Reds Desperately Need This Veteran Pitcher to Turn His Production Around

The Cincinnati Reds came into the season with the belief that their starting pitching rotation was one of the best units in baseball because it was led by a three-headed monster of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott.

Greene suffered an injury and hasn't pitched this season, though he's trending in the right direction with his recovery from an offseason elbow surgery. Lodolo missed the first chunk of the year and hasn't looked great since returning. Abbott got off to a horrible start, but has been excellent recently.

Chase Burns has been good for the Reds, but he's the only starting pitcher who's been above average this season.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller recently highlighted Reds pitcher Brady Singer as somebody who the Reds desperately need to break out this season.

Brady Singer Needs to be Better for the Reds

May 6, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Cincinnatti Reds pitcher Brady Singer (51) reacts after the Chicago Cubs score during the third inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

"Cincinnati's surprise run to the 2025 postseason never would have been possible without Singer, who led the team in both innings pitched (169.2) and quality starts (15). As a result, he's making $12.75M in his final season of arbitration, good for the second-highest salary on this roster," Miller wrote. "But this season has been a struggle for Singer, failing to even make it out of the fourth inning in four of his nine starts. The velocity on his primary offering (sinker) is down more than 1 MPH from where it had been over the past two seasons, he's giving up home runs left and right and his strikeout percentage (14.3) is a far cry from his previous career average of 22.1."

Singer was one of the more underrated starting pitchers in the league last season. The Reds seemed to assume he would pick up where he left off last season, but that certainly hasn't been the case this year.

In nine starts and 42 innings this season, Singer has allowed 59 hits, 11 home runs, and 27 runs. He's not generating whiffs or strikeouts while he's getting hammered when he's consistently in the strike zone.

His velocity is down, and he's struggling to generate soft contact. With all the injuries to the starting rotation, including Brandon Williamson and Rhett Lowder, the Reds need Singer to be an anchor. He's one of the team's highest-paid players, too.

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