Louisville’s offense is as pathetic as the Cincinnati offense.
26 year-old starting pitcher Michael Gosling (D’Backs #2 – 2001)went 4 shutout innings, giving up 3 H and 2 BB while striking out 5. Gosling still hasn’t given up a run in 10 IP; he has 9 Ks, 4 BB, and 6 H.
23 year-old starting pitcher Tyler Pelland (Red Sox #9 – 2002) pitched 4 innings, giving up just an ER on 2 BB and 5 H. HOWEVER, thanks to two of his own errors, he gave up 7 runs.
23 year-old 2B Michael Griffin (Reds #14 – 2005) went 3 for 5 with a R and an RBI.
24 year-old catcher Craig Tatum (Reds #3 – 2004) went 3 for 4 with 2 2B, a R, and an RBI.
24 year-old starting pitcher Carlos Fisher (Reds #11 – 2005) went 6 innings, giving up 4 H, 0 BB, and an ER. In 3 starts, Fisher has a 0.47 ERA with 10 Ks, 2 BB, and 13 H in 19 IP.
While I am excited about the start of the Reds minor league system, I worry that these guys are competing at a level too low for their age. Twenty-four year olds at A+ SHOULD dominate; 23 year olds at A- SHOULD dominate. I hope the Reds organization has a plan besides “keep them at each level for a year”.
23 22 year-old left fielder Chris Heisey (Reds #17 – 2006) went 2 for 4 with a 2B, HR, 2 R, and 3 RBI. Heisey is hitting .370/.414/.630.
23 22 year-old second baseman Justin Turner (Reds #7 – 2006) went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Turner is hitting .346/.485/.423
19 year-old third baseman Juan Francisco went 2 for 5 with a 2B and a R. Francisco is hitting .353/.353/.559. In 34 plate appearances, he’s drawn exactly 0 walks.
21 year-old Jordan Smith (Reds #6 – 2006) went 5 innings, giving up just 2 H, an ER, a BB, while notching 2 Ks. He has 10 IP, with 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 8 Ks so far this year.