Late July of 2015 was a pretty dark time to be a Cincinnati Reds fan. The team was languishing some 20 games back in the NL Central while less than two years removed from a 90 win campaign, and the inevitable teardown and rebuild was beginning to become ominous.
On the 26th of that month, Johnny Cueto was shipped to Kansas City for the trio of lefty pitchers whose names fewer and fewer Reds fans can even remember. Then, on the 30th, Mike Leake was sent to San Francisco, bringing back a package of Adam Duvall and the player who, at that point, was the top ranked prospect in an admittedly weak Giants system.