Cincinnati Reds Announce First Five Probable Starters For Cactus League Spring Training Schedule

Two few familiar faces will by joined by two newcomers and one long shot to make the rotation.

The Cincinnati Reds have set their first five probable starters for their Cactus League spring training games. The first one will come as a bit of a surprise.

Carson Spiers will start in Saturday’s Cactus League opener against the Cleveland Guardians. Spiers figures to be important depth for the Reds pitching staff.

The move makes sense with Graham Ashcraft and Nick Lodolo working their way back to 100%. Spiers pitched in four games last season, starting two. He amassed 13 innings, finishing with 12 strikeouts and seven walks.

The next four probable starters will not come as a surprise.

Hunter Greene is scheduled to start on Sunday against the Angels. Shohei Ohtani won’t be there, but Greene’s curveball and splitter will be (hopefully). This is the first game action we will see for the new pitches of the Reds potential ace. Greene is the favorite to start Opening Day against the Nationals.

Monday will see the Reds in split-squad games. Andrew Abbott will start the first game against Seattle. He's entering his sophomore season with a simple directive: keep up the good work. Fatigue affected him late last year. Before he hit the wall, Abbott was one of the best pitchers the Reds have had in awhile.

The other split-squad game of the day will see a newcomer take the mound for the Reds as Nick Martinez will face the Milwaukee Brewers. Martinez signed a two-year, $26 million deal this offseason with the understanding he will start some games and pitch out the bullpen in others. Martinez is a clear member of the X-Factor Bunch on the Reds roster.

The fifth and final announcement, as of now, is that Frankie Montas will start Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. Montas joins Martinez in the X-Factor Bunch. He is fully healed from his shoulder surgery and this will be his first chance to show Reds fans what the new and improved version of his game looks like. 

Montas begins his crusade to beat the odds for pitchers coming back from major shoulder injuries.

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