MILB.COM's Reds Organizational All-Stars

[klw]

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp...vkey=news_milb

On the surface, the Reds organization suffered through a difficult 2013. The organization posted the worst composite record among Minor League affiliates, with none of their teams qualifying for the playoffs.

There were positives, however. The Reds ranked 11th among Major League organizations with 621 stolen bases and boasted two players among the top 10 in the Minors. Billy Hamilton was second with 75, while Junior Arias ranked ninth with 60.

This season also produced successful debuts for recent draftees like Phillip Ervin. Selected 27th overall in June, he batted .331 with nine homers 35 RBIs and a .989 OPS in 46 games across two levels. Fellow first-round pick Michael Lorenzen worked his way up to the Southern League, while fourth-rounder Ben Lively compiled a 0.88 ERA over 41 innings.

[mace]

Some good commentaries there on guys like Bueno, Rachal, Ortiz, Arias and Silverio. Informative.

[texasdave]

Mike Hessman made the list as an outfielder despite the fact that he did not play one game as an outfielder.

[lollipopcurve]

Great piece with quotes from Jeff Graupe on all players. Especially complimentary of Junior Arias, which is great to see.

[redsof72]

Best element of this piece is the series of quotes from Jeff Graupe. Some of the MiLB.com selections are rather odd. I think they produce these kind of stories as marketing tools for the team websites and want to get all the teams involved.

Yes, the Arias comments are pretty strong, but not at all surprising. Arias can run with Hamilton, hit it as far as Duran (well, maybe not quite as far), and play solid defense in center. He swings at a lot of breaking balls that are way out of the zone.