Could Trevor Kuncl Help the Cincinnati Reds Bullpen? Reds' Prospect Opens Up on Triple-A Journey

When the Cincinnati Reds signed reliever Trevor Kuncl at the end of the 2024 season, it was a low-risk signing that had the potential to be noteworthy. In 2025, he made his minor league debut in Double-A and was named a Southern League All-Star. This season, he is pitching in Triple-A, so we sat down with him on the Red Hot Reds podcast to talk about his progression from Double-A to Triple-A and having his eyes set on making the big league club.

Adapting to Triple-A

Kuncl led the Southern League in saves in 2025 with 20 and had an ERA of 2.34 with 51 strikeouts, 17 walks, and a batting average against of .206. He was great in Spring Training; he did not allow a run in four games and allowed just two hits with three strikeouts in three innings pitched. We asked him about the process of Spring Training and learning of his assignment.

“I ended up going to Milwaukee with the big league team the last couple of times, for a couple of games at the end of Spring Training," Kuncl said. "I found out that I was going to Louisville that morning. And then I got a call about three hours after I left the field that I was going to Milwaukee, and I think I left (to Louisville) from Milwaukee in like 36 hours or something like that. It was a quick turnaround.”

His Triple-A debut started great. He did not allow a run through his first five outings and only two earned runs through his first 12 appearances. There wasn't a path for him to make the big league club out of Spring Training or through April. The Reds statistically had one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball at the end of April. That changed very quickly in May.

Path To The Big League's

The Reds' bullpen has been very bad since May, and there isn't much hope around who can fix it. The Reds traded a top-30 prospect to the Pirates for reliever Kyle Nicolas, and he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations. Lyon Richardson was designated for assignment after a disastrous outing on June 1. While with the Reds in Milwaukee at the end of Spring Training, Kuncl got to spend some time with some key bullpen arms.

“Oh, dude, it was awesome. I mean, I couldn't have asked for a better experience.” Kuncl said. “And during that time, I had time to ask Pagan about his splitter. And we spent a lot of time kind of talking about that because that's a pitch I'm developing right now. I still haven't thrown it that much, but just being able to kind of pick his brain about it and do stuff like that. And then the big league bullpen catcher is James Keller, he was my first Indy ball coach.”

Overall on the year, Kuncl has a 4.81 ERA with a 1.77 WHIP in 24 1/3 innings. Outside of just one rough outing, he's allowed multiple runs one other time.

“I was trying to do a little bit too much against Memphis," he said. "I had a little bit of a control issue, but I bounced back and threw again later in the week and felt like, to me, I cleaned it up. So just being able to put it behind you and just move on to the next one got a long season.”

That game, Kuncl walked five and was tagged with six earned runs in 1 1/3 innings in a game that saw 14 walks from Bats' pitchers.

“I had no idea where the ball was going." Kuncl said. "It looks like it sure did. But for me, my stuff was moving a little bit different. I had a little bit of a tick up in velocity. I think I was 95, 97, something like that. My slider was like 89, 91. So just feeling and looking, I went back and looked at it and I was just a little bit off time. That's all it was.”

The 27-year-old St.X. grad may be an option to turn to if things keep spiraling out of control. Emilio Pagan and Pierce Johnson may be returning soon as well to provide a boost to the bullpen.

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