My goals and/or important things to watch for in 2006

[OnBaseMachine]

1. Continued development of Aaron Harang and Brandon Claussen into solid major league pitchers.

2. Ryan Wagner and Todd Coffey developing into quality relievers.

3. Austin Kearns returning to that form that made him one of the top hitters in baseball in late 2002 and the first two months of 2003. Hoping for an OPS in the .900 area.

4. Near or over 1.000 OPS for Adam Dunn, third consecutive season with 100 runs/walks/runs batted in and 40+ homerun season.

5. Another .800+ OPS season from Felipe Lopez.

6. .865 OPS and 35 homeruns from Wily Mo Pena.

7. Above average first full season from Edwin Encarnacion along the lines of .275/.340/.465

8. 145 games played by Ken Griffey Jr.

Minor Leagues:

1. We need for Homer Bailey to put it together this year and dominate high class A, and maybe earn a promotion late in the season to Chattanooga.

2. Tyler Pelland needs to repeat at Sarasota and improve his command. The stuff is there, he needs to harness it and put together a big year at Sarasota.

3. Travis Wood and Jay Bruce need to have big years at Dayton. Looking for Wood to post good periphals(h/9, bb/9, k/9, whip) and stay healthy. I really, really like Jay Bruce and think he will be a special player someday. I'm hoping he will put up similar numbers to what Dunn and Kearns did in their stint at Dayton.

4. The return of former prized prospects Richie Gardner and Thomas Pauly. We really need these two guys to bounce back to what they were before suffering shoulder injuries. Both pitchers were considered to have a bright future in the majors as #2 type starters. I'm hoping at least one of the two can bounce back and put himself in position to help the Reds sometime in late 2007.

5. Have a great first draft under Wayne Krivsky. This draft is loaded with stud college pitchers, and this will be an opportunity for the Reds to grab a pitcher like an Ian Kennedy or Daniel Bard... someone with great stuff who could move fast through the system.

[M2]

I'd say you've nailed it OBM.

[wolfboy]

One that I would add:

See how Wayne Krivsky handles the trade deadline. In all likelihood, the Reds will be well out of contention. Will Krivsky be able to make quality trades at the deadline that will help this organization? As much talk as there has been about failures in the draft, I think we've been equally as bad in trades. Under DanO there were some terrible trades. I'll be interested to see if Krivsky can bring improvements in that department.

[redsfan30]

I think if all those things happen, this will be a fairly successful season.

[buckeyenut]

I would like to see someone show enough to be considered a good #4 for this rotation out of Williams, Belisle, Germano, Ramirez or anyone else under 30.

I would like to see Krivisky acquire at least one pitcher currently better than Claussen (high #3 or better) or with more upside than Harang. (high #2 or #1 potential) without giving up Adam Dunn.

I would like to see Ryan Freel (pending injury) get 500+ at bats.

[Nugget]

I think you can also include another pitcher in the 4 spot at minor leagues. I think its Ty Howington but somehow the name reminds me of the former Mets third baseman.

[Caseyfan21]

I think I would add overall good health for all of the organization's pitching prospects. We have been hit hard by previous injuries and if we could go a year with no serious injuries than I think a lot of the individual pitching goals would take care of themselves.

Excellent list to echo others and if we can accomplish most of those we will be well on our way to at least making a strong run for the postseason.

[Mario-Rijo]

One that I would add:

See how Wayne Krivsky handles the trade deadline. In all likelihood, the Reds will be well out of contention. Will Krivsky be able to make quality trades at the deadline that will help this organization? As much talk as there has been about failures in the draft, I think we've been equally as bad in trades. Under DanO there were some terrible trades. I'll be interested to see if Krivsky can bring improvements in that department.



And that may mean no trade at all perhaps. I think it's important for us to realize at some point that trading away a season is one thing but trading someone away that could turn out to help us down the road is another. Certain guys like maybe a Rick White or Womack or the like would be ok to deal but not neccessarily a Mercker or Weathers. Unless of course it's a no brainer offer.

A few notes to add to a very good list by OBM:

Adam Dunn hitting at least .260 and maybe even reach .270 and cutting those K's down to 120-130 at worst.

I understand (Thanks to an ORG vet) that this (Dunn's K's) is not an appreciated view so let me state my case on the issue. If Dunn has the seasons he's had the past 2 seasons (we all know the line) and does not cut down on his K's, I can live with that. But my feeling is that he will not continue to have these types of seasons if he doesn't make at least one adjustment. You see like alot of "Power Hitters" Dunn's K's do not come because he "Swings from the Heels" in order to recieve his power, in other words he doesn't have to swing his hardest to consistently put the ball out of the park. His K's come courtesy of mainly 1 thing, his long swing. Cut that swing down and we are looking @ 50+ homers every year and minimum of a .270 average. This guys power is unmatched in baseball period the only others guys I can think of in his realm are Wily Mo and Richie Sexson. This is just pure natural power i'm talking about here. I am not bashing Adam whatsoever because he is a special ballplayer and what he gives us is almost irreplaceable. But there is no reason that everyone else should have to improve some aspect of their game and Adam can rest on his laurels. If you don't get better in this game, you are getting worse. Just my take.

Wily Mo cutting his K's down considerably, and more importantly improve his incredibly shoddy defense.

William Bergolla and Miguel Perez making a solid jump w/the Bat.

And finally Felipe finding a way to improve his range. Whether it be just being in a better position prior to each AB, or getting a better jump or something.