STARTING PITCHING
The way I see it, four of the five rotation spots are locked up for the next four years. Harang and Arroyo are signed through 2011, and Bailey is here to stay. I think most are in agreement that Matt Belisle has shown that he can be a very competitive #5 starter at the big league level for the forseeable future. That leaves one spot available, barring trades and injury. Here's how it shakes down:
(lefties in ALL CAPS)
MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL
Aaron Harang 29
Bronson Arroyo 30
Homer Bailey 21
Matt Belisle 27
MINOR LEAGUE LEVEL (in order of present prospect status)
Johnny Cueto, 21 A+
Sean Watson, 21 A
Daryl Thompson, 21 A+
Carlos Fisher, 24 AA
Richie Gardner, 25 AAA
TRAVIS WOOD, 20 A+
Sam LeCure, 22 AA
Rafael Gonzalez, 21 A
TZU-KAI CHIU, 19, Rookie
Josh Ravin, 19 Rookie
Kyle Lotzkar 17, Rookie
LONG RELIEVERS/SPOT STARTERS
The following pitchers, while not strong candidates to be quality starters for years to come, have the potential to provide solid long relief/spot starting duty.
Elizardo Ramirez, 24
PHIL DUMATRAIT, 25
Bobby Livingston, 25
RELIEF PITCHERS
In my opinion, the sooner the Reds are able to trade the likes of David Weathers and Mike Stanton, the better for the development of the youngsters and the outlook of the future. The Reds currently have several guys both at the minor and major league levels that are ready to be battle tested with the big club. I say we let these guys take their lumps and then see what remains. I believe there are two tiers of the major league guys, with Bray, McBeth and Coffey in a higher class than Coutlangous, Burton and Salmon. Regardless, when you throw in the minor league guys, there are enough arms here to go forward without the veterans that just clog the payroll. Let's see what we got:
MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL
BILL BRAY, 24
Marcus McBeth, 26
Todd Coffey, 26
JARED COUTLANGOUS, 26
Jared Burton, 26
Brad Salmon, 27
MINOR LEAGUE LEVEL (by present prospect status)
Tyler Pelland, 23 AA
Calvin Medlock, 24 AA
Carlos Guevara, 25 AA
Reply With Quote