All Reds team 1965-2016, pitchers

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While the Reds have had numerous hall of fame position players since 1965, their pitching as been much more spotty. Having said that, there are still some guys I'd want starting for my team.

Starting pitcher: Jim Maloney Jim was one of the first real hard throwers I remember. His fast ball reached the upper 90s. Jim had his first big year for the Reds in 1963, but his success continued beyond 1965. In 1963 Jim went 23-7 with an ERA of 2.77. In 1965 Jim again won 20 games, going 20-9 with an ERA of 2.54. From 1963-69 Jim won 117 games. Maloney finished his Reds career with a record of 134-81 and and ERA of 3.16. His WAR for that time frame was 34.6. Maloney was an all star only one time, in 1965. It seems like it should have been more.

Starting pitcher: Jose Rijo Another entry on our list of Reds pitchers who were good but had health issues is Jose Rijo. Jose's first run with the Reds lasted from 1988-95. He came back after being out for 5 years due to injury in 2000, but wasn't effective. Jose was great in the 1990 Reds post season. Jose went 2-0 in the world series with an ERA of 0.59. For his 10 years with the Reds Jose finished at 97-61 with an ERA of 2.83. His WAR was 36.5 for his tenure in Cincinnati. In 1993, Jose's WAR was 9.3. That gives an idea of just how good Rijo was when he was hitting on all cylinders.

Starting pitcher: Gary Nolan Gary had a nice career, but it could have been a lot more if he could have stayed healthy. Working around injury filled seasons, Gary still managed to have six seasons of double digit wins. Nolan finished with an impressive won-loss record of 110-67 with an ERA of 3.02. Gary was also named an all star only one time. In 1972 Nolan was named an all star while going 15-5 with an ERA of 1.99.

Starting pitcher: Don Gullet Don was a staple of the Big Reds Machine of the 70s. Don also had 6 seasons of double digit wins. He appeared in four world series for the Reds. Much like Gary Nolan, Don had an excellent won and loss record of 91-44 with an ERA of 3.03. Don's WAR of 14.1 seems low for his 7 seasons in Cincinnati. Gullet's career in with the Reds includes seasons in which he won 15-16-17-18 wins. He nails down the third spot in this rotation.

Starting pitcher: Tom Seaver Tom Terrific beat out other Reds pitchers of note including Mario Soto, Tom Browning and Bronson Arroyo for the last spot in this rotation. Tom spent 6 seasons with the Reds, 5 of which were good. Tom came over to the Reds during the 1977 and went 14-3 for the rest of the season. He also went 14-2 during the 1981. Before moving on, Tom finished at 75-46 with an ERA of 3.18. While Seaver wasn't what he was for the Mets, he was still good with the Reds.

Relief pitcher: Aroldis Chapman I like a hard thrower as a closer. That being the case, Chapman is an easy choice. Chapman is the most consistently hard thrower I've ever seen. Aroldis spent 6 seasons with the Reds, ringing up 146 saves. His strikeouts per 9 innings was an astronomical 15.4. If I was going to choose one left handed reliever over the last 50 or so years of baseball, it would be Chapman.

Relief pitcher: John Franco Before moving on to the Mets, Franco had a nice stint with the Reds. Franco led the NL in saves in 1988 with 39. Franco spent 6 seasons with the Reds, rolling up 148 saves with an ERA of 2.49. John was not a big strikeout guy, averaging only 6.3 Ks during his time in Cincinnati. There is more than one way to get the job done.

Relief pitcher: Jeff Brantley Jeff had his best season with the Reds in 1996 when he led the NL in saves with 44. Jeff's stay in Cincinnati was relatively short, lasting only four seasons. Jeff finished with 88 saves and an ERA of 2.46. While those stats aren't overwhelming, there wasn't a whole lot to choose from. The Nasty Boys weren't nasty for that long and other Reds relievers had some durability, they just weren't that noteworthy.

Those are my picks. What do you think?