Robert Stephenson: 2015 thread

[Steve4192]

Projecting A/A+ players to later success is a fantasy that's fun. I'm guilty of it. I think if you follow the entire minor league system day in and day out, you tend to get a bit wrapped up in guys who are really too far away to even begin thinking about in terms of ML play.

Agreed.

Fans who have followed the minors for years and years have seen enough prospects rise up the organizational rankings and never produce in the major leagues to have some perspective when it comes to minor leaguers. We have seen 'cant miss' prospects fall by the wayside year-after-year because even the best prospects wash out more often than they stick. We've also seen middling prospects who we didn't take very seriously turn into all-stars. You just never know. It's the nature of player development. Some guys develop as expected, a rare few greatly exceed expectations, and the vast majority never reach their 'potential' for one reason or another (injuries, poor makeup/aptitude for learning, misjudged talent, lack of opportunity, etc).

[dougdirt]

Last 26.1 innings: 8 hits, 4 walks, 36 strikeouts.

[Banshee]

Last 26.1 innings: 8 hits, 4 walks, 36 strikeouts.

If he continues to dominate, any chance we see him in Cincy this season(late call up/post AS break)?

[klw]

Last 26.1 innings: 8 hits, 4 walks, 36 strikeouts.

[Tom Servo]

Last 26.1 innings: 8 hits, 4 walks, 36 strikeouts.

Bust.

Jung Ho Kang last 11 games: .121/.216/.242, 3 errors

[cincyinco]

How many walks last night?

Bust.

[Hoosier Red]

Cheesy mustache belongs in the 80's.

Bust

[klw]

Bust with Cheesy moustache

[dougdirt]

Attachment 9272

Cheesy mustache.

[villain612]

The "Robert Stephenson is a bust" crowd has gotten awfully quiet as of late...

They're distracted.

[villain612]

Stephenson headed to AAA.

[PepperJack]

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

After breezing through three levels of the Reds system in 2013, Robert Stephenson found himself stuck.

Stephenson made four starts for Double-A Pensacola that year but struggled when he returned to the Blue Wahoos last season, going 7-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 27 games. So when he was sent back to Pensacola to begin this season, the right-hander knew something had to change.

"I wanted to do as much as I could to get out of [Double-A] because I had been there the past couple of years," Stephenson said. "It was important to me to improve and to reach Triple-A at the very least, and then hopefully reach Cincinnati at the end of the year."

For Stephenson, that newfound maturity meant trying to become more of a pitcher and less of a thrower.

"I tried to just slow everything down," he said. "I tried to take a little bit off the fastball and be more in control. When I was able to throw more strikes with the fastball, I could get more outs -- and do it quicker.

"To me, maturity comes down to not throwing as hard as I can every pitch. I think I did that last year. I was more worried about velocity than I was about getting outs."

"The stuff has always been there, although at the end of the day we'd like to see him become more efficient [with his pitches]," said DeShields, who managed him last year in Pensacola and in 2012 with Class A Dayton.

"The game will beat you up and eventually, your ears open up a little bit. A lot of young pitchers -- not necessarily him -- read their press clippings. But the game has a way of humbling you. And there comes a point where you get tired of getting your butt kicked and start listening."

[_Sir_Charles_]

Stephenson headed to AAA.

How in the world did I not see this?!? Cool.

[dougdirt]

How in the world did I not see this?!? Cool.

You are a slacker. There's no other explanation.

[corkedbat]

Cheesy mustache belongs in the 80's.

Bust

LHP Bryan Harper
Harrisburg Senators