Reds rising stars off to good start in AFL

[OnBaseMachine]

Reds rising stars off to good start in AFL
Reliever Medlock racks up another K in season-opening game
By Ryan McConnell / Special to MLB.com

After leading the National League Wild Card race for much of the season, the Cincinnati Reds dropped 21 of their final 34 games and fell out of contention. The Reds have sent some of their top Minor Leaguers to the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League.

Here's how these prospects fared in their season-opening AFL game, a 3-0 victory over Mesa on Tuesday, along with an overview of their 2006 performances:

RHP Calvin Medlock -- Medlock tossed one scoreless inning in Tuesday's contest, striking out one. The 23-year-old went 7-2 with a 2.97 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings for Double-A Chattanooga this past season.

2B Drew Anderson -- Anderson was hitless in four at-bats Tuesday. The switch-hitter batted .277 with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 43 games with Chattanooga.

OF Javon Moran -- Moran went 0-for-3 on Tuesday. The 23-year-old hit .320 with 16 stolen bases in 63 games for Double-A Chattanooga.

OF Cody Strait -- Strait went 2-for-4 with a stolen base Tuesday. The 23-year-old hit .258 with 17 home runs and 74 RBIs, while stealing 50 bases for Class A Advanced Sarasota.

LHP Tyler Pelland -- Pelland did not pitch in Tuesday's game. The 23-year-old went 9-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 142 innings for Chattanooga.

LHP Jon Coutlangus -- Coutlangus did not pitch Tuesday. The 26-year-old went 1-3 with nine saves and a 2.86 ERA in 63 innings for Chattanooga, holding batters to a .185 batting average.

LHP Phil Dumatrait -- Dumatrait did not pitch Tuesday. The 22nd overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft went 5-7 with a 4.72 ERA in 87 2/3 innings for Triple-A Louisville.

Ryan McConnell is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASAp...=.jsp&c_id=cin

[Kc61]

Dumatrait pitched two so-so innings the other day.

I wonder if this pitcher is healthy. He really fell off after he moved to AAA (I think his last AA outing wasn't good, either, if memory serves.) His K rate is way down.

The guy did have an injury a couple of years ago. I don't know why he is pitching in Arizona after his poor AAA stint.

Without seeing him pitch, I wonder if his velocity has fallen off. Something doesn't seem right.