Anthony DeSclafani has the lowest earned run average among starting pitchers in the National League and also leads the league in fewest smiles.
The last time anybody saw him with a wide grin was when they took his photograph for the 2015 Cincinnati Reds media guide.
Since then, he barely displays a smirk even though he is 2-and-1 with a 1.04 earned run average for his first three starts wearing a Reds uniform. And it is easier to hit the 25-year-old righthander from Freehold, N.J. than it is to pronounce his name.
There were raised eye brows and head-shaking that registered on the Richter when the Reds traded pitcher Mat Latos to Miami for DeSclafani, owner of five major league starts and two major league wins at the time of the trade.
So who is smiling now? Well, not DeSclafani. You'll see barely a grin from the 6-1, 192-pound right hander.
"I was up-and-down between the Marlins and the minors last year and it was a bit of a struggle for me," he said. "I'm taking a very serious approach to what I am doing this year."
Reds manager Bryan Price loves what he sees from the guy who probably wouldn't crack a smile at a Comedy Central special.
"When it is game day, work day, it is all about the job at hand and he has very little to say during the game," said Price. "It is, 'Yes sir, no sir,' with very little dialogue. For me, that's great. I don't need to be having long discussions with the starting pitcher in the middle of a ballgame.
"He is very focused and it is all about the task at hand, going out there and being aggressive," said Price. "And as a young pitcher he knows his place is to have eyes wide open and ears wide open and mouth securing shut, and he is doing a nice job of that.
"He is really a good kid, a very nice kid," Price added. "He fits in beautifully. He is not a guy incapable of having a thought or opinion, he just shares it at the right time."
Asked if DeSclafani is, 'The Silent Assassin,' Price laughed and said, "Yes, very much so."
A writer who also covered several Cleveland Indians spring training guys said DeScalafani's personality reminds him of Corey Kluber, the American League Cy Young Award winner last year.
"I don't know Corey other than watching him pitch well," said Price. "But I love that comparison and we've seen some similar things over Anthony's first four starts this season."
DeSclafani was 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA after three starts, but lost his fourth start when he faced the Chicago Cubs Sunday, 5-2. But he only gave up one earned run. And he showed his advanced maturity by taking all the blame for the loss.
DeSclafani walked Anthony Rizzo to start the fourth inning ("My fault for that," he said) and Rizzo stole second. A ground ball hit by Kris Bryant went directly between Todd Frazier's legs at third base like a croquet wicket and into left field for an error and Rizzo took third.
Miguel Montero singled to left and with one out, Chris Coghlan was walked intentionally to fill the bases. With two outs rookie Addison Russell, hitting .100, cleared the bases with a three-run double to make it 5-0. All four runs that inning were unearned due to Frazier's error.
"That one is on me," said DeSclafani when asked about Frazier's error. "I have to do a better job of locating that slider (thrown to Russell for the three-run double). It is my job to shut it down when something like that happens (Frazier's error)."
Catcher Bryan Pena is more than agog over what he has seen from DeSclafani.
"He wasn't as sharp as his previous starts, but he was still very good," said Pena. "He is going to be a good pitcher, he is already a great pitcher. He is very young (just turned 25), but the stuff I see from him is very impressive -- a 94 miles an hour fastball and his sinker is 92-93 with a very good slider and a plus change-up. That says a lot about his arsenal."
DeSclafani, indeed, was not pleased with his afternoon, but he was not disappointed on a pitch Miguel Montero hit for a home run solo home run in the third inning, "A change-up that was pretty good and I have to just tip my hat to him because he put a really good swing on it. That's what happens with big-league hitters.
"Otherwise, I wasn't as crisp as my other starts. I have to locate better because I was missing too much over the plate and I wasn't locating my slider," he said. "I had to be extra good with my fastball and other pitches."
So, if Leonardo di Vinci were still alive and wanted to paint a male person of the Mona Lisa, Anthony DeSclafani would be the perfect model.
