OF Jesse Winker, .314/.395/.408/.803 at AAA, will get an extended shot at starting in RF for the Reds to replace Scott Schebler who has been placed on the DL with a sore shoulder. The Winker call up has been long overdue in my estimation, and I must say I’m both pleased and shocked to see that Brian Price has inserted Winker into the #2 spot in the lineup. OF Phil Ervin, .249/.320/.371/.691, also got called up to shore up the Reds bench for the time being. It’s time to check out what the Red minor league players are up to.
AAA Louisville Bats
The Bats have a 44 – 64 record and are 4th out of 4 in the International League West.
International League hitters are hitting .257/.325/.396/.722.
IF Alex Blandino, .268/.383/.433/.816, has positioned himself to battle for an IF spot with the Reds next spring. OF Darnell Sweeney, .294/.365/.437/.802, continues to hit well for the Bats this season. OF Sebastian Elizalde, .297/.353/.406/.759, has been a solid member of the Bats lineup all season. IF Brandon Dixon, .251/.321/.436/.757, has been a steady performer for the Bats as well.
International League pitchers have a 4.00 ERA.
RH SP Tyler Mahle, 2.76 ERA, should be the next Reds prospect to get a crack at the Reds rotation. LH SP Cody Reed, 3.78 ERA, somehow manages to maintain a decent ERA despite allowing 85 H and 50 BB in 83.1 IP. LH SP Amir Garrett, 6.57 ERA, has allowed, 50 H in 38.1 IP, while with the Bats. RH SP Jackson Stephens, 5.05 ERA, has gave up 123 H in 103.1 IP at AAA. RH SP Rookie Davis, 5.59 ERA in 4 GS at AA, is trying to regain his form at AAA. RH RP Jimmy Herget, 3.00 ERA, now has only 4 BB in 18 IP with 5 S at AAA. RH RP Alejandro Chacin, 3.10 ERA has 50 SO in 58 IP with the Bats.
AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos
The Blue Wahoos have a 59 – 49 record and are 1st out of 5 in the Southern League South. The Blue Wahoos are the Southern League South first half division champions.
Southern League hitters are hitting .246/.323/.370/.693.
3B Nick Senzel, .326/.385/.511/.896, is making it hard to imagine that he won’t start the year out next season at AAA and get the Winker treatment as the Reds fumble around to sort out the infield of the future. 1B Gavin LaValley, .272/.329/.419/.748, is adjusting well to AA. 2B Shed Long, .186/.276/.336/.612, is having a tough adjustment to AA. OF Aristides Aquino, .207/.272/.373/.644, should be spending another season in Pensacola next year.
Southern League pitchers have a 3.57 ERA.
RH SP Deck McGuire, 2.65 ERA, has allowed only 95 H in 132.2 IP for the Blue Wahoos. RH SP Jose Lopez, 2.95 ERA, has been impressive in his first 9 GS since his promotion to AA. RH SP Jesus Reyes, 1.54 ERA, has been very good over his first 4 GS at AA. RH SP Keury Mella, 4.37 ERA, should be spending another season at AA next year. RH Domingo Tapia, 3.61 ERA, has been good in a split role this season (26 G with 7 GS). RH RP Carlos Gonzalez, 2.25 ERA, has allowed just 17 H in 24 IP. RH RP Zack Weiss, 2.84 ERA in 12.2 IP, has 7 S since joining the club from A+. RH RP Robert Stock, 2.76 ERA, has pitched well since his promotion to AA.
High A Daytona Tortugas
The Tortugas have a 41 – 63 record and are 5th out of 6 in the Florida State League North.
Florida State League hitters are hitting .250/.321/.361/.682.
IF Luis Gonzalez, .279/.287/.414/.701, has only 3 BB in 150 PA since joining the Tortugas. C Garrett Boulware, .276/.317/.373/.690, is hitting at a league average clip. OF Daniel Sweet, .263/.366/.301/.668, leads the club with 36 BB. OF T.J. Friedl, .250/.312/.314/.626, is struggling since joining the Tortugas. SS Alfredo Rodriguez, .247/.286/.295/.581, is going to have to ride his glove and not his bat to the big leagues it appears. C Chris Okey, .194/.275/.259/.534, looks to be spending another season in Daytona next year.
