Trevor Bauer, Cincinnati Reds
Despite being on the outside looking in when it comes to the wild-card race at the trade deadline, the Reds made an interesting move for their rotation. They traded away Tanner Roark, a soon-to-be free agent, and acquired Trevor Bauer, who can be controlled through 2020. A front three of him, Sonny Gray, and Luis Castillo seems pretty good for next year, right?
It probably will be, but Bauer has struggled since joining his new club — he owns an 8.23 ERA in 35 innings. He was much better in Cleveland before the trade (3.79 ERA in 156.2 innings), but it still wasn’t at the level he produced last year (2.21 ERA in 175.1 innings).
From a pitch value perspective (via FanGraphs), Bauer’s curveball is his best offering. It’s produced a 1.04 value on a per-100-pitch basis, which is easily the highest in his arsenal. It’s also produced the best opponent wRC+ (29) and ISO (.108). While this is still his second-most used pitch, his 19.6% usage rate is set to decrease for the second straight year, and it’d be the lowest since tossing it at a 19.4% clip in 2016 if the season ended today.
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