Shannon Russell

srussell@enquirer.com

Left-handed pitcher Tony Cingrani made an extended introduction to Reds fans last season by filling in for the injured Johnny Cueto, but at 7:10 p.m. Wednesday the 24-year-old will make his first start at Great American Ball Park as a member of Bryan Price's rotation.

It's another big step forward for the up-and-coming player with the dominating fastball.

"I take it as another day but my adrenaline's obviously going to be rushing," Cingrani said Monday in the clubhouse, shortly after the Reds lost to St. Louis 1-0 on Opening Day. "But I'll be doing the same thing I've always been doing."

Cingrani's final spring training tune-up was Thursday in a 9-1 victory over the Diamondbacks in Arizona. He said he was "pretty excited" to break camp with the Reds for the first time, with the opportunity to improve upon last year's rookie showing featuring a 7-4 record and 2.92 ERA in 18 starts with five relief appearances.

He didn't pitch after Sept. 10 of last season because of back spasms. But that ailment, he said, is in the distant past.

"I feel great. I'm stronger than last year," Cingrani said. "My routine's pretty good and I've just been figuring stuff out. It's always a learning process."

Cingrani has traditionally relied on fastballs and threw them 81.7 percent of the time last season, per STATS LLC. According to an Associated Press story that cited STATS, only Oakland's Bartolo Colon pitched fastballs more among starters with an 85 percent clip. Juan Nicasio (Colorado) turned to fastballs 74 percent of the time while Justin Masterson (Cleveland) and Lance Lynn (St. Louis) tied at 73.2 percent.

Cingrani has been working on developing off-speed pitches to enhance his repertoire. Reds pitching coach Jeff Pico said Cingrani mixed in his change-up last season and has been honing his breaking ball.

"He needs that third pitch to mix in there to be a starter and go three times through the order. The breaking ball's going to come into play," Pico said. "It's improving. He's worked hard on it. He's got the fastball and the change-up so he's trying to get that three-pitch mix in there."

Pico has liked what he has seen of Cingrani since spring training but is admittedly still getting to know the young player on a personal level. Pico joined the Reds' staff in December and spent six weeks familiarizing himself with pitchers' deliveries and habits and personalities in Arizona, a difficult road to navigate at times considering the volume of players in spring training.

Still, Pico chatted up pitchers on the field and in the dugout or during work-outs. He asked about their families and hometowns in conversations that often evolved into players' hobbies – fishing, hunting, golfing.

So what stood out about former Rice University player Cingrani, the Reds' 2012 minor league pitcher of the year?

"I love the way he competes, the way he goes about his business. He's done that in spring training and hopefully it'll be showing up here during the season," Pico said.

As far as hobbies, well, there's still plenty of time for those conversations. The free agency departure of Bronson Arroyo opened the door for Cingrani this season, creating vaster opportunities to display the consistency and heat he showed in last year's abbreviated showing.

Pico said Cingrani on Tuesday would go to the ball park for a light workout and then probably get a good night's sleep before Opening Night against St. Louis. Cingrani said his dad and best friend were making the trip to Cincinnati for a game that he regarded as just another outing.

But Pico has a feeling that Cingrani's new role in the rotation will give him confidence.

"When he was here last year, he did very well. He's very deserving to be here, so I think now he feels like he belongs," Pico said. "In this game we all feel as players that we have to prove ourselves each and every day so I don't think that is going to be lifted from his mind. But he's focused and he wants to do well."