The Reds have signed IF Taylor Featherston to a minor league contract and assigned him to the AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos. The 28 year old has hit .160/.221/.256/.477 in 244 PA in the big leagues from 2015 – 2017 with three different organizations (Angels, Phillies, and Rays). In the upper minors he has hit .260/.322/.439/.760 in 550 PA at AA and .228/.300/.374/.675 in 975 PA at AAA. In the big leagues he’s played 48 G at 2B, 41 G at 3B, and 25 G at SS. In the minors he’s played 330 G at 2B, 137 G at SS, and 116 G at 3B. My best guess is that he was brought in as organizational depth as someone who can play the SS position at the big league level with Alex Blandino being lost for season.
I’m going to change it up a bit this week. Instead of listing mostly the top performers for each team this week, I’m going to pick a player or two from each of the full season teams who may be of some interest but hasn’t necessarily put up great numbers this season for their current team. Some of those listed could be considered disappointments, has just played all right this year, or maybe played well at a lower level, was promoted and not quite figured it out at the next level yet.
Let’s check in on some farm hands that we haven’t talked much about this season.
AAA Louisville Bats
The Bats have a 44 – 55 record and in 4th out of 4 in the International League West.
International League hitters are hitting .252/.323/.389/.712.
- CF Mason Williams, .276/.336/.410/.746, leads the club with 50 R, 87 H, and 4 3B. The 26 year old LH hitter has been steady and above league average all season.
- SS Blake Trahan, .221/.324/.274/.598, leads the club with 42 BB. The 24 year old has made only 7 errors in 94 G and has a very good 11.8 BB%.
International League pitchers have a 3.83 ERA.
- RH SP Jose Lopez, 4.72 ERA, has tossed 95.1 IP allowing 93 H and 30 BB with 81 SO. The 24 year old is 2nd among starting pitchers with a 1.29 WHIP, but has allowed a team leading 16 HR.
- RH RP Jesus Reyes, 3.86 ERA, has tossed 2.1 IP allowing 3 H and 1 BB with 1 SO for the Bats this season. The 25 year old put up a 4.13 ERA (27 G 6 GS) in 61 IP allowing 58 H and 25 BB with 52 SO at AA Pensacola before his promotion to the Bats. He had a 6.39 ERA in his 6 GS with AA Pensacola before being moved to the bullpen where he posted a 2.61 ERA over 27 G.
AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos
The Blue Wahoos have a 53 – 47 record and are 2nd out of 5 in the Southern League South
Southern League hitters are hitting .249/.328/.389/.717.
- 3B Taylor Sparks, .246/.325/.438/.763, is tied for 2nd on the team with 10 HR and 38 RBI. The 25 year leads the club with 116 SO in 319 PA and was just promoted to the AAA Louisville Bats yesterday.
- 1B Gavin LaValley, .201/.292/.324/.615, is tied for 2nd on the team with 38 RBI. The 23 year old is struggling again this season at AA after hitting .251/.305/.352/.657 in 272 there last year after a mid season promotion.
Southern League pitchers have a 4.03 ERA.
- RH SP Vladimir Gutierrez, 4.27 ERA, has thrown 109.2 IP allowing 103 H and 29 BB with 107 SO. The 22 year old logged a 6.36 ERA and allowed 10 HR in April/May and since has put up a 2.35 ERA with 4 HR in June/July.
- RH RP Carlos Navas, 2.86 ERA, has tossed 50.1 IP allowing 42 H and 11 BB with 61 SO. The 25 year old has a 1.05 WHIP and 10.9 SO/9.
High A Daytona Tortugas
The Tortugas have a 54 – 45 record and are 1st out of 6 in the Florida State League North. They have qualified for the Playoffs by being the First Half Division winners.
Florida State League hitters are hitting .252/.323/.370/.693.
- 1B Bruce Yari, .276/.380/.366/.746, is 2nd on the team with 40 BB. The 23 year old LH hitter got off to a slow start with a .503 OPS in April and a .707 OPS in May. He has since put up a .843 OPS in June and a .816 OPS in July.
- OF Stuart Fairchild, .208/.277/.248/.524 in 112 PA, has gotten off to slow start since his promotion to A+ Daytona. The 22 year old hit .277/.377/.460/.836 in 276 PA at A Dayton.
Florida State League pitchers have a 3.81 ERA.
- LH SP Wennington Romero, 4.13 ERA, has thrown 98 IP allowing 102 H and 23 BB with 61 SO. The 20 year old has 2.1 BB/9.
- RH RP Aaron Fossas, 3.52 ERA, has thrown 38.1 IP allowing 32 H and 16 BB with 25 SO. The 25 year has 2 S.
Low A Dayton Dragons
The Dragons have a 46 – 54 record and are 6th out of 8 in the Midwest League Eastern
Midwest League hitters are hitting .252/.327/.376/.703.
- OF Andy Sugilio, .269/.298/.347/.645, has 8 BB in 226 PA. The 21 year old switch hitter has 5 CS in 11 attempts.
- SS Jose Garcia, .225/.272/.297/.570, has 16 BB in 359 PA. The 20 year has 7 CS in 13 attempts.
Midwest League pitchers have a 3.87 ERA.
- RH RP Wendolyn Bautista, 3.49 ERA in 25 G 10 GS, has tossed 90.1 IP allowing 98 H and 26 BB with 93 SO. The 25 year old has 1 S and 9.3 SO/9.
- RH RP Austin Orewiler, 3.59 ERA in 23 G 5 GS, has tossed 80.1 IP allowing 88 H and 31 BB with 48 SO. The 25 year old has 2 S.
Good format this week, Tom.
It is interesting how guys progress through the year. Vlad Gutierrez took a huge step up about 8 weeks ago and is doing very well, and still only 22. Stuart Fairchild is struggling at Daytona after looking promising at Dayton, and needs to get his strikeout rate under control.
Meanwhile, Andy Sugilio has a wacky home/road split – he has a OPS of .767 at home, which isn’t bad for a 21-year-old, but a pitcher-like .495 OPS on the road. He needs to get his walk rate up, but the home/road thing would seem to be fixable.
If they need to bring somebody up as a backup shortstop, and they probably do, I would rather they promote Blake Trahan and use Featherston in Trahan’s spot. Trahan gets on base and is steady at short, but the main thing is that they need to reward their own guys with MLB call-ups, not somebody they just fished off the waiver wire.
This is one of my favorite things to read on this or any site. Gives me hope for the future of this team.