Neftali Soto makes the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet

[OnBaseMachine]

No. 7 NEFTALI SOTO, 1B/3B/C, REDS

Team: high Class A Lynchburg (Carolina)
Age: 20
Why He's Here: .433/.867/.433 (13-for-30), 8 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBIs, 0 BB, 4 SO
The Scoop: If not for a late spring-training trade that saw third baseman Brandon Waring shipped to the Orioles, Soto would have started the 2009 season in the Midwest League. But Waring's departure meant that Soto moved up a level, which left him over his head. He batted just .248/.282/.362 for high Class A Sarasota. The Reds offseason decision to have Soto try catching made the decision to send him back to high Class A this season even easier. So far, it's going quite well. Soto isn't exactly a polished backstop yet, but he is making progress, and he's showing the power that the Reds always expected—he's hit five home runs in the past 10 games after hitting 11 all of last year.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...10/269938.html

[jmcclain19]

Terribly excited about this kid. At catcher he goes from a "meh" prospect to a Top 10 prospect player. Just hope his Russell Martin like conversion at (20 year old 3B in High A) continues.

The Reds having not one but two decent catching prospects - Have we entered some crazy space/time vortex?

[lollipopcurve]

The Reds having not one but two decent catching prospects - Have we entered some crazy space/time vortex?

In my opinion, at this point, now that we see their offense is going to play, the key for Soto and Mesoraco as prospects is their defense. They have to develop to the point they're major league average defensively, or the bats won't matter. May take a few years yet.

[Mario-Rijo]

In my opinion, at this point, now that we see their offense is going to play, the key for Soto and Mesoraco as prospects is their defense. They have to develop to the point they're major league average defensively, or the bats won't matter. May take a few years yet.

I think Mes is getting close to the point where all he'll need is reps and experience (and just overall game calling). He needs some work on allowing passed balls (7 in 19 games) but at High A I have the feeling it's not all him. The whole staff has been charged with 10 WP's thru 29 games. He has caught 7 of 19 runners (37% CS) and has made only 1 error.Yeah he needs a little work yet but hopefully he'll be just gaining steam here soon. He's now 22 and I expect him to be pretty close to being major league ready at 24 which is about right for most prospects. Soto though is in the infant stages so it'll likely get worse before it gets better.

[Caveat Emperor]

The Reds having not one but two decent catching prospects - Have we entered some crazy space/time vortex?

You didn't start to get suspicious when Mike Leake wasn't shelled in his first couple outings?