Matt Maloney

Maloney entered 2010 as a candidate for the Reds' fifth starter job, but he was quickly surpassed by both Mike Leake and Travis Wood. As a result he turned in another solid but unspectacular campaign at Triple-A Louisville. He had a couple of spot starts and another September with the big league club, but it looks as if he's blocked in this organization, barring a string of injuries. He'd have a better chance winning a fourth or fifth starter's job in a different organization.

The Reds' top four rotation spots are pretty well set, but with Edinson Volquez out the fifth spot remains open, and Maloney is among a handful of candidates competing for the job. His main competition likely will come from Justin Lehr, but Maloney has the advantage of already being on the 40-man roster. His first taste of the majors was marred by a touch of gopheritis (nine homers allowed in just 40.2 innings) and influenced by a blister problem on his pitching hand over his last few outings. He doesn't have much upside beyond being a fifth starter.

Maloney has always been able to record his share of strikeouts despite not having a dominant fastball, but that lack of a fastball is enough to scare most scouts from predicting anything more than modest success at the major league level. The worry about him is that if his command isn't perfect, he'll give up a ton of home runs. He'll have a chance to win the fifth starter's job for the Reds coming out of spring training.

Maloney was the Reds' compensation for leasing Kyle Lohse to the Phillies for two months. They did pretty well in the exchange to get Maloney, whose minor-league stats include 177 strikeouts in 170.2 innings, which are a lot of innings for a 23-year-old. His command improved over last year's stay at Low-A so he could very well be part of the Reds rotation as early as 2008.

Maloney was the Phillies' third-round pick in 2005 out of the University of Mississippi. He shone in his first full pro season, dominating the Sally League to the tune of a 2.03 ERA in 27 starts. A lefty who throws a 90 mph fastball and a good changeup, Maloney might move fast in 2007. Look for him to have a crack at the big leagues in late 2008.