Sunday May 2nd Minor League Update

[Benihana]

I'd like to see Wood get a little bit more dominant in Louisville. As it stands now, I think that Maloney has cemented his status as next in line for a big league callup. By the time we need Wood or Chapman, it may be close. LeCure is also making an awful strong case, although I'd rather sell high and trade him while his value is high. I don't believe he can be an effective big league starter.

Nice to see Mez's hot start. Hope he can keep it up and see a midseason promotion to Carolina. Then Soto and Coddington can split duties in Lynchburg.

[Superdude]

He's off to a really hot start -- I'm skeptical, though, that it's anything more than that until it's sustained for more than a few weeks. Mez has been consistently mediocre for his entire reds ML career

Mes isn't going to finish the year with a 1.000+OPS, but falling back to his career norms would be just as shocking to me. While it's only 70 at bats, Mesoraco's offensive statistics have been nearly flawless so far. His plate discipline's been off the charts and his power seems to be coming on in a big way. Writing off improvement from a 21 year old catcher from Pennsylvania seems a little pessimistic.

[HokieRed]

Mesoraco made a 130 pt. OPS jump between rookie ball and A ball. What if he made a similar "real" OPS jump last year but that was masked by his being in the FSL? In other words, the real way to read his line is from .580 to .710 to .800 plus or minus--and now maybe he makes that kind of jump this year again.

[GOYA]

Mesoraco had 3 passed balls today? Mercy.

[Caveat Emperor]

Mes isn't going to finish the year with a 1.000+OPS, but falling back to his career norms would be just as shocking to me. While it's only 70 at bats, Mesoraco's offensive statistics have been nearly flawless so far. His plate discipline's been off the charts and his power seems to be coming on in a big way. Writing off improvement from a 21 year old catcher from Pennsylvania seems a little pessimistic.

I'm not writing off improvement -- but there's a difference between "improvement" and a fast start.

I hope what we're seeing is a sign that Mez has improved, but I'm skeptical (and justifiably so, IMO) based on the pedestrian lines he's posted thus far in his career.

[GOYA]

Has Mes ever had a streak like this before?

[muddie]

The Mudcats have asserted their willpower and are now down 2-1 into the bottom of the fifth. Rain threatens this game so there probably isn't a lot of time to turn this around. Daryl Thompson is doing well as the starter.

[dougdirt]

Just to go with Mesoraco talk on here.... We saw improvements across the board last season in all of his peripherals. His power was well above average for the FSL, much less for a 20/21 year old in the FSL. His plate discipline was solid, with a good walk rate and an acceptable strikeout rate. This season we are seeing the same walk rate, an increase in power (expected given he left the FSL). The only difference we are seeing is the improved strikeout rate.

[gedred69]

Soooo, does Dorn ever get a chance with the Reds? Should be evident what Nix has, extreme mediocrity. I would think Dorn deserves a look to see if maybe he could be a step or two better....

[Cedric]

Just to go with Mesoraco talk on here.... We saw improvements across the board last season in all of his peripherals. His power was well above average for the FSL, much less for a 20/21 year old in the FSL. His plate discipline was solid, with a good walk rate and an acceptable strikeout rate. This season we are seeing the same walk rate, an increase in power (expected given he left the FSL). The only difference we are seeing is the improved strikeout rate.

Exactly. This talk about mediocre is not reasonable, IMO. Sometimes it's hard for people to judge minor league numbers if they don't understand iso/age at level and other peripherals.

Many of us expected this to happen. Just don't expect an ops like this all year.

[cumberlandreds]

Adkins had good reason to argue. Castillo had the plate blocked.

Reineke on to pitch

This game was on SNY and I watched it off and on throughout the day. That was a good call at the plate. Castillo had it blocked but didn't tag the runner until after he touched the plate. From what I saw Wood looked good. It looks to me like is almost MLB ready.

[Scrap Irony]

Really suprised at Mesoraco's continuing hitting prowess so far. Love to see it, as I was among those that insisted he was virtually useless. Glad to see he can hit. Now he has to do it consistently for the year.

If he somehow manages to OPS over 800 for the year, he's probably one of the three most important prospects in the Red pipeline.

[Benihana]

If he somehow manages to OPS over 800 for the year, he's probably one of the three most important prospects in the Red pipeline.

Agree with this, especially when considering the fact that after this season, the AAA guys like Frazier, Francisco, Chapman and Wood should be major league ready and thus no longer considered prospects (although their current batting lines suggest the contrary.)

If Mez can consistently OPS over 800 all year- including after a midseason promotion to Carolina, he will be right up there with Alonso, Boxberger, and Rodriguez for the most important "prospects" in the system this offseason.

Another re-emergence to watch is Daryl Thompson. I'd like to see him get back up to AAA to see if his comeback is legit.

[dougdirt]

From what I saw Wood looked good. It looks to me like is almost MLB ready.

I agree here. While I know his ERA isn't sparkling (not bad either, its below 4.00), I think he could probably be pitching nearly as well in the major leagues. The Reds defense is an unfathomable amount better than the one in Louisville and Wood's stuff and control have been excellent all year so far. If there is a guy ready for the big leagues that we have in the minors now, its Travis Wood (and Matt Maloney, who has been ready since last season sometime).

[Caveat Emperor]

Exactly. This talk about mediocre is not reasonable, IMO. Sometimes it's hard for people to judge minor league numbers if they don't understand iso/age at level and other peripherals.

Many of us expected this to happen. Just don't expect an ops like this all year.

I don't know how you classify the following statlines as anything OTHER than mediocre:

ROOKIE: .219 / .310 / .270
A: .261 / .311 / .399
A+: .228 / .311 / .381

Those are bad numbers -- plain, flat-out, bad. You can spin it any way you like, but Mesoraco wasn't making good contact, he wasn't hitting for power, and he generally wasn't getting on base (though, in his defense, he was remarkably consistent in his inability to get on base, given that his OBP hasn't differed by more than a point since he turned professional).

You can talk about peripherals all you want, but Mez has, thus far, not gotten the job done at any level he's played.