Benihana
08-29-2007, 11:59 AM
I wanted to take a gander at what the future holds for the Reds. Assuming that both Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn are gone after next year (either via trade or FA), I wanted to take stock and see how the franchise shapes up for the near future (roughly 2009 and 2010). This way, we will be able to better assess exactly what kind of return the Reds should be seeking for Jr. and/or Dunn.
Here's how I see the organizational depth chart shaping up, come 2009.
Catcher (I don't think anyone on the current ML roster will be around come 2009, nor do I think they should be)
Craig Tatum
Miguel Perez
Devin Mesoraco
1st Base (Hatteberg will obviously be gone by 2009)
Jorge Cantu
Joey Votto
Adam Rosales
2nd Base
Brandon Phillips
Chris Valaika
Justin Turner
Shortstop (Alex Gonzalez will be entering the final year of his contract in 2009, and may very well be moved before then. Therefore I didn't include him)
Jeff Keppinger
Paul Janish
Zach Cozart
3rd Base
Edwin Encarnacion
Todd Frazier
Brandon Waring
Outfield
Josh Hamilton
Jay Bruce
Daniel Dorn
Drew Stubbs
Todd Frazier
Juan Francisco
Starting Pitching
Aaron Harang R
Bronson Arroyo R
Homer Bailey R
Johnny Cueto R
Matt Maloney L
Matt Belisle R
Elizardo Ramirez R
Sam LeCure R
Carlos Fisher R
Ben Jukich L
Relief Pitching
Jared Burton R
Bill Bray L
Marcus McBeth R
Jared Coutlangous L
Matt Belisle R
Elizardo Ramirez R
Josh Roenicke R
Tyler Pelland L
Pedro Viola L
Carlos Guevara R
Italics = most likely won't be ready until 2010 at the earliest
Top Prospects (not listed above)
Travis Wood LHP
Sean Watson RHP
Daryl Thompson RHP
Kyle Lotzkar RHP
Neftali Soto SS/3B
Now of course, this doesn't take into account any future acquistions, which is kind of the point of this exercise- to look a little into the crystal ball and see what will be our strengths and what will be our weaknesses. Of course pitching will almost always qualify as the latter. And there is no telling which of these prospects will flourish and which will falter. But given the collective pedigrees, I felt it safe (for now) to at least, put them on the map so to speak. Of course, if we look back at this post come Opening Day 2009, a lot of the names that appear here will be laughable. Many of these guys will still be in the minors (Mesoraco, Cozart, Waring), some will be in other organizations, some may even be out of baseball. Still, I thought it would be a fun little exercise on this idle Wednesday. Your thoughts?
Here's how I see the organizational depth chart shaping up, come 2009.
Catcher (I don't think anyone on the current ML roster will be around come 2009, nor do I think they should be)
Craig Tatum
Miguel Perez
Devin Mesoraco
1st Base (Hatteberg will obviously be gone by 2009)
Jorge Cantu
Joey Votto
Adam Rosales
2nd Base
Brandon Phillips
Chris Valaika
Justin Turner
Shortstop (Alex Gonzalez will be entering the final year of his contract in 2009, and may very well be moved before then. Therefore I didn't include him)
Jeff Keppinger
Paul Janish
Zach Cozart
3rd Base
Edwin Encarnacion
Todd Frazier
Brandon Waring
Outfield
Josh Hamilton
Jay Bruce
Daniel Dorn
Drew Stubbs
Todd Frazier
Juan Francisco
Starting Pitching
Aaron Harang R
Bronson Arroyo R
Homer Bailey R
Johnny Cueto R
Matt Maloney L
Matt Belisle R
Elizardo Ramirez R
Sam LeCure R
Carlos Fisher R
Ben Jukich L
Relief Pitching
Jared Burton R
Bill Bray L
Marcus McBeth R
Jared Coutlangous L
Matt Belisle R
Elizardo Ramirez R
Josh Roenicke R
Tyler Pelland L
Pedro Viola L
Carlos Guevara R
Italics = most likely won't be ready until 2010 at the earliest
Top Prospects (not listed above)
Travis Wood LHP
Sean Watson RHP
Daryl Thompson RHP
Kyle Lotzkar RHP
Neftali Soto SS/3B
Now of course, this doesn't take into account any future acquistions, which is kind of the point of this exercise- to look a little into the crystal ball and see what will be our strengths and what will be our weaknesses. Of course pitching will almost always qualify as the latter. And there is no telling which of these prospects will flourish and which will falter. But given the collective pedigrees, I felt it safe (for now) to at least, put them on the map so to speak. Of course, if we look back at this post come Opening Day 2009, a lot of the names that appear here will be laughable. Many of these guys will still be in the minors (Mesoraco, Cozart, Waring), some will be in other organizations, some may even be out of baseball. Still, I thought it would be a fun little exercise on this idle Wednesday. Your thoughts?