Three Reds Mentioned in 'This Week in Prospects'

[HokieRed]

Will Alonso bring a better LF than he would be if Votto is moved to LF (i.e. the insertion into the lineup would be Alonso)?

[sabometrics]

Juan Duran, OF, Reds (Rookie)—Not to pile on Cincinnati fans this week (hey, at least Joseph is good news), but Duran, a highly-acclaimed international signee in 2008, continues to have huge trouble making contact in the low minors.
The 6’7” Dominican behemoth hit just .177 in the GCL last year. He’s doing slightly better in the higher-level Pioneer league, hitting .211/.289/.321, but Duran has whiffed 39 times in 28 games and continues to show remarkably little power for a player with his size and leverage.
Unlike Alonso, Duran is young for his level, turning 19 in a month, so he has time to figure out his swing, recognize breaking balls, and make other adjustments. But we’re now on year three of his career (he played in the Dominican Summer League in 2008), and he has yet to hit .220 or slug .325 in a season.

.305/.367/.451 - .818 OPS in July ... even though he's had two 3-5 days since this article was written it seemed clear before then he's making some progress.

[Texas Pete]

Duran is still really young.

I like his potential.

[dougdirt]

Duran is still really young.

I like his potential.

Very true, but his strikeout rate is very poor. He needs to clean it up some, because right now its going to keep his game at a low level because its so high.