Keyvius Sampson Starts Sunday Against Pirates Kyle Waldrop Promoted

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Keyvius (KEE vus) Sampson will be the fifth rookie to get a start for the Reds against the Pirates on Sunday.

Sampson was claimed on waivers from the San Diego Padres on January 8.  Sampson, who started the season at Double A Pensacola after spending spring training with the Reds in Arizona, made his Major League debut on Thursday with a scoreless inning of relief against the Pirates.

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The 24-year old right-hander from Gainsville, Florida was a fourth round pick of the Padres in the 2009 draft out of Ocala Forest High School.

Sampson was 1-2 in eight starts for the Blue Wahoos before he was promoted to Louisville where he was 2-4 in seven starts with a 5.08 ERA.

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“We targeted him as a guy who could give us depth in starting pitching," Bryan Price said. "He scuffled a little bit in Triple-A, but then he turned the corner and had a good start his last time out. This is an opportunity to feed off that. We thought it made sense coming off that good start.”

All five of the current Reds' rotation had rookie status entering the season.  Anthony DeSclafani made five starts for Miami last season and is now the veteran of the staff with 25 career starts.

“It’s a unique dynamic," Price said. "It places a lot of responsibility on the coaching staff. Instead of being able to watch a veteran on the day before you pitch, you’ve got a rookies watching rookies.”

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The Reds recalled Kyle Waldrop from Louisville to fill Mike Leake's roster spot.

Waldrop played in the Futures Game as part of All-Star week.  Waldrop also started the year in Pensacola.
He was promoted to Louisville after hitting .277 with six home runs and 31 RBI in 67 games.  In Louisville, Waldrop hit .202 with four RBI in 27 games with the Bats. Waldrop made 27 appearances at firstbase and 65 in the outfield.