For some strange reason, MLB Pipeline continues to list Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Petty among the top 100 prospects in baseball. Earlier this season, the right-hander made his Major League debut, but on April 30, he crashed and burned in his maiden start against the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite spending the most of the season at Triple-A, Petty was given two more chances to win.
Earlier this week, Petty had what was maybe his poorest start of the season for the Louisville Bats. After just two and a half innings, the 21-year-old was removed after giving up nine runs on nine hits, including three home runs. In 18 minor-league starts, Petty has a 5.51 ERA and has only struck out one of the 17 hitters he faced.
Many Reds supporters believed that Petty was on the chopping block during last week’s MLB trade deadline, and it’s possible that he was. However, Cincinnati held onto their young pitcher, and if Petty is unable to improve matters, they could live to regret that choice.
One more meltdown from Reds prospect Chase Petty could ignite trade deadline backlash
At the trade deadline, prospect capital may be quite valuable. Last week, the Reds parted ways with some of their top-30 organizational prospects, including Adam Serwinowski (who was traded by Zack Littell) and Sammy Stafura (who was traded by Ke’Bryan Hayes).
Given that he is a top-100 prospect, it is reasonable to think that Petty might have produced a respectable return if he had been traded before the deadline with one or two other young players. Cincinnati’s search for a big bat ended in failure, and the lineup hasn’t been very active since the July 31 deadline.
Petty may be able to regain the kind of intriguing prospect he was before to the start of the season. Petty has a 3.52 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched this season before making his Major League debut. But in his 13 subsequent starts, Petty had a 3-7 record, a 6.32 ERA, and only 46 strikeouts in 57 innings thrown. In that time, he has also walked 30 hitters.
Other teams could have rejected Petty at the deadline because of his free fall, or maybe the Reds didn’t want to cut corners on a guy they still had faith in. In any case, a lot of Reds supporters believed that Petty need to have been dealt before the deadline to aid obtain an extra bat for the season’s last two months.
Given that it looks like Cincinnati will lose both Littlell and Nick Martinez to free agency this summer, Petty’s growth is essential going into the upcoming campaign. Reds supporters can only hope that Petty’s transfer worth at this year’s deadline will not be greater than his long-term future with the team.
