Germano set to join Triple-A
Right-handed starter was acquired in Randa deal
By Kyle Jepson / Special to MLB.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Justin Germano touched down in Louisville, Ky., to join his new baseball home Monday and noticed one major difference before his bags were even unpacked.

The difference had nothing to do with his new manager, his new teammates, or even the city itself.

Instead, it had everything to do with the weather.

"I wasn't expecting it to be this humid," Germano said. "It's just a shock at first."

No doubt, Germano has had plenty of discussions about the weather in the past day.

The newest member of the Bats and latest pitching prospect for the Reds, Germano came all the way from Portland after the trade involving Joe Randa and another Minor Leaguer, Travis Chick.

And before Monday's game, Germano had made only small talk with several of the players on the team.

"When I first got here, I got here real early just to talk to the manager and get settled," Germano said. "But, I don't know, I was thinking, 'It's a new experience,' and I was getting excited about being here. Seems like, so far, the guys I've met are a good bunch of guys, so I'm happy to be here, and we'll just go from there."

The first step for Germano is to begin pitching in Louisville.

The right-hander won't make his first start until Wednesday or Thursday of this week. But instantly Germano became one of the Reds' best prospects upon arrival.

Germano was 7-6 in Triple-A Portland this season before Reds general manger Dan O'Brien acquired him.

On Monday, as he suited up for a team in the International League, Germano was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for July 18-24.

O'Brien has made is clear it won't be long before Germano suits up in a big-league uniform.

"Justin Germano is, perhaps, a much more short-term individual who you might even conceivably see this year," O'Brien said after the trade. "But certainly an inkling of what he can do on the radar will come next year."

It's no surprise that O'Brien went after young pitching prospects like Germano in the trade for Randa.

The Reds' rotation has been one of the worst in baseball in terms of ERA, and no other team has even come close to matching the Reds in home runs allowed.

But Germano, who was considered the Padres' seventh-best Minor League prospect before the trade, is expected to fill the starting pitching void in the next couple of seasons, if not later this season.

And Germano is well aware of this.
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