After beginning the season on the road last year, things are back the way that they should be with the Cincinnati Reds opening the season up at home in the Queen City. At 4:10pm ET the Reds will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates to kick off the 2023 season.
Starting Lineups
Here’s the lineup for Opening Day:
Starting Pitchers
Stats are from 2022.
Hunter Greene
Making his first start on Opening Day, Hunter Greene is going to look to pick up where he left off last year when over his final six starts of the season he posted a 1.02 ERA with 51 strikeouts and just eight walks in 35.1 innings pitched. During the spring he worked on using his change up more than last year, so keep an eye on that as he faces off against the Pirates this afternoon.
2022 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 257 | 55 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 8.2% | 26.5% | .239 | .311 | .452 |
| LHH | 274 | 49 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 9.9% | 35.0% | .205 | .299 | .389 |
Pitch Usage (in 2022)
| 4-Seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 99.0 | 88.1 | 90.2 |
| Usage | 53.8% | 40.9% | 5.3% |
Mitch Keller
Coming off of a good 2022 season, Keller’s record of 5-12 didn’t reflect his 3.91 ERA – but the Pirates offense didn’t do him many favors. In his career, Keller has been crushed by the Reds. In 11 games Cincinnati has hit .311/.410/.511 against him and his ERA is 6.80. That isn’t an early career anomaly, either. Last year the team posted an .897 OPS against him and his ERA was 7.07 when facing off against the Reds.
2022 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 357 | 82 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 7.3% | 23.2% | .257 | .326 | .386 |
| LHH | 330 | 80 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 10.3% | 16.7% | .276 | .359 | .390 |
Pitch Usage (in 2022)
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 95.8 | 94.4 | 79.0 | 84.6 | 91.4 |
| Usage | 34.2% | 20.8% | 15.8% | 22.5% | 6.7% |
When and Where
- Game time: 4:10pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 58°, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
The Opening Day roster has been set
Cincinnati took their time setting the roster for Opening Day, but just after 11am this morning they made things official. You can check out the 26-man roster here, as well as read about all of the roster moves that needed to be made in order to get things set.
One Last Trip Around the Sun
Richard Fitch kicked off the regular season here at Redleg Nation, writing about what could be the final season for Joey Votto in a Cincinnati Reds uniform.
Baseball Prospectus ranks the Reds farm system 4th best
The crew over at Baseball Prospectus rated the Cincinnati Reds farm system as the 4th best in baseball this week. Only Cleveland, Los Angeles (Dodgers), and Baltimore were rated higher. The team was praised for their “very well-rounded position player group”, but it was also noted that the weakness was that “the pitching is a bit shallow and has command issues”.
Around the Beat
How Hunter Greene has always shined
Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote about Hunter Greene and how he’s dealt with the spotlight for what he can do on the baseball field. That’s even before he showed up on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school senior.
Hitters are the Enemy
Over at The Athletic, C. Trent Rosecrans talked with Derek Johnson about a philosophy he’s carried over from his time as a pitching coach in 1997 to now. There’s a lot in there from both Johnson and pitchers about how he goes about coaching and teaching – it’s an interesting read.
