Johnny Cueto Coming Down to Earth

In the first few weeks of the 2008 baseball season, Johnny Cueto was the pitcher most talked about in the major leagues. The 22-year-old Cincinnati Reds rookie blew away batters in his first two starts. At that point, he had a 2.03 ERA with 18 strikeouts and no walks.

Fast forward four more starts and now Cueto now looks human. He allowed at least five earned runs in three of those four starts and has only 15 strikeouts over that period. Currently, his ERA is 5.40 and he’s coming off of his worst out – six earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched.

Despite his struggles, Cueto has a bright future. He wasn’t as good as his first two starts indicate, but he’s also not as bad as he’s pitched recently. He’s a pitcher that can be a number one or two arm in a rotation. Cueto is probably a few years away from being a star but he has that potential.

If you take a close look at his numbers, there are still positive signs. He has a very respectable WHIP of 1.09 and a good strikeouts to innings pitched ratio of 33 to 35. The Reds and their fans will have to deal with growing pains but Cueto will pay dividends by the time all is said and done.

Photo: Newscom