From MLB.com
Several Reds had good solid seasons in winter baseball.
Wily Mo Pena enjoyed a solid winter season by batting .363 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs in 21 games for the Aguilas club in his native Dominican Republic. In five postseason games, Pena is batting .313 with one homer and four RBIs.
Edwin Encarnacion batted .265 with four homers and 18 RBIs in 31 regular-season games and 2-for-3 in two playoff games.
Encarnacion had better come to ST swinging the bat or he’ll be on the bench when the season starts. Remember where Felipe Lopez started last season.
In Puerto Rico, catcher Javier Valentin also posted some decent numbers this winter. Valentin batted .336 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in 38 games for Manati.
Ray Olmedo’s statistics indicate a pretty productive winter at the plate. The 24-year-old utility infielder batted .359 in 50 games with nine home runs and 33 RBIs for the La Guaira Tiburones in Venezuela.
If Olmedo’s hitting .359 with 9 homers in a league, it’s not a pitchers league, that’s for certain.
Infielder William Bergolla batted .308 with one homer and 23 RBIs in 51 regular-season games for the Caracas Leones, who made the Venezuelan playoffs.
Also taking part in the Venezuelan playoffs with Aragua, young catcher Miguel Perez batted .270 in 24 games with no homers and six RBIs in the regular season.
Pitching for the Estrellas team in the Dominican Republic, left-hander Jung Keun Bong was 1-3 with a 4.22 ERA in seven games. Bong missed all of 2005 for Cincinnati recovering from left shoulder surgery in September 2004. He also suffered a broken hand during his rehabilitation.
Also in the Dominican Republic, right-handed pitcher Elizardo Ramirez went 0-5 with a 6.51 ERA in seven games for the Gigantes club.
I don’t disagree with having Aurilia to push Encarnacion for the 3rd base job, because it certainly seemed to help Lopez last year.
But, they certainly need to have some patience with Encarnacion, and I think they will.
Good news all around.
Olmedo did look like he had some pop in his bat inhis first few weeks with the Reds last year. Not 9 HRs in 50 games pop, but the ball was carrying a lot more off his bat . . a lot like it was with Felipe all year. Keep it up, Ray. You could be the latest Red prospect to get a shot with some other team!
Great news, but why isn’t anyone talking about our need for quality pitching this year… ?