[redsof72]

Scrap Irony, you make good points. Billings went 24-52 last year and that is where the players funnel in from. From the 2009 draft, Mark Serrano has already passed through Dayton. Josh Fellhauer probably has too. Donnie Joseph might have. But, you never know how a team will take shape. What if Ravin goes back there and goes 10-5, 2.80? What if Sulbaran takes a big step forward? If Hotchkiss goes back there, he should improve on a 2.73 ERA. What if Means goes back and combines with Oliveras to give them back-to-back .300 hitters at the top of the order?

That's a lot of "ifs" but in the low minors, you never know. On paper, the talent looks pretty short for the Reds below the Triple-A level right now. I will be surprised if the Reds let the same thing happen this summer that they did in 2009 when they finished with the 29th combined affiliate record in the minors. You just don't want to be reinforcing that loser mentality with your prospects, as Benzinger points out in Katz's story.