Bruce biding time in the Minors

[OnBaseMachine]

Bruce biding time in the Minors
Outfield prospect is waiting for his shot
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- Outfielder Jay Bruce may have a bat that's the talk of baseball, but there's still room at the inn in Cincinnati for the top prospect in the game.

Bruce, who went 3-for-3 in Wednesday's game for Triple-A Louisville vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, enters Thursday batting .366 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. The 21-year-old was riding a five-game hitting streak and is batting .611 (22-for-36) over his last 10 games.

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty has been asked this a lot lately: When will Bruce be in the Majors?

"It's a good question," Jocketty said. "He's really done well there and it hasn't gone unnoticed by any of us here. The question is getting him enough playing time here. Until we can determine if we have enough playing time here, it just doesn't make sense to bring him up and play him part time. He's better off continuing to develop down there."

Bruce was a candidate for the regular center-field spot but lost out once free agent Corey Patterson was signed. Ryan Freel is also playing there often. Patterson struggled mightily most of this season but has shown signs of heating up this week.

"We want to let the center-field spot develop more before we decide," Jocketty said.

The other alternative would be for the Reds to move one of their star outfielders -- right fielder Ken Griffey Jr. and left fielder Adam Dunn. Griffey would have to waive his full no-trade clause as a 10-5 player (10 years' service, at least five with one team).

Rumors have swirled in recent weeks that the Mariners would like to bring Griffey back to Seattle. Jocketty said there hasn't been activity involving Griffey.

"No talks," Jocketty said.

Meanwhile, Bruce will have to bide his time.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it, but all I can do is take care of my business and wait it out," Bruce told MiLB.com this week. "Until then, all I can do is just work on being the best all-around player I can be. I take pride in doing the little things correctly, because eventually that's what is going to make or break you."

In other developments, the Reds don't appear poised to lock up more of their younger players long term. It's a trend that has been in vogue this season around the Major Leagues.

On Thursday, the Brewers became the latest team to give a rising star extended security. Reigning National League Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun was inked to an eight-year, $45 million contract.

Under previous GM Wayne Krivsky, just before Spring Training opened, the Reds made a long-term commitment with Brandon Phillips. The second baseman signed a four-year, $27 million deal to avoid arbitration.

Evan Longoria, who is still in his rookie season, signed a six-year, $17.5 million deal with the Rays on April 18.

Troy Tulowitzki started the trend of pre-arbitration players signing long-term contracts. The Rockies' shortstop signed a seven-year, $31 million contract over the winter.

The Reds have a few more potential candidates that could some day be offered security. Rookie first baseman Joey Votto is the club leader in home runs and tied for second in RBIs. Edwin Encarnacion is eligible for arbitration this offseason. Starting pitcher Edinson Volquez, the NL's ERA leader, is having the makings of a career year.

"We haven't really discussed it yet," Jocketty said. "It's a strategy I've done in the past in St. Louis, if you find the right guys. It's something we'll take a look at in the future."

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

[Spring~Fields]

Reds Insider
John Fay

Jocketty's here

Walt Jocketty joined the Reds in the L.A. today. So my first question to him was any significance to showing up now? The short answer: No. He had planned to be on the whole trip, but he had to attend a memorial service in the St. Louis and a funeral in Minneapolis.

He did take a side trip on the way to St. Louis to see Jay Bruce play at Louisville.

"I told him to be patient," Jocketty said. "What he's doing is not going unnoticed. Keep working. He went out and went 2-for-4 with a home run."

I'm saying with prediction that Bruce gets the call when the Reds return home. Again, that's just a hunch.

Jocketty saw left-hander Matt Maloney throw. "He looked very good," Jocketty said.

Daniel Herrera, the little lefty the Reds got in the Josh Hamilton deal, also threw. Herrera was 0.61 ERA and has allowed only eight hits 14 2/3 innings. His out pitch is a screwball.

"Everything is slow," Jocketty said. "But he keeps hitters off balance."

[Tommyjohn25]

Reds Insider
John Fay

Jocketty's here

Walt Jocketty joined the Reds in the L.A. today. So my first question to him was any significance to showing up now? The short answer: No. He had planned to be on the whole trip, but he had to attend a memorial service in the St. Louis and a funeral in Minneapolis.

He did take a side trip on the way to St. Louis to see Jay Bruce play at Louisville.

"I told him to be patient," Jocketty said. "What he's doing is not going unnoticed. Keep working. He went out and went 2-for-4 with a home run."

I'm saying with prediction that Bruce gets the call when the Reds return home. Again, that's just a hunch.

