The Reds have claimed 21 year old lefty Alexander Smit off of waivers from the Twins.  He has not fared to well in Single A ball so far this season.  He has pitched in 18 games (8 starts) and he is 1-4 with 1 save, a 5.86 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP so far this season.  He has worked 50.2 innings and he has allowed 62 hits, walked 26 batters and whiffed 38.

The Reds have placed Josh Hamilton on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right wrist.  He has played in 64 games this season and he is 58 for 208 (.279 avg, .914 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 14 homers and 30 RBIs.  The Reds need Hamilton to get and stay healthy because the Reds will need his bat a lot because changes are a coming.

The Reds have acquired 24 year old righty reliever Dan Denham from the A’s to complete the Kirk Saarloos trade.  The Reds also traded 33 year old Julio Manon to the A’s in that trade (which is likely no loss).  Denham has pitched in 16 games this season in A+AA ball and he is 2-1 with a 6.10 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP.  In 20.2 innings Denham has allowed 25 hits, walked 11 batters and whiffed 10.  Don’t expect much from Denham in the future.

Kyle Lohse, Bronson Arroyo, Todd Coffey, Matt Belisle and Kirk Saarloos have all not pitched up to their ability this season.  Bronson Arroyo is the pitcher that has hurt the Reds the most because they are paying him like an ace of the rotation and he simply is not that good and he’s proving that this season.  Arroyo is 3-9 this season with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP so far.  That just will not get it done.  The Reds need him to step up and start earning his paychecks starting RIGHT NOW.  Kyle Lohse has never really been that good of a pitcher so it should come as no surprise that he finished the first half of the season with a 5-10 record.  With that record Lohse has a 4.47 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP which doesn’t indicate how good his stuff is.  He should be a better pitcher than he has been so far in his career so it is possible that the light bulb could turn on at any point.  Matt Belisle surprised everyone in Spring Training and he won a job in the rotation but he might have a hard time keeping it if he doesn’t pitch better in the 2nd half.  Belisle is 5-6 with a 5.28 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP so far this season.  Todd Coffey is another pitcher that has been disappointing to the Reds this season.  He is 1-1 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP so far this season.  He has allowed an amazing 46 hits and 8 homers in only 35.1 innings and that will need to change soon.  He has good enough stuff to miss opposing bats so he needs to get that done.  Kirk Saarloos has never been a good major league pitcher and it’s unlikely he ever will be one.  Saarloos is 1-4 with a 6.85 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP so far this season for the Reds.  Hopefully he won’t pitch that much in the 2nd half of the season or the Reds will be in deep trouble.

Aaron Harang and David Weathers are the only two pitchers that are throwing the ball well for the Reds this season.  Harang has been outstanding as he is 9-2 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP so far this season.  Harang has been really aggressive this season as he has racked up 112 strikeouts already this season.  Look for Harang to have a strong 2nd half of the season.  David Weathers has done a pretty good job as the Reds full-time closer this season.  He is 1-3 with 17 saves, a 3.27 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP so far this season.  A lot of teams are looking for relief pitching so it’s possible that the Reds might trade Weathers in the next couple of weeks.