Congratulations, Billy Hamilton! Ton of coverage about this. Here’s some stuff:
BA Prospect Hot Sheet They waited until #15 to talk about him. (There’a also a note about Daniel Corcino: Reds RHP Daniel Corcino turns 22 on Sunday, and there's a chance he may be in Cincinnati before his next birthday. Corcino allowed only one run in 11 innings over two starts this week, strikeout out 10 with just four hits, though he did walk seven. His ERA dropped to 3.06 through 138 1/3 innings for Double-A Pensacola.)

More BA

About the previous record, held by Vince Coleman and Donell Nixon, and its lack of coverage.

AAA Louisville Bats

Record this week: 2-5.

Overall: 50-83. Last. Now six less wins than the Mud Hens!

8/16: Picking up the road trip in the middle of a five-game losing streak, the Bats headed to Charlotte (CHW). Louisville piled up four in the first inning on C Dioner Navarro’s grand slam (#5)… only to watch the Knights hammer Tim Gustafson for five in the bottom half! Gustafson was gone by the fifth (L 4-5, 5.07, 4.1 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 HR) and the Bats could only make up a couple of the deficit. Charlotte wins, 8-6. Rehabbin’ Bill Bray threw a scoreless inning of relief, while 1B Neftali Soto continued a strong August at the plate (2-for-4, 2 2B, R, BB, .245) and SS Didi Gregorius had two hits and two RBI (.254).

8/17: Seven. Kanekoa Texeira had a great spot start, firing five innings of one-hit shutout ball (2.67, 2 BB, 3 K, 69 pitches/35 strikes) but Xavier alumnus Charles Leesman shut Louisville out for seven. Charlotte got to Will Ohman (0-1) and Carlos Fisher later on and won it, 2-0. Soto lashed three more hits, reaching .250 for the first time in a long time.

8/18: BATS WIN! BATS WIN! Pedro Villareal (4.66, 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) dueled Columbus (CLE)’s Eric Berger to a standstill through seven, then Rehabbin’ Nick Masset and Jordan Smith kept it tied. Finally, in the tenth, 2B Willie Harris singled home RF Denis Phipps with the walk-off winner! Phipps hit a two-run homer (#11, 3-for-4, 2 2B, .210) in the second for the other two Bats runs, while Soto had three more hits and a run scored. Smith got the win (3-3, 4.86, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 K).

8/19: Louisville got four in the home first, then blew that lead. They got four more in the fifth, and thought about blowing that lead too- but Phipps’ second homer of the game, in the seventh, made it 9-4. This way, when the Clippers smacked around Rehabbin’ Bray and Nick Christiani for four in the visitors’ eighth, the Bats could hang on to win 9-8. Phipps drove in six of those nine runs, hitting a three-run homer off Columbus starter Jeanmar Gomez that was apparently the result of pitch-tipping. 2B Chris Valaika also had three hits (.236). Sean Gallagher made it through five (W 10-9, 4.92, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K). JJ Hoover got save #13.

8/20: Clipper bats rained on Chad Reineke (L 5-9, 4.70, 3.1 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 HR) in a 10-1 rout. Phipps hit homer #14 for the lone Bats run (.262/.357/.689 in August; .218/.293/.399 in 83 games overall).

8/21: The Bats fought back from a 5-0 deficit to lead 7-5, but Rehabbin’ Nick Masset didn’t retire a Clipper in six tries in the eighth. Columbus rallies for the 10-7 win. RF Felix Perez got up to .299 with a 3-for-5 (2B, 2 R) and both Gregorius and 2B Henry Rodriguez (struggling; down to .233) drove in two.

8/22: Bats blow a 5-4 lead in the game’s final third in Indianapolis (PIT) and lose it, 7-5. Willie Harris hit two solo homers (3). None of the pitchers pitched very well (it was bullpen day). Perez got over .300 with a single and triple.

Transactions: 8/18: RHS Todd Redmond called up by the Reds to make his spot start. 8/19: Redmond back. 8/20: OF Bill Rhinehart released. Rhinehart, 27, was acquired last July in the Jonny Gomes deal that also brought Pensacola LHR Chris Manno. He hit .287/.380/.513 in 36 games for Double-A Carolina last year after being acquired, but hit just .228/.303/.365 this year in 98 games, almost all with Louisville.

Around the minors: The Reds released RHP Luis Atilano, who was an offseason six-year signing who made only one early-season appearance in the system.

AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos

This week: 2-5. Not good. They need to win and win now.

