A fifth-round pick by Cincinnati in 2014, Antone was added to the 40-man roster for 2020. The right-hander earned the spot after coming on strong down the stretch in 2019 with Triple-A Louisville. Over his last two starts -- both seven-inning outings -- he walked one batter and struck out 19.
Antone touched 96 mph at times last season and was sitting in the 91-93 mph range. He throws his fastball with good sink and tail down in the zone to get a lot of ground-ball outs. His slider also got significantly better. He has a pretty good changeup that has some tumble-dive to it -- a sort of split-forkball hybrid pitch. He’ll need to use his fastball at the top of the zone better. His velocity climbed and he missed more bats in the second half.
Especially with more access to analytical data, Antone should benefit as he continues to learn how to use his stuff. He could help the Reds as a back-of-the-rotation starter or long reliever.
