Cut From 40-Man, Former Reds Reliever Is Forcing His Way Back Into Conversation

Lyon Richardson is quietly putting together his best season in Triple-A. He allowed his first run of the season in a two-inning outing on Sunday.

Putting It Together

Last season, Richardson pitched in 34 games for the Reds and posted a 4.54 ERA. This was the longest stretch of baseball for him at the big league level. He had his ups and downs, but struggled overall. He performed at a similar clip with Triple-A in 2025, posting a 4.22 ERA in 22 games. His biggest issue has been his inability to put batters away when ahead in the count and the walk.

This season, the 26-year-old is 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP in 15 1/3 innings. He has allowed just five walks, and hitters are batting just .115 against him. Last season, batters hit .254 against him, the highest since 2021 when he was primarily a starter in High-A.

Can He Contribute At The Big League Level?

Richardson was designated for assignment during the 2025 offseason and re-signed to a minor league contract, so the path back to Cincinnati will require some roster moves and be more difficult. If he is going to keep pitching at this level, he should be someone that Nick Krall, Brad Meador, and Terry Francona keep a close eye on to help the bullpen out down the stretch in what hopes to be a deep playoff run for your first-place Reds.

Around the Minor Leagues

Daytona lost 5-4 on Sunday. They finished their week 1-5. Top-30 prospect Deivi Villafana has been spectacular to start the season in Single-A. The 22-year-old has a 0.69 ERA with a 0.77 WHIP in 13 innings this season. After a season in the Arizona Complex League, where he was hit hard, batters hit .364 against him. He has just a .191 batting average against him this season and looks to be a reliever to keep an eye on going forward.

The offense for Daytona has been lacking. Tyson Lewis, Mason Neville and Arnaldo Lantigua are all batting under .215, with Lantigua the only one with an OPS over .600. Jacob Friend has been a pleasant surprise, the catcher is hitting .333 with a 1.213 OPS and five home runs this season.

Dayton won 3-0 on Sunday behind a stellar rehab outing from Nick Lodolo and an even better outing from Nestor Lorant. Lodolo pitched five innings with two hits, seven strikeouts, and no walks. Lorant pitched four innings with two hits, eight strikeouts, and earned the save. Kien Vu and Alfredo Alcantara each homered to provide the offense for the Dragons. Vu has homered in consecutive games. Alfredo Duno is batting just .197, but walked three times on Sunday.

Chattanooga lost to Knoxville 7-2. Jose Acuna pitched six innings with seven hits, three runs, no walks, and four strikeouts. He is credited with the loss. Cam Collier has raised his batting average by 37 points this week. He went 1-4 with a double. Ruben Ibarra was 2-4 with two RBIs. Austin Hendrick was 0-4 with three strikeouts. He is still batting .307 with an .853 OPS this season.

Louisville won 12-6 over Iowa. Noevi Marte and Michael Toglia remain red-hot. Marte went 4-6 with an RBI. He is batting .452 with a 1.214 OPS with Louisville this season. Toglia went 2-4 with an RBI, two runs scored, and two walks. Ivan Johnson hit a grand slam in the first inning; he went 3-5 with five RBIs. Tejay Antone pitched well, throwing a perfect seventh with a strikeout. Trevor Kuncl continues to look good in Triple-A. In just his second season in affiliate ball, he has a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings with 13 strikeouts. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a walk and two strikeouts.

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