Jocketty saw left-hander Matt Maloney throw. "He looked very good," Jocketty said.

Daniel Herrera, the little lefty the Reds got in the Josh Hamilton deal, also threw. Herrera was 0.61 ERA and has allowed only eight hits 14 2/3 innings. His out pitch is a screwball.

"Everything is slow," Jocketty said. "But he keeps hitters off balance."

Man I hope that his prediction is right. I've never looked so forward to a prospects arrival more than I have his. Good that Walt got to see Herrera too.

[OnBaseMachine]

Man I hope that his prediction is right. I've never looked so forward to a prospects arrival more than I have his. Good that Walt got to see Herrera too.

I was pretty darn excited about Dunn being called up in July 2001. Dunn is the reason I started following the minor leagues...

[Cyclone792]

I'm saying with prediction that Bruce gets the call when the Reds return home. Again, that's just a hunch.

And that's the date that Bruce will be past the safe Super-Two date.

[Tommyjohn25]

And that's the date that Bruce will be past the safe Super-Two date.

I love it when a plan comes together.

[Tommyjohn25]

I was pretty darn excited about Dunn being called up in July 2001. Dunn is the reason I started following the minor leagues...

Me too actually. Dunn and Kearns...

[Spring~Fields]

You're each more optomistic than I am, I hope that you're each right and I will keep still not wanting to cause the baseball gods any distress.

[OnBaseMachine]

Jay Bruce coming back to Reds soon
Listen to this article or download audio file.Click-2-Listen

By Hal McCoy

Staff Writer

Thursday, May 22, 2008

LOS ANGELES — It is like an old movie poster: "Coming Soon, Jay Bruce."

Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty saw Bruce play Sunday in Louisville, "Saw him ground out twice and hit a home run over the right field fence."

So he knows, first hand, how well the 21-year-old outfielder is doing — ripping Triple-A pitching to shreds.

"If he keeps playing like this, we're going to have to get him up here some time soon," said Jocketty. "What we don't want to do is bring him up and not have him play."

There are cynics who believe Bruce is being held back so the Reds can save a year of arbitration. If he is called up before a certain date this year, the clock on arbitration starts immediately.

If they wait until that date, arbitration won't start until next year.

The dates? May 25? June 1? June 15?

"I honestly don't know that date," said Jocketty. "I've heard sometime in June but it doesn't play into anything."

Bruce is hitting .369 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs in 45 games. He also has 41 strikeouts.

Jocketty was in Dayton for the first time this week and saw parts of four baseball games that day. He saw some of a Dayton Dragons game, a University of Dayton game, a University of Cincinnati game and part of a Xavier University game.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/con...208spreds.html

[dougdirt]

"If he keeps playing like this, we're going to have to get him up here some time soon. What we don't want to do is bring him up and not have him play."

Well obviously, but when the heck do you figure out that Bruce is easily our 2nd best outfield option almost at worst right now? He could outproduce Patterson and Griffey with ease at this point.

There are cynics who believe Bruce is being held back so the Reds can save a year of arbitration. If he is called up before a certain date this year, the clock on arbitration starts immediately.

If they wait until that date, arbitration won't start until next year.

The dates? May 25? June 1? June 15?

"I honestly don't know that date," said Jocketty. "I've heard sometime in June but it doesn't play into anything."

Does it bother anyone else that our GM doesn't know the date?

[Cedric]

Well obviously, but when the heck do you figure out that Bruce is easily our 2nd best outfield option almost at worst right now? He could outproduce Patterson and Griffey with ease at this point.



Does it bother anyone else that our GM doesn't know the date?

He knows it. He just wants YOU to think he doesn't. It's always a PR nightmare when an organization is seemingly holding back a player because of money. Even though in this case I think it's the best move. He knows the date and that's a face.

[OnBaseMachine]

• Phenom time: Any day now, the Reds will reach the point in the season when it's probably safe to call up their favorite phenom, Jay Bruce, without worrying about whether he'll accumulate enough service time to qualify for arbitration as a "super two" player after the 2010 season. But one friend of owner Robert Castellini says that always was an overrated factor in the decision to send Bruce to the minor leagues. "He's not into that," Castellini's friend said. "All he wants to do is win -- and as soon as possible." But if that's true, how much longer can the Reds keep Bruce hanging out in Louisville, where he has 10 homers, a .661 slugging percentage, a .369 batting average and as many extra-base hits (24) as Junior Griffey and Corey Patterson combined?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/column...page=rumblings