Build the rosters of each affiliate

[11larkin11]

I personally hope Denove takes some starts away form Corky down at AAA. He showed some nice potential with the bat last year.

[Benihana]

If there is any area of concern, one thing that seems to stick out to me is the lack of hitting prospects from Dayton through Carolina.

Sure Rojas has a good glove, and guys like Wiley and Coddington have outperformed their expectations. But realistically, other than Fellhauer, Soto and Mesoraco- all of which have huge question marks of their own- there is not a single real hitting prospect in the bunch. Not one player who you could say with any degree of confidence will have a real major league career. That concerns me.

Still though, the organization is in a MUCH better place than its been in years- especially considering the pitching, which looks pretty strong across the organization.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Benihana

If there is any area of concern, one thing that seems to stick out to me is the lack of hitting prospects from Dayton through Carolina.

Sure Rojas has a good glove, and guys like Wiley and Coddington have outperformed their expectations. But realistically, other than Fellhauer, Soto and Mesoraco- all of which have huge question marks of their own- there is not a single real hitting prospect in the bunch. That concerns me.

Still though, the organization is in a MUCH better place than its been in years- especially considering the pitching, which looks pretty strong across the organization.

Are you counting the guys who will be in Dayton this year?

[Benihana]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Are you counting the guys who will be in Dayton this year?

Depends if a guy like Yorman Rodriguez will be in Dayton. I hope he will, but everyone else's projections seem to think he won't.

[TRF]

Originally Posted by Benihana

If there is any area of concern, one thing that seems to stick out to me is the lack of hitting prospects from Dayton through Carolina.

Sure Rojas has a good glove, and guys like Wiley and Coddington have outperformed their expectations. But realistically, other than Fellhauer, Soto and Mesoraco- all of which have huge question marks of their own- there is not a single real hitting prospect in the bunch. That concerns me.

Still though, the organization is in a MUCH better place than its been in years- especially considering the pitching, which looks pretty strong across the organization.

That actually doesn't concern me as much given the relative youth of the MLB team, and the fact that almost every position at AAA has a legit prospect. The two rookie teams plus whoever graduates to Dayton is where the wave of talent following the Reds/Bats roster will come from. And it's an interesting, athletic bunch.Right now at High A/AA I want to see the pitching flourish. Some bats would be nice too, but the pitching AT THIS POINT is what is important.

[nemesis]

If I remember correctly each Affiliates roster only has 24 players...

So mine is based on those constraints...

Reds

1B Votto*
2B Phillips
3B Rolen
SS Caberera
LF Balentien
CF Stubbs
RF Bruce*
C Hernandez

OF Nix*
OF Dickerson*
IF Janish
UT Miles
C Hanigan

SP Harang
SP Arroyo
SP Cueto
SP Bailey
SP Owings

LR Lincoln
LR Herrera*
MR Burton
MR Fisher
MR Rhodes*
SU Massett
CL Cordero


AAA

1B Alonso*
2B Valakia
3B Francisco*
SS Cozart
LF Frazier
CF Heisey
RF Dorn*
C Denove

IF Cairo
UT Sutton#
OF Anderson
C Miller


SP Maloney*
SP Lehr
SP Wood*
SP Lecure
SP Klinker

LR Thompson
LR Cochran*
MR Del Rosario
MR Bray*
MR Viola*
SU Ondrusek
CL Adkins


AA

1B Parker*
2B Kahaulelio
3B Negron#
SS Castro
LF Henry
CF Sapplett
RF Dainelson
C Castillo#

C Yarbrough*
IF Eymann
OF Kainer
UT Griffin


SP Smith
SP Leake
SP Chapman*
SP Buck
SP Smit*

LR Avery
LR Tabor*
MR Krebs*
MR Valiquette*
MR Thurman*
MR Watson
CL Young


A+

1B Mendez
2B Buchholtz
3B Soto
SS Rojas
LF Wiley*
CF Reed*
RF Fellhauser*
C Mesorasco

IF Puckett
C Coddington
OF Phipps
DH Day*


SP Horst*
SP Carroll
SP Fairel*
SP Partch
SP Janke

LR Serrano
LR Freeman
MR Salinas
MR Gaffney
MR Gonzalez*
SU Beal
CL Joesph*


A-

1B Konstany
2B Kuo*
3B Rodriguez#
SS Gregorious*
LF Oliveras*
CF Means
RF Conteras
C Manz*