Overall: 29-30 second half, five games behind new division leader Montgomery (TB) 63-65 overall. Eleven to play.

8/16: Rained out.

8/17: MAKEUP MADNESS IN MOBILE (ARI)! The newly-signed Brett Tomko got his “revenge” on the Reds’ organization for releasing him a couple weeks back, beating the Wahoos with five innings of one-run ball in game one, 4-1. Kyle Lotzkar keeps being hard to hit (L 4-6, 5.21, 4 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR) but shaky with his command. 1B Don Lutz and 3B David Vidal each had two hits. The nightcap went much better, as utility pitcher Mark Serrano was effective (W 7-4, 3.66, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and Vidal crushed a pair of homers (#8 and #9, 3-for-4, 4 RBI, .255) in a 10-2 rout. 1B Beau Mills added three hits, three runs, and homer #8 (.270) and Lutz had three more hits (.232). SS Billy Hamilton was fairly quiet- he was successful on his only steal attempt in game one (142)and then didn’t try one in game two.

8/18: Mobile scored four in the eighth to make a 1-0 game 5-0, while Pensacola could muster just two in the top of the ninth. Wahoos fall, 5-2. Hamilton had three hits and stole bag #143 (also getting caught another time), but only Mills’ ninth homer was able to plate any runs. Daniel Corcino was excellent for six (L 7-7, 3.17, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) but Chris Manno was hit hard (4.60, 1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 HR), serving up a three-run homer to ex-Reds farmhand Brent Clevlen.

8/19: So here’s the series that will be a major deciding point in whether Pensacola can make the playoffs in its first season. First-place Montgomery (TB) comes into Blue Wahoos Park leading by three games. The Biscuits got first blood in the fifth off Wirfin Obispo (2.19, 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K), but a two-run single from RF Josh Fellhauer plated C Mark Fleury and 2B Miguel Rojas to give the good guys a 2-1 advantage. Fellhauer mistook himself for Hamilton and got caught stealing while CF Ryan LaMarre struck out, so that rally ended. Montgomery tied the score in the visitors’ sixth off Josh Ravin, but Rojas walked and Hamilton tripled him home to make it 3-2 Wahoos in the seventh. After Justin Freeman worked a 1-2-3 eighth (2.56), Pensacola exploded for six runs in the eighth:

Pensacola Bottom of the 8th
• Ryan LaMarre strikes out swinging.
• Beau Mills homers (10) on a fly ball to center field.
• Donald Lutz singles on a line drive to center fielder Ty Morrison.
• David Vidal homers (10) on a line drive to left field. Donald Lutz scores.
• Pitching Change: Scott Shuman replaces Chris Rearick.
• Yordanys Perez reaches on a fielding error by pitcher Scott Shuman.
• Mark Fleury singles on a soft fly ball to right fielder Mikie Mahtook. Yordanys Perez to 3rd.
• Miguel Rojas walks. Mark Fleury to 2nd.
• Billy Hamilton walks. Yordanys Perez scores. Mark Fleury to 3rd. Miguel Rojas to 2nd.
• Josh Fellhauer walks. Mark Fleury scores. Miguel Rojas to 3rd. Billy Hamilton to 2nd.
• Ryan LaMarre grounds into a force out, shortstop Shawn O'Malley to second baseman Derek Dietrich. Miguel Rojas scores. Billy Hamilton to 3rd. Josh Fellhauer out at 2nd. Ryan LaMarre to 1st.
• Beau Mills strikes out swinging.

Wilkin de la Rosa (1-1, 2.39, 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K) got the win. Pensacola cut the lead to two games!

8/20: Rained out, makeup the next night.

8/21: MAKEUP MADNESS against Montgomery (TB). Not only could the Wahoos tie for first with a sweep, but Hamilton is only two off the minor-league steals record. Both leads of two could fall tonight! Tony Cingrani (5-3, 1.81; 10-4, 1.51 overall) and Chad Rogers (3-0, 1.59; 9-4, 2.95 overall) went for the Wahoos against Kyle Lobstein (7-6, 4.21) and Matt Buschmann (5-7, 4.31). Hamilton walked to start game one, then was picked off first but managed to be safe at second following a throwing error. He then stole third for number 144! But the Wahoos couldn’t get him home. In the fourth, then, he made the record his by lining a single to right and taking second and third! Again he was stranded, though. Finally Montgomery broke the stalemate in the sixth with a run off Cingrani… then another the following inning. Tony allowed only three hits over seven, but departed down two (1.87, 2 ER,2 BB, 7 K, 100 pitches/62 strikes). In the home seventh, C Tucker Barnhart smashed a two-out, two-run homer (#2) to tie the game! But the Biscuits got a two-run bomb off Freeman (L 3-6, 2.82) in the top of the inning. So Hamilton led off the bottom of the eighth… and walked and stole second (147). Ryan LaMarre walked, and an out later Beau Mills loaded the bases with an infield hit. But David Vidal struck out swinging and Don Lutz grounded out to end a frustrating game.

