Lorenzen's 'patience' pays off with first big-league start

As he sat in the Reds' dugout, the night before his big-league debut, Michael Lorenzen talked about his patience to get to the big leagues.

That elicited a couple of snickers from the assembled media members. Lorenzen was drafted less than two years ago and has just 160 2/3 innings pitched in professional baseball.

"Not too patient, but when you're a competitor, you want to compete at the highest level as fast as possible," Lorenzen said when it was noted he didn't have to be too patient. "So I did everything I could to show them I was ready as soon as possible and I'm happy they're giving me the opportunity they're giving me."

Lorenzen's development went at light speed considering he was a center fielder in college that would close, but didn't do much more than throw heat.

The Reds not only drafted him as a pitcher with the 38th overall pick in June of 2013, but also converted him to a starter. For the first time in his life, Lorenzen concentrated on just pitching. He moved through four levels in his first season of pro baseball, ending the season at Double-A Pensacola. He pitched there all of last season and then started this year at Triple-A Louisville, going 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in three starts before getting the call to take Homer Bailey's place in the Reds' rotation.

"I think there are certain guys that just get it," Price said of Lorenzen. "They understand baseball. They understand the position. It probably doesn't hurt, like [Mike Leake], he was an offensive player in college as well. Certain benefits go with that, just understanding what hitters are trying to do, vulnerabilities and things of that nature."

Being blessed with a special right arm doesn't hurt, either. Lorenzen's fastball flirts with 100 mph on the radar gun, but he's shown the ability to do more than just throw hard during his short run through the Reds' minor leagues.

"Obviously the fastball lights up the radar gun, it's got good sink and stuff, but his slider, for a slider, it'll light up a radar gun as well," said catcher Tucker Barnhart, who caught Lorenzen's first start of the season in Louisville. "I saw him 86, 88 at times and it's a very good out pitch, I'd say."

Lorenzen said he got the call to head up I-71 from Louisville to Cincinnati on Tuesday morning. After calling his mom, he made his way north.

"It seemed like it took forever," said Lorenzen, who obviously struggles at times with his patience. "Right when I finally got here, that's when it hit me the most, when I walked into the clubhouse and saw Tucker and (Kristopher) Negron and I was like, wow, I'm here. I went into Price's office and it just hit me."