Jay Bruce Current Splits

[Stingray]

Ridiculous he's not in the majors. I think it's all about the arb clock. The Reds are afraid to begin that clock ticking.

It probably is about the arb clock, but that's not ridiculous. By waiting until early June the Reds keep control for an extra year. If they bring him up now he'd probably qualify for a super two - I, for one, am in no hurry to see him go the Yankees/Red Sox/Dodgers. Its probably a consideration for Homer's callup also.

I'd much rather see the Reds top prospects developed enough in the minors so they can contribute immediately rather than spend the first few years under Reds control doing their development at the Major Leaque level.

[jmac]

Dusty likes Corey, he's a veteran. That trumps a better player, cmon, this is Cincinnati folks, get with the program.

The Votto-Hatt situation says it isnt always that way !

[Matt700wlw]

For being the right fielder of the future (so we're told), he doesn't play it much

CF 17
RF 8
LF 5

[gedred69]

Read Erardi's article in the Sunday paper. He gives a decent look into what the Reds brass currently is looking for from Bruce.

[Spring~Fields]

Read Erardi's article in the Sunday paper. He gives a decent look into what the Reds brass currently is looking for from Bruce.

I saw that and I was trying to do some cross checking to see if the Reds are being consistent.

[fearofpopvol1]

I still don't think Bruce is ready. He Ks too much for my liking.

[Cyclone792]

I still don't think Bruce is ready. He Ks too much for my liking.

If that's the case then he'll never be ready for your liking.

[lollipopcurve]

Dusty likes Corey, he's a veteran. That trumps a better player, cmon, this is Cincinnati folks, get with the program.

Why is Votto playing over Hatteberg? Why has EdE been at 3rd since he was 23?

[IslandRed]

It probably is about the arb clock, but that's not ridiculous. By waiting until early June the Reds keep control for an extra year. If they bring him up now he'd probably qualify for a super two - I, for one, am in no hurry to see him go the Yankees/Red Sox/Dodgers. Its probably a consideration for Homer's callup also.

Keep in mind that the arbitration clock is separate from the free-agency clock. Calling him up now versus mid-June doesn't mean we lose control of Bruce any sooner; it just makes him expensive sooner.

[Stingray]

Keep in mind that the arbitration clock is separate from the free-agency clock. Calling him up now versus mid-June doesn't mean we lose control of Bruce any sooner; it just makes him expensive sooner.

My understanding is that the club has 3 years until arb (unless a super two) and a fixed # of years of arb(2yrs, 3yrs? not sure of the correct #). If that's correct we gain a year of control if we delay arb by a year. If I'm wrong please give me the correct info.

[IslandRed]

My understanding is that the club has 3 years until arb (unless a super two) and a fixed # of years of arb(2yrs, 3yrs? not sure of the correct #). If that's correct we gain a year of control if we delay arb by a year. If I'm wrong please give me the correct info.

A player is not eligible for free agency until he has six years' worth of service time (as defined by time on the big club's active roster or DL, with a "year" equalling 172 days). That is independent of anything that has to do with arbitration. Arbitration eligibility begins after three years of service time, unless the player qualifies as a super-two.

Because Bruce has spent six weeks or so in the minors already, the earliest he can be eligible for free agency is after the 2014 season. If he comes up now, he might be eligible for arbitration after the 2010 season as a super-two. If he came up in mid-June, he likely wouldn't be arb-eligible until after 2011. But either way, it doesn't change his free-agency threshold.

[fearofpopvol1]

If that's the case then he'll never be ready for your liking.

I completely disagree. You can become better with your plate discipline with age. He's striking out in more than 25% of his plate appearences in AAA. Pitching in the bigs won't be any easier to hit, so he's likely to see that % go up. The Ks would be okay if he walked more, but he doesn't. I'm not suggesting that the Reds wait forever or anything, but he needs to be better with pitch recognition to really succeed.

[IslandRed]

For what it's worth, Bruce's strikeout rate this year isn't really any different than it was last year. His walk rate is down slightly, though.

The question at hand is whether further exposure to Triple-A will do him any real good. At every level since last spring's start in Sarasota, he's struck out a little more than we'd like and walked a little less than we'd like. And absolutely torn the cover off the ball. So it is again, at .348 with a .991 OPS as of this afternoon. He's probably going to have to learn the rest of his lessons in the majors; Triple-A pitchers simply aren't going to get him out often enough to effect behavior change.

[membengal]

So, he's good again?

[dougdirt]

I completely disagree. You can become better with your plate discipline with age. He's striking out in more than 25% of his plate appearences in AAA. Pitching in the bigs won't be any easier to hit, so he's likely to see that % go up. The Ks would be okay if he walked more, but he doesn't. I'm not suggesting that the Reds wait forever or anything, but he needs to be better with pitch recognition to really succeed.

No he isn't. Through 6 at bats today Jay is striking out 21.9% of his plate appearances this year. Still nothing to be overly impressed by, but 22% isn't quite more than 25%.