Reds' excellent pen prospects

[Kc61]

Some folks don't put relievers on the top prospects lists, but with Pelland, Roenicke, Viola and Guevera at AAA or AA, the Reds may be near some bullpen help from inside the system.

Pelland had 10.27 Ks per 9 innings at Louisville, even higher than his 9.68 at AA. Walks plague him, but at AAA his walk rate per 9 went down to 2.66, which isn't bad at all.

Roenicke had a 13.34 K/9 at High A. Then, at Louisville, his strikeouts tailed off at the end, but it was still 7.11. And his WHIP at AAA was 0.95. 24 saves at the two levels.

Viola flew through the system this year and wound up at AA with numbers similar to Roenicke. 8.05 Ks per 9, with a 0.95 WHIP. Only 55 hits allowed in 82.1 innings for the full year.

Guevara was at AA all year, 62 innings, 12.63 Ks per 9, 1.19 WHIP, 2.32 ERA. Don't know why he didn't get a call to AAA.

Several of these guys are going to the Arizona Fall League, which, in this case, could mean the Reds are trying to get them ready for prime time (or showing them for a trade). But with the Reds' current bullpen, you would think they will soon be giving these guys a shot.

[GoReds33]

I like Roenickie alot. He could defenitly come up midseason next year and contribute heavily to the big club. I see him starting as a seventh inning guy, and possibly being the future closer.

[camisadelgolf]

Carlos Guevara will be 26 years old on opening day, and he hasn't even gotten to AAA--however, he has looked very good everywhere he's pitched thus far; I just hope the Reds have a reason for taking things slowly with him that doesn't involve Guevara not having MLB stuff. Josh Roenicke gives up a lot of walks, but he misses bats--he might be the Reds' most likely candidate for a future closer. Tyler Pelland can throw with some heat, but he's more of a Jeckyll and Hyde case than Kyle Lohse was. Pedro Viola has dominated everywhere he pitched this year, so as long as he builds on that, he should be pretty good.

Also, Rick Asadoorian was decent in his first full year of pitching; I'm very curious about he progresses. Ramon Geronimo, although he was slightly old for A-ball, did a very good job for Dayton this year. Ramon Ramirez has been phenomenal, particularly in Louisville, since being converted to a reliever. You have to love his K/BB ratio; I just wonder why he wasn't given a chance this year before some of the other guys were called up.

That's also not to mention that Bill Bray, Jared Burton, Jon Coutlangus, Marcus McBeth, and Brad Salmon are all young, have good stuff, and have plenty of times to put things together. The Reds future in the bullpen is pretty exciting, if you ask me.

[AmarilloRed]

I have noticed the Reds are reluctant to use young prospects in the bullpen. I am thinking in particular of Brad Salmon, who was rarely used in September. We should have seen the young relievers in the bullpen, but we kept seeing the likes of Stanton and Guardado get appearances. I appreciate Eddie, but I realize he is getting on in years.I am worried most of the young relievers with good stuff will spend most of next year in AAA.

[Kc61]

I have noticed the Reds are reluctant to use young prospects in the bullpen. I am thinking in particular of Brad Salmon, who was rarely used in September. We should have seen the young relievers in the bullpen, but we kept seeing the likes of Stanton and Guardado get appearances. I appreciate Eddie, but I realize he is getting on in years.I am worried most of the young relievers with good stuff will spend most of next year in AAA.

Maybe the reluctance is based on the Reds' assessment of these young relievers. Just because someone is young and has good velocity doesn't mean he can get hitters out.

Salmon was ok this year, but he was never a touted prospect and he didn't do well in his first stint with the team. McBeth was, at best, up and down. Understandable that the Reds didn't just throw them out there all season.

The Reds did give Coutlangus, a young reliever, plenty of major league action until he wasn't effective anymore. They gave Coffey lots of time the last couple of years, but he had a bad year.

And, of course, they brought Burton along well. Early he was wild. They managed (through rehab stints) to get him some more minor league experience and he got it together.

You have to distinguish between giving young guys a chance versus running a tryout camp at the major league level. I don't blame the Reds for not doing the latter.

Now next year, there are potentially some really good relief prospects who should be ready. I wonder if Pelland, Roenicke, Viola et al. will get chances in 08.

[Hoosier Red]

I get the feeling the Reds feel if a guy is relegated to the bullpen in the minor leagues, he probably isn't a great pitcher in the first place. I think this mindset may be changing overall in the majors, but its just how I perceive the Reds to approach things.
Medlock was putting up outstanding numbers at every level and they traded him away for a project.
They've also been very slow to move relief pitchers up the ladder.

[camisadelgolf]

I forgot to mention Jose Rojas. I believe he was originally signed as an outfielder (by the Pirates or Padres, I think), and a year or two after his release, the Reds signed him as a left-handed reliever.

[dougdirt]

camisadelgolf, thats right. Rojas is a former outfielder.... Seems like the Reds have a lot of those types in their system.