C Fleury*
OF Conner*
OF Brown*
IF Gualdron


SP Sulbaran
SP Ravin
SP Boxberger
SP Villrreal
SP Walker*

LR Infante*
LR Ware
MR Santana
MR Kummett
MR Panerati*
SU Molina
CL Pearl



Billings

1B Richburg
2B Pimental#
3B Stramp
SS Hamilton#
LF Silva*
CF Rodriguez
RF Bowe*
C Vicious

UT Barnhardt
C Wideman
OF Garton*
IF Sierra


SP Hildenbrandt
SP Cline
SP Tuttle
SP Johnson
SP Chiu*

LR Adames
LR Driessen*
MR Cannon
MR Clarke
MR Wiley
SU Walczak
CL Corcino


AZL

1B Stewart
1B Lutz*
3B C. Rodriguez
RF Duran
OF Morrison
C Y. Gonzalez


DSL Candidates for AZL

SS Arias

SS Valor

C Y. Lopez .351 OBP as a 16 year old .667 OPS

IF Chacoa# - Gotta give him a US look eventually

1B Sanchez* 26 XBH outta 46 total Lead team with 17 2B 4 3B 2nd with 5 HR .437 SLG
K rate was low at 16.2% BB rate was a decent 8.9%

3B Baez - I really like this kid. Only 19.
Big time Sleeper.
Over last 2 months line was:
.287/.368/.463/.831 OPS Over 97 AB's with 10 BB and 14K's

OF Moreno .391/.367/.758 Line at 17... low K rate 14.4% High BB rate at 13.4%

SP Correja
SP Gullion
SP Marizan*
SP Morillo*
SP Quezada

Extended Spring Training (Injury Rehab/Reinforcements)

SP Shucnick
SP Lotzkar
SP Carson
SP Crabbe
SP Castro

RP Lutz
RP J. Martinez*
RP Braun
RP Pizziconi*
RP R. Rodriguez


No idea where to put em...
(fighting for a job)

1B Nurre
2B Feiner
IF Burke
3B Pfister
SS Carson
OF West
OF Terrero
OF LaBoy
OF Chapman
C Bour
C Long
C McMurray
C Weems*

SP Reineke
SP Webb*
SP Montano
SP Guerrero

RP DeJesus
RP Medina
RP Gil
RP Ward*
RP Delgado
RP Baez
RP Geronimo
RP Otterness
RP Pawelek*
RP Asjes
RP Bohana
RP Bowman*
RP Henry
RP Gardner

[Benihana]

Originally Posted by TRF

That actually doesn't concern me as much given the relative youth of the MLB team, and the fact that almost every position at AAA has a legit prospect. The two rookie teams plus whoever graduates to Dayton is where the wave of talent following the Reds/Bats roster will come from. And it's an interesting, athletic bunch.Right now at High A/AA I want to see the pitching flourish. Some bats would be nice too, but the pitching AT THIS POINT is what is important.

Very true.

However if you wanted to critique any part of the minor league organization, that is the biggest area of weakness that I would highlight. I do agree that it is not as much of a concern given we have at least one very good player/prospect under 25 at almost every relevant position (aside from C, 2B and maybe SS).

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Benihana

Depends if a guy like Yorman Rodriguez will be in Dayton. I hope he will, but everyone else's projections seem to think he won't.

I don't think he will, I just wasn't sure if you were including guys like Gregorius, H Rodriguez, Fleury and the likes in the Dayton group.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by Benihana

Very true.

However if you wanted to critique any part of the minor league organization, that is the biggest area of weakness that I would highlight. I do agree that it is not as much of a concern given we have at least one very good player/prospect under 25 at almost every relevant position (aside from C, 2B and maybe SS).

Not a fan of Cozart, Valaika or the handful of catchers we have? I have always maintained that Valaika could be a decent 2B in the pros. But after having watched some recent footage of Valaika I am not sure that is going to happen he has gotten thicker and IMO slower footed. He probably will end up that UT IF that he was 1st reported to be when he was drafted. He could play 3B but I doubt his bat would play there enough to consider him an everyday player, but stranger things have happened.

[Benihana]

Originally Posted by Mario-Rijo

Not a fan of Cozart, Valaika or the handful of catchers we have? I have always maintained that Valaika could be a decent 2B in the pros. But after having watched some recent footage of Valaika I am not sure that is going to happen he has gotten thicker and IMO slower footed. He probably will end up that UT IF that he was 1st reported to be when he was drafted. He could play 3B but I doubt his bat would play there enough to consider him an everyday player, but stranger things have happened.