Florida State League pitchers have a 3.49 ERA.
RH SP Wendolyn Bautista, 3.82 ERA, has been solid for the Tortugas this year. RH SP Vladimir Gutierrez, 4.24 ERA, has 18 BB and 91 SO in 97.2 IP. LH SP Ty Boyles, 4.17 ERA, has pitched well in his last three starts. RH RP Ryan Hendrix, 3.38 ERA, has 17 SO in 16 IP at A+. RH RP Austin Orewiler, 3.44 ERA, has been solid in the bullpen.
Low A Dayton Dragons
The Dragons have a 54 – 54 record and are 4th out of 8 in the Midwest League Eastern. The Dragons clinched a wildcard berth in the Midwest League East Division with their first half finish.
Midwest League hitters are hitting .249/.323/.379/.702.
OF Jose Siri, .296/.340/.534/.873, has been great and now owns the Midwest League record hitting streak of 38 G and counting. OF Taylor Trammel, .274/.352/.432/.784, has tailed off a little toward the end of his first full season of professional baseball. 1B Bruce Yari, .265/.354/.405/.758, has been a very good addition to the club. 2B Malik Collymore, .241/.348/.405/.753, has done well since joining the team.
Midwest League pitchers have a 3.92 ERA.
RH SP Tony Santillan, 3.18 ERA, has 96 SO in 99 IP. LH SP Scott Moss, 3.50 ERA, has rejoined the club from the DL. RH RP Carlos Machorro, 2.17 ERA, is throwing very well out of the bullpen. RH RP Aaron Fossas, 2.47 ERA, has saved three games. LH RP Jesse Adams, 2.68, has 63 SO and 8 BB in 57 IP of relief.
Rookie Billings Mustangs
The Mustangs have a 19 – 19 record and are 1st out of 4 in the Pioneer League North.
The Pioneer League hitters are averaging .289/.370/.450/.820.
CF Miles Gordon, .342/.420/.567/.987, went 1 for 1 with a 3B in the Pioneer League All Star game. C Mitch Trees, .300/.333/.625/.958, has been tearing it up for the Mustangs. 2B Alejo Lopez .339/.409/.522/.931, has 11 BB and 13 SO in 136 PA. LF Andy Sugilio, .318/.360/.481/.840, has been hitting well. 3B Leandro Santana, .275/.326/.496/.822, leads the club with 8 HR. SS Jeter Downs, .257/.389/.378/.767, has 15 BB in 90 PA. CF Stuart Fairchild, .288/.363/.378/.741, leads the club with 9 SB.
The Pioneer League average ERA is 5.54.
Jhon DeJesus, 3.82 ERA, has 31 SO in 33 IP. RH SP Tyler Mondile, 4.23 ERA, is pitching very well for the Mustangs thus far. LH SP Packy Naughton, 5.19 ERA, pitched a scoreless inning with 1 SO in the Pioneer League All Star game. RH SP Luis Alecis, 3.41 ERA, has pitched well in a split role (8 G, 3 GS). RH RP Cory Thompson, 2.57 ERA, has 14 SO and 9 BB in 14 IP. RH RP Moises Nova, 3.13 ERA, issued 4 BB and allowed a run without retiring a batter in the Pioneer League All Star game. RH RP Ryan Nutof, 3.52 ERA, is throwing well out of the bullpen. Look for number one draft pick SP Hunter Greene to possibly start hitting in games next week, and then maybe take the mound later this month.
Rookie AZL Reds
The Reds have a 12 – 16 record and are 3rd out of 5 in the AZL Central.
The AZL hitters averaged .259/.342/.390/.732.
