Neftali Soto - Catcher?

[dougdirt]

Sounds like he won't be in Dayton.

[BRM]

Sounds like he won't be in Dayton.

Why do you say that?

[redsof72]

I would disagree with the idea that Mesoraco has a higher upside than Coddington. You could find people on both sides of the argument. Personally, I see Coddington as the better prospect, although I certainaly have not given up on Mesoraco. If those two guys are in Lynchburg, I would look for them to split the starts and have a third catcher there so one of those guys can DH when the other guy is catching, as has been suggested.

[dougdirt]

Why do you say that?

I asked around a little bit.

[Mario-Rijo]

I would disagree with the idea that Mesoraco has a higher upside than Coddington. You could find people on both sides of the argument. Personally, I see Coddington as the better prospect, although I certainaly have not given up on Mesoraco. If those two guys are in Lynchburg, I would look for them to split the starts and have a third catcher there so one of those guys can DH when the other guy is catching, as has been suggested.

Now that is interesting commentary. Could you please expound on why you feel Mes has no higher upside than Coddington? That just doesn't seem likely seeing as how they were drafted where they were. Certainly sometimes teams get it wrong but usually (not always) guys are drafted on god given ability and the ones who break thru from deeper in the draft aren't neccessarily more talented but more skilled. Talent (for the most part) usually dictates ceiling so did the Reds get it wrong on Mes or did the rest of baseball and the Reds (multiple times) get it wrong?

[dougdirt]

I would disagree with the idea that Mesoraco has a higher upside than Coddington. You could find people on both sides of the argument. Personally, I see Coddington as the better prospect, although I certainaly have not given up on Mesoraco. If those two guys are in Lynchburg, I would look for them to split the starts and have a third catcher there so one of those guys can DH when the other guy is catching, as has been suggested.

I think the key difference is in the bat. Upside wise, Mesoraco is leaps and bounds ahead. He has power that Coddington will never begin to touch (not that Mesoraco has 30 HR power, but Coddington doesn't have 7 HR power), walks more and strikes out a little more. Defensively, Coddington has the current edge but potentially Mesoraco could match him when things settle.

[Mario-Rijo]

I asked around a little bit.

And so where is he likely to land?

[dougdirt]

And so where is he likely to land?

Yet to be determined, but it won't be Dayton. That tells me that he likely won't be spending much time at catcher because there is no way they send a guy to AA without catching experience and let him catch, but High A is going to have Coddington and perhaps Mesoraco.

[BRM]

Yet to be determined, but it won't be Dayton. That tells me that he likely won't be spending much time at catcher because there is no way they send a guy to AA without catching experience and let him catch, but High A is going to have Coddington and perhaps Mesoraco.

Is there a chance Mesoraco goes to AA? That would leave Coddington and Soto splitting the catching duties in High-A, right?

[Mario-Rijo]

Is there a chance Mesoraco goes to AA? That would leave Coddington and Soto splitting the catching duties in High-A, right?

The way they have promoted Mes he is due to start this season in AA. He probably shouldn't be but it is what it is.

[dougdirt]

The way they have promoted Mes he is due to start this season in AA. He probably shouldn't be but it is what it is.

I think the argument could be made that he should be. Last season he had an above average walk rate and above average power for his level, regardless of age (though he was young for the level) while impressing with his defense.

[Mario-Rijo]

I think the argument could be made that he should be. Last season he had an above average walk rate and above average power for his level, regardless of age (though he was young for the level) while impressing with his defense.

I get that, I mean I sorta feel the same way in that I feel Mes has managed to offset the rapid promotion to some extent. But at the same time it would still be nice if he could get just a quick 2 or 3 month breather to have some tangible success. I would imagine that would do him some good after the last couple of years. Anyone could make the argument to do either but I think a couple of months somewhere he has some familiarity (level wise) would boost his confidence and ultimately would be the wiser move.

[dougdirt]

I get that, I mean I sorta feel the same way in that I feel Mes has managed to offset the rapid promotion to some extent. But at the same time it would still be nice if he could get just a quick 2 or 3 month breather to have some tangible success. I would imagine that would do him some good after the last couple of years. Anyone could make the argument to do either but I think a couple of months somewhere he has some familiarity (level wise) would boost his confidence and ultimately would be the wiser move.

At the same time, what would it do to him if he had to split time with Kevin Coddington?

[lollipopcurve]

Mesoraco has not tasted success yet. He's merely survived. IMO he could use a year of doing well, and that would be tough for him in AA.

[dougdirt]

Mesoraco has not tasted success yet. He's merely survived. IMO he could use a year of doing well, and that could be tough for him in AA.

Fixed that for you.

But I still want to know, is 'tasting success' worth stunting two players as they split time instead of both getting full time at different levels?