I agree with your most recent assessment of Valaika- he looks like a utility guy to me. Cozart has the potential to be a starter if he continues to improve with the stick- that is why I said "maybe SS."

At this point, there is no catcher in the organization that appears to be a serious prospect. Coddington has outperformed so far, and Mesoraco can show flashes of potential, but there still is no one who I could confidently say is a significant part of the future at this point. If Mesoraco holds his own in AA this season (if he makes it that far), that may change. By holding his own, I'd like to see an OPS > .750, not "improved peripherals" with a poor slash line. Conversely if either guy can maintain an OPS well over .800 in Lynchburg, I'd be fine with that too- assuming they continue to improve defensively.

[redsof72]

Nice effort Nemesis. You remembered Terrell Young, whom many of us had slipped on. One note though: Konstanty is now a pitcher. Rosters are 24 in Triple-A and Double-A for the first 30 days, then they are 23. They are 25 all year in Single-A.

Another guy we are leaving out is Jeff Jeffords, who showed some promise in 08 and has a good arm but missed 09 with an injury.

I am going to post the entire list of farm system players in a new thread.

[camisadelgolf]

I remembered all those guys.

[nemesis]

Originally Posted by redsof72

Nice effort Nemesis. You remembered Terrell Young, whom many of us had slipped on. One note though: Konstanty is now a pitcher. Rosters are 24 in Triple-A and Double-A for the first 30 days, then they are 23. They are 25 all year in Single-A.

Another guy we are leaving out is Jeff Jeffords, who showed some promise in 08 and has a good arm but missed 09 with an injury.

I am going to post the entire list of farm system players in a new thread.

Thank You 72.

I also forgot Read the CFer who signed late and should be in AZL and did the Reds ever sign Christiani (sp?) out of Vandy?

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by nemesis

Thank You 72.

I also forgot Read the CFer who signed late and should be in AZL and did the Reds ever sign Christiani (sp?) out of Vandy?

The Reds did sign Chrstiani.

[Kingspoint]

The schedule works out perfectly for the REDS to have a 4-man rotation until May 19th.

The first time a 5th starter is needed is April 14th.

The second time a 5th starter is needed is April 24th.

The third time a 5th starter is needed is May 4th.

The fourth time a 5th starter is needed is May 19th.

The fifth time a 5th starter is needed is May 24th.


That knowledge changes the whole dynamics of the Opening Day Roster. The REDS can have an extra bat (14 hitters and 10 pitchers), which is great.

Assuming the health to be good for everyone, we'll have:

Arroyo
Harang
Cueto
Bailey

....as our 4 starters through May 18th, with only 3 starts needed before that by a pitcher other than them. Sounds like the perfect job for Micah Owings, who would get those 3 starts, then a 4th start on May 19th if he'd earned it by his showings in his first three starts. If not a 5th starter can be brought up May 19th, or wait until May 24th. One of the pitchers who has been pitching in AAA could get the call up with one of the AA pitchers taking his place (or the "6th" Starter who wasn't ready by the 2nd Week of April).

I don't think the REDS want any of those guys listed in my AAA "starters" coming out of the bullpen while waiting to start games on those dates from above.

It's possible that the REDS go straight to a 5-man rotation out of Spring Training and let every one pitch every 6th day instead of every 5th day until May 19th. One reason to do that is because the REDS have too many pitchers who should be pitching at the AA and AAA level. The easiest way to solve this problem though is to assume that 20% of the staff isn't going to be ready on Opening Day and will need extended Spring Training. Only those who are truly ready will get to pitch at the start of April.

Anyone else, and the REDS are going to want to have them pitching every day.

So, to begin with the AAA starters should look like (among these 6 assuming one won't be healthy enough to be ready the 2nd Week of April):

Wood
Maloney
Lehr
LeCure
Cochran
Thompson



The AA starters should look like this (among these 7 assuming two won't be healthy enough to start or be ready the 2nd Week of April):

Chapman
Smit
Mallett
Klinker
Avery
Jordan Smith
Leake

As soon as May 24th arrives, or Owings proves he's not up to the task, there will be a trickle-up effect that clears up the logjam of pitchers.

You can't have too much pitching, so this is a very, very good thing.

I haven't seen this much "decent" pitching in the REDS' organization since I've been alive to notice (I've been noticing for about 38 years since I was 12 and had access to libraries and The Sporting News and Baseball Digest.).