RF Reshard Munroe, .328/.451/.478/.929, continues to rake for the AZL Reds. 1B Justin Bellinger, .314/.364/.549/.913, has hit great since joining the club. 2B Alejandro Paulino, .306/.342/.472/.814, is hitting very well. RF Raul Wallace, .301/.318/.470/.788, has 5 3B. 2B Cash Case, .173/.279/.240/.519, is struggling so far in professional baseball.
The AZL average ERA is 4.59.
RH SP Ricardo Smith, 2.15, has 37 SO and 6 BB in 29.1 IP. LH SP Jacob Heatherly, 2.92 ERA, has 13 SO in 12.1 IP. RH SP Jose Castillo, 3.48 ERA, is off to a very good start. RH RP John Ghyzel, 2.16, has been very good out of the bullpen. RH RP Jared Solomon, 2.50 ERA, has done a good job in relief.
“SS Alfredo Rodriguez will have to ride his glove and not his bat to the big leagues”. Why do the Reds keep going after light-hitting prospects just bcuz of their defense? I know defense is important but so is offense. The Reds already have 2 light hitters on the big league club. Can you imagine if Hamilton & Peraza stick around (for some reason) while Rodriguez makes the big league club. Not saying Rodriguez would start IF he somehow manages to make the club…some day. I’m just tired of light-hitting “so-called” prospects. But don’t worry…I realize that he’s still young and could certainly change for the better on offense. But the tone I sensed from this article makes it sound as if it’s a forgone conclusion that he’s already reached the limits of his offensive capabilities. I know he’s just one guy and it seems like I’m making a big fuss over just one guy, but I’m really not. It just kind of irks me a little over the seeming influx of light hitters that the Reds seem to be going after and I worry a little if this trend will continue.
If a shortstop’s glove is truly golden, he can play for a very long time in the majors with a weak bat. One example is former Orioles SS Mark Belanger. Twenty homers and 389 RBI in 18 years:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/belanma01.shtml
But his glove overshadowed the offensive woes:
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/11/10/9699244/mark-belanger-extraordinary-defense-terrible-offense
Belanger started for many years on some very, very good Orioles teams. We have been privileged to watching some all-time greats at the shortstop position, Barry Larkin and Dave Concepcion (who I think should be in the Hall of Fame — he was largely overlooked as one of the better clutch hitters on the great Reds teams he was on).
Having not seen Rodriguez play, I can’t offer a credible opinion. But I am guessing that for the Reds to sign a player who can’t hit well to a $6 million bonus, they must believe his defense is stellar. We’ll find out — probably in two or three years.
Tom, I’d prefer good or great defense AND a good or great bat. I don’t really care for light hitters no matter how good their defense is. It’s really a cryin shame that a player can start for years bcuz he’s good or great defensively. I suppose the same could be said of those players who are all offense and hardly any defense.
Is that correct that Billings is in first at 19-19? If so, all four teams have to be tied for first place at 19-19. I guess that is parity.
There are two divisions in the Pioneer League. In the other division, there are two teams with winning percentages over .625.
http://www.milb.com/standings/index.jsp?lid=128&period=h0&sid=t513
I look forward to these weekly write ups, Tom – thank you. I got a good kick out of “3B Nick Senzel, .326/.385/.511/.896, is making it hard to imagine that he won’t start the year out next season at AAA and get the Winker treatment as the Reds fumble around to sort out the infield of the future” as well” 🙂
Suarez is having another solid year, so the issue is similar to WInker’s where do you play him? I here speculation moving Suarez to SS or Senzel to 2nd, but this is about equivalent to Schebler in CF
The Reds emphasis on drafting pitching FOR YEARS with their top draft choices, has resulted in a farm system that has few stellar prospects at many positions, especially now in the high minors. And frankly, for all the high drafting of pitchers, their minor league pitching isn’t remarkable either.
Drafting amateur players (high school or college) is always a bit of a crapshoot, but if you do draft enough players, some of them should emerge.
The failure at shortstop is just one significant problem. There is a dearth of good outfielders in the Reds system. There are a few good ones, especially in the low minors, but not a lot of quality.
One good first baseman (LeValley), not many good catchers (Stephenson, who is hurt again). It’s not just short stop.