Game two saw the Wahoos needing a split to stay in this race. They scored first when Lutz knocked in Mills in the second, but the Biscuits tied it in the third. Chad Rogers left after four (1.71, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K). Josh Ravin was almost out of a fifth-inning jam when a passed ball allowed Montgomery to grab the lead. The Wahoos couldn’t get a runner past first base after that, and ended up falling 3-1.

8/22: Now four out, Pensacola needs to win both of these next two. The Wahoos built leads of 3-0 and 7-2… and blew both of them. Montgomery got three in the top of the ninth off Freeman (L 3-7, 3.21, BS #5) then held on through a last-gasp ninth-inning rally to win, 9-8, and take a five-game lead. Vidal hit a three-run homer (#11) and drove in four; Bryson Smith had a single, triple, and two RBI (.318). Fellhauer refused to make an out (.307, 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB). Hamilton stole #148. Mark Serrano pitched well (3.51, 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K).

High-A Bakersfield Blaze

Record this week: 4-3.

Overall: 24-34 second half. 65-63 overall. Playoff-bound.

8/16: The Blaze managed to halt their losing streak at six with a 4-2 defeat of San Jose (SF). CF Kurtis Muller had two hits, two runs scored, and two steals (10, .233) while 3B Moose Mattair had two hits and two RBI (.269). Josh Smith worked six shutout innings for the win (8-7, 3.56, 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K). Carlos Contreras got the save (0.2 IP, 1 BB) after Chris Joyce gave up the runs (6.68, 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K).

8/17: High Desert (SEA) wins 11-10 at Sam Lynn Stadium. The Blaze led 4-0, then fell behind 9-5, then alllllmost came back. RF Steve Selsky’s fourth hit of the game (.351, homer #13, 4 RBI) plated Mattair (3-for-4, 2 R, .274) in the home ninth, but SS Devin Lohman struck out to end the game. Dan Renken gave up eight earned runs for the second straight start (L 4-9, 5.87, 2.2 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR). The bullpen pitched decently, with Dan Wolford (7.06, 2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 K), Blaine Howell (4.70, 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and Mike Griffin (5.71, 1 IP, 1 K) holding the Mavericks reasonably well.

8/18: This one, not so close. Righty Stalin Gerson’s High-A debut is spoiled by the Mavericks goosing him for five runs on eight hits (L 0-1, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR) over four innings in a 10-2 rout. Kyle McMyne was hit pretty hard as well (6.62, 1.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 ER). LF Juan Duran did hit homer #12, while 2B Ryan Wright connected for #2. Position players Kurtis Muller and Stephen Hunt pitched the eighth and ninth, going 1-2-3 with a strikeout apiece!

8/19: So the Blaze came into this one a perfect 0-8 against High Desert. This was the ninth and final game of the season against the Mavericks- and BLAZE WIN! BLAZE WIN! Wright homered (#3) in the first while Bakersfield got four more in the third and another in the fifth. Contreras allowed two in the visitors’ ninth but got a game-ending 3-1 groundout to close out a 6-5 victory (save #2)! 1B Dominic D’Anna, in the midst of a rough and injury-plagued season, was 3-for-4 with two runs scored (.250) while Lohman had two hits and two RBI (.249) and Wright added a RBI double to his early HR (.274). Tim Crabbe worked seven strong to run his post-demotion record to 4-0 (3.38, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K).

8/20: Part two of the homestand against Inland Empire (LAA). This was ugly. The 66ers got eight runs in the fourth to make a 2-1 game 10-1; they rolled on to a 16-6 win. Jamie Walczak started (L 3-5, 6.25, 3.1 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3 HR). Mike Dennhardt and Abel de los Santos had rough High-A debuts; Dennhardt gave up two earned in 1.2 innings (plus he allowed both of his inherited runners to score) while de los Santos retired just one of six (0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB). Muller (#2) and Wright (#4; third straight game) homered for the Blaze.

8/21: Game two of this four-game set; Wright homered for the fourth straight game in the first to make it 2-0, then Bakersfield got single runs over each of their last three at-bats to win it 5-2. Josh Smith made it four straight quality starts and back-to-back wins (W 9-7, 3.54, 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). Blaine Howell worked the seventh and eighth and Carlos Contreras struck out three straight for save #3.

