitchers in baseball in Hunter Greene and in an era when velocity rules the game, guys like Andrew Abbott can sometimes get overlooked.
“Not in here,” Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona said.
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Abbott, the third-year left-hander in the Reds rotation, is on a season heater like few in the game through 13 starts, and he might be the team’s first-half MVP at this point considering the team is 10-3 in his starts (he’s 7-1) – and his ERA is 1.79 as the Reds hit the halfway mark Wednesday.
Andrew Abbott has posted a 1.79 ERA in his 13 starts and the Reds are 10-3 in those games.
“He’s a little old-fashioned,” manager Terry Francona said. “He just adds and subtracts. But when you know how to do it – you’ve seen left-handers, they can pitch a long time and be really successful with touch and feel. And then he has a little bit of ride in the fastball. You see he gets some awkward swings., and he’s not throwing 100.”
Not that any of this is new to Abbott, who took the league by storm his first 10 starts as rookie in 2023, producing a 1.90 ERA as the Reds went 8-2 in those games.
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In fact, after an especially impressive start in the oppressive heat of St. Louis to snap a three-game Reds skid Sunday, Abbott was 25-17 with a 3.32 ERA in 59 career starts. That’s better than Greene (3.74) or Nick Lodolo (4.31), a harder throwing pair who are widely considered the front men of the homegrown pitching core.
If Abbott has been overlooked until now, it might not be for long, especially if he keeps pitching like he did against the Cardinals, when he retired the final 18 he faced in a seven-inning start.
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“To be honest, I didn’t even know I retired 18 in a row,” he said. “I was just trying to put everything in the zone. That’s a really veteran lineup over there. They know what they’re doing. Really just trying to make them hit my pitches instead of hitting theirs.
“That’s the best recipe for success as a pitcher.”
It might even be a recipe for a first All-Star selection after flirting with a bid with a good first half last year.
It’s at least a recipe for making a few more people start taking notice.
Until then, check out where he lands on our latest Reds All-Star candidate power rankings:
1. LHP Andrew Abbott (last week: 2)
The left-hander’s last two starts marked a tale of two weather extremes, battling wet conditions at home against the Twins to give up just one earned run in a tough start that included four unearned runs (in a Reds win), followed by a top-stopper performance in the humid 96 degrees of St. Louis to give the Reds bullpen a much-needed seven innings from a starter. Two more weeks of this, and if he’s still overlooked, he’ll be the biggest snub in either league.
2. SS Elly De La Cruz (3)
The Reds’ biggest star battled a “cranky” hamstring in late May, then got the heart-crushing news of his sister’s death May 31, and somehow continued to play – and perform at a level that has confounded teammates and staff. He still hasn’t missed a game this season despite traveling home to the Dominican to be with family after his sister’s death. And his June numbers (through Monday) defy explanation: .333 with seven home runs, 11 walks, a .422 on-base percentage and .750 slugging percentage. He’s even 4-for-5 on steal attempts after fighting through the hamstring – and hit his second triple in three games Monday.
Center fielder TJ Friedl couldn’t quite keep the ball in his glove on this play, a pop-up by the Yankees’ Cody Bellinger that ended p being a double in the eighth inning.
3. CF TJ Friedl (1)
Maybe the most consistent hitter on the team all season, the Reds’ leadoff man is also the team’s top defender. A .290 hitter with five bunt hits and eight home runs, Friedl’s biggest hurdle to earning his first selection might be the competition in a robust field of star-caliber National League outfielders this season: Kyle Tucker, Juan Soto, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Teoscar Hernandez, Fernando Tatis Jr. – you get the idea.
4. RHP Emilio Pagán (4)
Even after a hard-luck blown save on Saturday’s bullpen-day loss in extra innings, Pagán came back with perfect ninth for a save Sunday, retiring seven of eight he faced in the the two days (with the exception of that Nolan Arenado tying homer Saturday). The veteran setup man, who only ascended to the closer role when Alexis Díaz pitched his way out of Cincinnati, is 18-for-21 in save chances with a 3.27 ERA. With his next two saves he’ll match his career high (2019 with Rays).
5. LHP Nick Lodolo (NR)
Lodolo (5-5, 3.63 through 16 starts after Monday’s start vs. Yankees) hasn’t missed a start this year and is fast approaching last year’s career high of 21, which alone makes him one of the Reds’ most valuable starters in the first half. And then his bounce-back start last week against the Twins following his worst start of the year earned him a first career complete game – albeit, a six-inning CG, thanks to the rain that shortened the game to said six innings.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Check out who’s No. 5 on our Cincinnati Reds All-Star Power Rankings