Reds one of the favorites to land top Dominican talent Michel Inoa

[redsmetz]

Not me. I would rather sign the top talent rather than signing a bunch of guys who profile to be average players. In this case I like quality over quantity.

I agree. Every young pitcher has the risk of flaming out. If we live with that fear constantly, we'll never improve the organization.

[Blitz Dorsey]

And since we're not going to be forking over $100 mil+ for the Johan's of the world, these kind of guys are our best shot at really stocking up on great pitching.

[OnBaseMachine]

There's an article on Baseball America that quotes an International scout as saying Michel Inoa is a once-in-a-decade type pitcher.

[lollipopcurve]

Point out to him and is agent the strong Latin influence the Reds have on the current pitching staff in Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, and Francisco Cordero. They also have Juan Duran in the system and both are the same age. Use that to their advantage. Use Mario Soto as a selling point. Point out what he did for Cueto. Inoa already has a plus fastball and good curveball and just an average changeup. Imagine what Soto could do with him. With Dunn and Griffey's contracts coming off the books, the Reds have the money to throw at him. Add in the Mario Soto factor and I think there's a very good chance Inoa could end up a Red.

Exactly. This is what we were talking about with the signing of Duran this winter -- the Reds are building some real cachet in the Dominican. Thanks to Krivsky, Tony Arias and others, the Reds have gone from a nobody to perhaps the team with the most momentum in the DR. What a huge, huge development, and if they sign the Inoa kid they're going to look like the Dodgers used to look down there, skimming the cream of the crop.

[lollipopcurve]

And since we're not going to be forking over $100 mil+ for the Johan's of the world, these kind of guys are our best shot at really stocking up on great pitching.

yes -- and the domestic draft

[GoReds33]

This is great news. Just to be in consideration with a kid like this is great, but now it comes down to winning. Let's get this kid!

[NorrisHopper30]

And since we're not going to be forking over $100 mil+ for the Johan's of the world, these kind of guys are our best shot at really stocking up on great pitching.

This is the best way to put it. Go for it, if it doesn't work out you lose 4MM dollars, big whoop. If it does work out we've got ourselves a dandy.

[Oxilon]

I'd much rather see money spent on a kid like Inoa than a guy like Patterson or Bako. Kids like this don't along too often. The Reds have some major selling points and they should use them. Point out to him and is agent the strong Latin influence the Reds have on the current pitching staff in Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, and Francisco Cordero. They also have Juan Duran in the system and both are the same age. Use that to their advantage. Use Mario Soto as a selling point. Point out what he did for Cueto. Inoa already has a plus fastball and good curveball and just an average changeup. Imagine what Soto could do with him. With Dunn and Griffey's contracts coming off the books, the Reds have the money to throw at him. Add in the Mario Soto factor and I think there's a very good chance Inoa could end up a Red.

Inoa is only 16, so he's at the very least four, five years away from the majors. Who knows if Cueto, Volquez, Cordero, and even Soto will be affiliated with the club by the time he'd be major league ready, not to mention that's still a big 'if.' I'm all for the signing of Duran, since he's a position player and that injury risk is much less greater than it is for a 16 year old pitcher. Keep in mind it's going to cost $6MM atleast, that'd be a hard bullett to bite

[OnBaseMachine]

Inoa is only 16, so he's at the very least four, five years away from the majors. Who knows if Cueto, Volquez, Cordero, and even Soto will be affiliated with the club by the time he'd be major league ready, not to mention that's still a big 'if.' I'm all for the signing of Duran, since he's a position player and that injury risk is much less greater than it is for a 16 year old pitcher. Keep in mind it's going to cost $6MM atleast, that'd be a hard bullett to bite

If you're not willing to take risks then you're probably not going to win.

[flyer85]

If you're not willing to take risks then you're probably not going to win.

all depends on what those risks are

[OnBaseMachine]

all depends on what those risks are

This is a kid who scouts have said is a once-in-a-decade type pitcher. Some of that is just hype but the kid is clearly talented and this is a case where I'd like to see the Reds take the risk and sign him.

[Grande Donkey]

If you're not willing to take risks then you're probably not going to win.

That is a two way street you know. You can also put your team in huge holes by taking the wrong risks. And don't act like you can't build a winner through good management, smart personnel moves and great scouting while never taking any big risks.

I'm not saying that I would be mad if they signed him, I would be jumping for joy, I just think they could spend the money more wisely. You could sign 3-4 top Dominican prospects for the same price you could sign Inoa.

[RedlegJake]

If they are going after Inoa AFTER signing Duran and AFTER signing so many of their 08 draftees then it signals to me that they will likely still be going after Ramirez and other prospects. I think Cast is serious about putting money in the minors. He wants to win now, but he recognizes the value of ensuring a stream of future talent, too, to keep it going. If the Reds hauled away Duran, Inoa and Ramirez it would be a baseball coup of gigantic proportions in the Latin arena.

[LoganBuck]

If they are going after Inoa AFTER signing Duran and AFTER signing so many of their 08 draftees then it signals to me that they will likely still be going after Ramirez and other prospects. I think Cast is serious about putting money in the minors. He wants to win now, but he recognizes the value of ensuring a stream of future talent, too, to keep it going. If the Reds hauled away Duran, Inoa and Ramirez it would be a baseball coup of gigantic proportions in the Latin arena.

Add Yonder Alonso to that group and it gets really scary.

[MartyFan]

If they are going after Inoa AFTER signing Duran and AFTER signing so many of their 08 draftees then it signals to me that they will likely still be going after Ramirez and other prospects. I think Cast is serious about putting money in the minors. He wants to win now, but he recognizes the value of ensuring a stream of future talent, too, to keep it going. If the Reds hauled away Duran, Inoa and Ramirez it would be a baseball coup of gigantic proportions in the Latin arena.

I think he tells the fan base he wants to win now knowing fully that the only strategy to win at all is to develop the minors.