Chad Bentz signs with Cincinnati

[savafan]

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/...60721029.shtml

Juneau-Douglas High School graduate Chad Bentz signed a Minor League deal with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.


Bentz, a left-handed pitcher, reported to the Reds' Class AAA club, the Louisville Bats.

Bentz was released by the Chicago White Sox' AAA affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, on June 30.

Bentz was 4-3 with a 4.46 ERA in Charlotte. He pitched 34.1 innings in 23 games for the world champions' AAA team.

[redsfaninAK]

Great to see someone from my state sign with the reds, hope he can eventually get called up.

[KoryMac5]

Here is the skinny on Bentz

Like Jim Abbott, Bentz didn't let being born without a complete right hand stop him from reaching the major leagues. He didn't pitch well for the Expos last year, in part because he wasn't used regularly. After returning to the minors, he was shut down in August with a nerve problem in his right foot that required surgery. The newly transplanted Nationals released him in mid-December, but the Marlins quickly snapped him up and reunited him with roving minor league pitching coordinator Wayne Rosenthal, one of Bentz' first coaches as a pro. He relies heavily upon his 91-93 mph fastball and his curveball can be an out pitch, though he struggled with it in the majors. He's a very aggressive pitcher with a tough demeanor, but he needs to tighten his breaking ball and work on his slider. That should make him more effective against lefthanders, who batted .411 against him in his first taste of the majors. His lack of command also gets him in trouble at times. Farmed out in mid-March, Bentz will open 2005 at Triple-A Albuquerque. His ceiling is as a lefthanded specialist