8/22: Five in the sixth blew open a close one; Blaze cruise, 10-5. D’Anna was 3-for-4 with two RBI (.254) and C Danny Vicioso the same with a double and homer (#3, .315). Moose Mattair, same (.275). Dan Renken righted the ship somewhat (W 5-9, 5.87, 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 HR). Brooks Pinckard returned to action with a scoreless inning (7.23).

Transactions: 8/19: RHRs Pat Doyle and Andrew Brackman placed on the DL. RHR Abel de los Santos promoted from the AZL and RHR Mike Dennhardt promoted from Dayton.

Low-A Dayton Dragons

This week: 4-3.

Overall: 25-31 second half. 55-71 overall.

8/16: Dayton scored in six different innings to even this three-game set with Lake County (CLE) at one apiece, 12-6. SS Sammy Diaz hit his first MWL homer and went 3-for-4 with three runs scored (.321). RF Yorman Rodriguez drove in four with a 2-for-5 (.264). 3B Junior Arias hit homer #4 while going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and steal #27 (.205). Radhames Quezada’s return to action lasted just two innings (3.43, 3 H, 2 ER) but Wes Mugarian turned in a quality start in relief to get the win (2-3, 6.29, 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K).

8/17: LC wins the game 5-3 and the series 2-1, holding the Dragons to four hits while benefiting from three Dayton errors. Robert Stephenson pitched great but got saddled with the loss (2-1, 2.74, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K).

8/18: Off to Fort Wayne (SD). The TinCaps got all five of the game’s runs in the first off James Allen (L 7-4, 4.02, 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). DH Kyle Waldrop (.280, .323 in August) and LF Juan Silva (.251) each had two hits.

8/19: Lefty Ismael Guillon had a sparkling Midwest League debut, shutting out FW on three hits over six (W, 2 BB, 5 K) in a 5-1 Dragons victory. Waldrop doubled and homered (#8) and Silva doubled twice.

8/20: Jake Johnson wrapped up an easy 11-1 win for Dayton by throwing five shutout innings (W 2-5, 5.29, 2 H, 4 BB, 2 K). DH Sean Buckley, having a terrible month, finished 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (#11) and four RBI (.239). Rodriguez popped #4 while going 2-for-4 with three runs (.265) and Silva had three hits and three RBI (.259).

8/21: Game four. Buckley didn’t make an out, doubling twice, driving in three, and drawing two walks (.243) in Dayton’s 6-3 triumph. Mugarian (W 3-3, 6.10, 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) got the win tandem-ing with Quezada (3.28, 4 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K).

8/22: Bowling Green (TB) handed Robert Stephenson his first pro shellacking (L 2-2, 3.76, 3.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), 12-5. Shortly after this, Hot Rods winning pitcher Charlie Cononie and 2B Ryan Brett (their leadoff hitter) were both suspended… for using meth. Good work. Silva did hit homer #6 for the Dragons while Rodriguez was 2-for-3.

Transactions: 8/19: RHR Mike Dennhardt promoted to Bakersfield. 8/20: LHR Sean Lucas promoted from Billings.

Rookie-Pioneer Billings Mustangs

This week: 3-4.

Overall: 16-8 second half, first place by two games!

8/16: Coming off a strong week, the Mustangs laid a figurative and literal egg as the Raptors (LAD) feast, 7-0. Jon Moscot started (L 0-1, 3.00, 3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Jose Amezcua, Moscot’s designated startin’ buddy, worked four (5.06, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K).

8/17: Ogden hammered Billings again, 11-3. Amir Garrett was excellent for the second straight outing (3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) but Joel Bender got jumped (L 2-3, 7.11, 2.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER). 1B Carlos Sanchez was 3-for-5 with a triple (.289) and SS Zach Vincej 2-for-4 with a double (.424).

8/18: Sanchez’s 10th triple of the season (tying Grand Junction’s David Dahl, a first-round pick this June, for the league lead) plated two tiebreaking runs in the eighth as the Ponies got past the Raptors, 3-1. LF Daniel Pigott was 2-for-4 with two runs (.337) and CF Beau Amaral continued his steady hitting (2-for-4, R, .293). Dan Langfield dominated for three hitless innings (2.77, 1 BB, 7 K) while Sean Lucas got the W (3-1, 2.25, 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K). Matt Wiley dominated the ninth (3 K) for save #8. Wiley is still at 0.00- one unearned run over 10.1 IP with three hits, four walks and 17 Ks.

