Jimmy Herget Just Gets Results

Righthander Jimmy Herget’s Futures Game appearance was far from exciting. He generated a fly out and two ground outs.

But that one inning of work was representative of what the 23-year-old reliever has done in his three pro seasons. He entered the game, got three quick outs on just 12 pitches, nine of them strikes.

A 2015 sixth-round pick out of South Florida, Herget spent last season at high Class A Daytona, racking up 24 saves (to rank seventh in the minors) in 50 appearances and putting up a 1.78 ERA. He struck out 83 batters in 60.2 innings.

Herget was invited to big league camp this spring and garnered attention for his varied arm slots. He commonly throws from a three-quarters slot but drops down to sidearm at times. If that didn’t create enough deception, Herget also varies the timing of his delivery, at times rocking back and forth on the mound during his windup.

Once the ball leaves his hand, Herget has a four-pitch mix, including a fastball that reaches 96 mph. He mixes in a sinker, slider and changeup.

Herget was a starter in college, where he had a 1.96 ERA over 303 innings.

The Reds considered keeping him in the rotation, but most evaluators felt he he could reach the big leagues more quickly as a reliever.

“I guess I’ve really taken to (relieving),” Herget said. “Baseball’s fun, and I can’t wait to see what happens.”

Herget started the season as the closer at Double-A Pensacola, earning 16 saves in 24 appearances. He moved to Triple-A Louisville in mid-June. Through 34 overall appearances and 42.2 innings he had struck out 12.0 and walked 3.2 per nine innings while recording a 2.32 ERA.

Of his 20 saves this season, five of them have been multiple-inning efforts.

RED HOTS

• Pensacola third baseman Nick Senzel recorded a 16-game hitting streak, which tied the mark for the longest streak in the Southern League this season. During the streak, he hit .383 (23-for-60) with four doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs.