On April 7, 2016, Stephenson made his major league debut for the Cincinnati Reds as a starter against the Philadelphia Phillies.
On that particular day, he was victorious, as he was on April 19th against the Colorado Rockies in his only other outing that month, but he was demoted to Louisville, where he went 8-9 with a 4.41 ERA in 24 appearances.
Despite returning to Cincinnati in September, he was only able to record three wins in six appearances before the end of the season. In the end, he was 2-3, 6.08 for the year.
Stephenson returned to the Reds for the 2017 season, but this time he was used as a reliever instead of the starting rotation.
On May 29, he was sent in to face Troy Tulowitzki of the Toronto Blue Jays with the bases loaded in place of Lisalverto Bonilla.
A grand slam was the first hit he gave up, and he ended up allowing 10 hits in just two innings of work. During his 3 1/3 innings of relief, Jake Buchanan, who took his position in the fifth inning, surrendered 10 hits.
When St. Louis Cardinals battered Philadelphia Phillies pitchers Luther Roy and June Greene with 10 or more hits, it was the first time since July 6, 1929 that two relief pitchers had each given up 10 or more hits in the same game.
At the end of May, he was demoted back to the minors. After the All-Star Game, he returned to the Queen City as the starter, and he played in that capacity for 11 of his final 12 games.
After going 0-4, 7.86 in his first two starts, he improved dramatically in the remaining two months of the season and finished the year with a record of 5-6, 4.68.
His control was the major problem, as he walked 53 times in 84 2/3 innings, despite striking out 86 times.
How Tall Is Robert Stephenson?
Robert Stephenson’s height is 1.91 m.