8/19: Drew Cisco stymied Ogden on one hit and one walk over five scoreless (W 4-0, 2.89, 3 K) as Billings earned a split with a 5-0 shutout. Jesus Adames chewed up the middle innings (3.79, 3 IP, 1 H, 2 K) and Alejandro Chacin got the ninth (2.01). Sanchez didn’t make an out, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks (.297). Pigott drove in three, Vincej turned in another 2-for-4, and DH Robert Maddox popped homer #11 (second in the league). Cisco was named Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week, throwing ten scoreless innings between the 13th and 19th. He’s also riding a four-start winning streak. Drew, 21 (as of July 29th), was a sixth-round pick in 2010 out of a South Carolina high school, and missed all of last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’s walked four (!) batters in 43.1 IP this year.

8/20: On to Idaho Falls to battle the Chukars (KC, 10-11); the Mustangs got their third straight win with a 12-3 cruise. Sanchez smashed four doubles in five at-bats, scoring four and driving in three. The 21-year-old Venezuelan raised his line to .311/.349/.588 with 39 RBI in 45 games. 2B Brandon Dailey scored four runs (2-for-4, .325) and Pigott drove in three more runs despite going 1-for-4. Sal Romano won his third straight start (W 4-3, 4.74, 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K). New callup Mike Saunders pitched three scoreless (2 H, 2 K).

8/21: Sanchez doubled and tripled (11) and Billings held a 3-0 lead for most of the game- but the Chukars tied it in the seventh off Amezcua, then 2B Diego Goris hit a two-run game-winning homer off Ben Klimesh in the bottom of the ninth (L 0-3, 4.56). Jon Moscot kept it going (2.50, 3 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 K).
8/22: Idaho Falls had no problem with Joel Bender (L 2-4, 8.56, 3 IP, 11 H, 9 ER) in a 11-5 win.

Transactions: 8/20: RHR Mike Saunders and his 1.47 ERA promoted from the AZL Reds. Saunders, 21, gave up 32 hits and walked 16 in 30.2 innings with only 23 Ks, though, so the “lots of unearned runs” thing the AZL is known for may be in play. Mike was a 24th-round pick this year out of Saginaw Valley State.

Sorry I missed this- two Mustangs, 3B Seth Mejias-Brean and LHP Ismael Guillon, earned the Player of the Month awards from the Reds for July. Mejias-Brean batted .388 with 25 RBI, while Guillon had a 1.16 ERA with 28 Ks in 23.1 IP. He was just promoted to Dayton on the 15th, of course.

Rookie-Arizona League Reds

Record this week: 2-3.

Overall: 17-33. Third place.

8/16: The Cubs held the Reds to three hits in a 9-1 rout. Nick Travieso was hit hard (L 0-2, 5.79, 3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB). CF Jonathan Reynoso had a single and double in three trips (.315).

8/17: Off.

8/18: RF Adam Matthews led a 13-hit attack with a 3-for-4 (.330) as the Reds spanked the Baby Snakes, 5-2. Reynoso had two more hits and also swiped two more bags (25). SS Brent Peterson was also 3-for-4 (.333). Mike Salter worked four one-hit innings (2.34, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) while Luke Moran (W 1-3, 4.94, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) got the victory. Jackson Stephens worked a 1-2-3 ninth for save #2.

8/19: The last-place Brewers piled up fourteen runs on thirteen hits and nine walks. They win it, 14-8. Pedro Diaz was knocked out in the first (L 1-6, 6.41, 0.1 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K). Matthews had a single, double, and homer #1 (.347, 2 RBI). LF Jose Valdelamar connected for #2 and added a double (.176). Reynoso, scorching hot as of late, poked three more hits (.327).

8/20: Royals win a 7-0 shutout. Matthews and Reynoso: two hits apiece. Jose Williams pitched well but lost (L 1-4, 6.08, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K).

8/21: The Reds won a 1-0 game “completed early”- rain? C Daniel Paula knocked in Reynoso (2-for-3, steal #28, .339). Travieso did very well (4.50, 4 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K) and Wandy Peralta got the W (3-6, 6.59, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 K).

8/22: Off.

Transactions: 8/19: INF Ty Washington placed on the DL. RHP Werleen Taveras activated from the 60-day DL. 8/20: RHR Mike Saunders up to Billings.

Could it be a piece of AZL news? YES! Check out this cute article about “postcards” from first-round picks now playing in the AZL, including RHS Nick Travieso.