Once upon a time — about a decade ago — the Reds sucked. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. They were terrible. They did have a handful of solid players on offense, including a past-his-prime-but-still-effective Ken Griffey, Jr., Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, and Sean Casey. Then again, it wasn’t the offense that caused problems for the Reds every year. Why were they so bad for so long? It came down to the pitching. This is a team that ran out pitchers like Paul Wilson and Elmer Dessens for Opening Day games. In case you don’t know, teams generally start their best pitcher — termed the staff’s “ace” — on Opening Day. Oh, you don’t recognize the names Paul Wilson or Elmer Dessens? Never heard of them? Don’t feel bad. That is perfectly reasonable, because they were not good. I guess this is the part of the post where Paul Wilson and Elmer Dessens stop reading. Oh well.

The Reds simply could not develop effective starters OR relievers in their farm system, so they often had to overpay for mediocre pitchers in free agency or through trades. A perfect example: Eric Milton. During the 2004 offseason, the Reds made an announcement that truly excited the fan base. They signed free agent starter Eric Milton away from the Phillies. The gave him a three-year contract worth $25 million. This was considered a fairly rich contract in those times, especially considering the fact that Milton’s career numbers weren’t anything to write home about. However, he was coming off a great year for Philadelphia, and the Reds were desperate to improve their pitching staff. So, welcome to Cincy, Eric Milton! At the time, while I appreciated the fact that the front office finally forked over some real cash to improve the team, I was wary of Milton’s extreme fly-ball numbers being a good match for the homer-friendly Great American Ball Park.

Well, it turned out that my concerns were well-founded. The Eric Milton signing was an absolute disaster. Here’s a snapshot of his Reds resume: he routinely put up ERA’s over 5.00, had a hard time of even staying on the field thanks to injuries, and even led the league in home runs allowed in one season. He was supposed to be a top-of-the-rotation starter for the team, but by the end of his contact, he wasn’t even worthy of the #5 spot. So much for Eric Milton being the savior of the Reds pitching staff.

But these times seem so long ago now. With General Manager Walt Jocketty at the helm in the front office and Bryan Price as the team’s pitching coach, the Reds’ pitching has improved dramatically in recent years, and they haven’t done it through free agency. They have finally started developing good pitchers in the minor leagues. Only two pitchers in the current starting staff — co-ace Mat Latos and the ever-dependable Bronson Arroyo — weren’t drafted by the team. While he has struggled with injuries this season, Johnny Cueto — the other ace of the staff — was drafted and developed by the Reds. Homer Bailey was drafted by the team out of high school, and while it took him a long time to get it together, he has blossomed into a GREAT pitcher, with two no-hitters already under his belt. Mike Leake was drafted out of Arizona State University by the Reds in 2011 and he impressed so much in Spring Training that year that he didn’t spend a day in the minors. He struggled last season, but Leake is turning in an impressive campaign in 2013 despite the fact that he isn’t a flamethrower like Bailey or Latos, and he’s got a lot of good years ahead of him. Additionally, with Cueto injured, rookie left-hander Tony Cingrani has emerged as a strikeout artist with a bright future ahead of him.

This is where I’m most impressed by how the pitching tides have changed for Cincinnati. The team’s co-ace in Cueto has been on the shelf for most of the season, and the team still hasn’t missed a beat thanks to their organizational pitching depth. In the old days, if one of the Reds’ few dependable starters went down due to injury, they were generally replaced by old journeymen minor leaguers who really had no place on a major league roster. With Cueto ready to return from injury after the season, the Reds will actually have a starting pitching “problem” for next year. They will have six starters for five spots, and all six of them deserve a spot. That’s a pretty good problem if you ask me.

So, three cheers for the Reds’ new-found strength in pitching. If the team gets anywhere this season, it will be because of their rock-solid rotation and bullpen. If you had told me this five years ago, I would’ve called you crazy. Oh, how times have changed.