Who are the top pitching prospects in the Reds minor leagues?

[crazybob60]

One guy that hasn't been mentioned at all in this thread and received a lot of talk last year in these forums (but hasn't been mentioned much at all this year to my recollection) is Josh Smith. I take a look at his stats and they aren't tier 1 prospect type of stats but he is still doing really well. I haven't followed him this year as closely as I did last year. Has something hampered him this season? Could he possibly be in that tier 3 SP prospect range....

[Steve4192]

Originally Posted by redsof72

Stephenson

Next tier: Corcino, Cingrani, Travieso

Next tier....

I'd list em:

1a and 1b - Corcino and Cingrani

Two studs putting up quality numbers in the upper levels of the minors. They've proven that they can translate their talent into results at the pro level. They both still have plenty to work on, but they are both within sniffing distance of the majors.

2 - Stephenson

Fantastic arm, but in the low minors and not much of a track record yet. Could pass up the top two guys eventually, but I'm a big believer in results and until he starts piling up results in the upper minors, I'm going to remain lukewarm on him.

3 - Travieso

See Stephenson, but with even less experience. I'll get excited about him in 2014. Until then .... show me.

[texasdave]

Drew Cisco.

[camisadelgolf]

This is just a first draft. Not much thought went into it.
1.) Stephenson
2.) Corcino
3.) Travieso
4.) Cingrani
5.) Lotzkar
6.) Langfield
7.) Guillon
8.) Cisco
9.) Garrett
10.) Romano

[medford]

Originally Posted by crazybob60

One guy that hasn't been mentioned at all in this thread and received a lot of talk last year in these forums (but hasn't been mentioned much at all this year to my recollection) is Josh Smith. I take a look at his stats and they aren't tier 1 prospect type of stats but he is still doing really well. I haven't followed him this year as closely as I did last year. Has something hampered him this season? Could he possibly be in that tier 3 SP prospect range....

I think part of the Josh Smith hype on this board was not only the stellar numbers he put up last season, but the overall hype and the amount of prospects that whole Dayton team had last season. Hamilton, Lutz, Vidal, torreyes, Duran, Yorman, Barnhardt, Corcino, Lotzkar, etc... were all decently hyped in some form or fashion, the team was winning big and Josh Smith was a 21st rounder putting up numbers as good or better than all of those guys.

This season, he's an entire country away, playing late at night w/ fewer people on this board that have seen him pitch live. Bakersfield isn't quite as fun to watch as that dayton was last season, plus Josh Smith's numbers have fallen back in a hitter's friendly league. He's not terrible this season either, it will be interesting to watch how he progresses when he presumably moves to a more pitcher friendly environment in AA. If he comes close to his Dayton numbers, he'll get mentioned a lot more again on this board.

[Kc61]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

This is just a first draft. Not much thought went into it.
1.) Stephenson
2.) Corcino
3.) Travieso
4.) Cingrani
5.) Lotzkar
6.) Langfield
7.) Guillon
8.) Cisco
9.) Garrett
10.) Romano

Got to work Hoover in some place.

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by Kc61

Got to work Hoover in some place.

His rookie eligibility is over, so I just left him off.

[Benihana]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

This is just a first draft. Not much thought went into it.
1.) Stephenson
2.) Corcino
3.) Travieso
4.) Cingrani
5.) Lotzkar
6.) Langfield
7.) Guillon
8.) Cisco
9.) Garrett
10.) Romano

Seems reasonable if you swap Travieso and Cingrani, and drop Langfield down a bit for now: Although his numbers are decent in Billings, unless he is going to be a starter or a fast-moving reliever, I'm not sure he deserves to be ranked so highly. He's only started once and he doesn't appear to be fast-moving as a college guy in Billings.

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by Benihana

Seems reasonable if you swap Travieso and Cingrani, and drop Langfield down a bit for now: Although his numbers are decent in Billings, unless he is going to be a starter or a fast-moving reliever, I'm not sure he deserves to be ranked so highly. He's only started once and he doesn't appear to be fast-moving as a college guy in Billings.

The Reds said they'll try him as a starter. If that doesn't work out, they'll move him to the bullpen where he'd be expected to move quickly. I might be the only one, but I see Cisco as a future reliever, too.

[redsof72]

It is difficult to compare pitchers of different experience levels; tough to compare a guy with a great arm vs. a guy with mediocre stuff but good results in minors. Baseball America once made a point of explaining why they ranked Valiquette higher than Lecure even though they felt Lecure had a better chance of getting to the bigs.

Still, with every minor leaguer you are talking about "potential" and Stephenson has the most potential of any Reds arm in the last 35 years. He has the whole package. Injuries are the only potential road block.

I like Rogers. He is a power arm who is young, has had good results, is improving quickly, and has the makeup to keep getting better. Not sure where he comes in, but surely somewhere in the top 10. Reds really like Romano even though numbers have not shown up yet.

As has been stated by many in the past, hard to judge pitchers. In the minors, Bailey was viewed as a better prospect than Cueto...for good reasons...because he had the better arm and better stuff, but Cueto maximized what he had and Bailey has not. Scouts were not wrong...they were evaluating what they were seeing at the time.

It is a constantly-revised exercise when ranking players because you are doing your rankings based on what you know today and the prospect is only that guy for...today. Tomorrow, he's someone else.

It reminds me of comments Steve Mariucci once made about Kurt Warner, a non-drafted free agent who will someday go to the Hall of Fame. Mariucci, quarterbacks coach with the Packers when Warner was in camp prior to his Arena Footbal days, was asked how everyone could have made such a big mistake on this guy. He said there was no mistake, that Warner should NOT have been drafted, that no reasonable person could have expected him to ever transform from what he was coming out of college to what he eventually became.

[lollipopcurve]

I like Rogers. He is a power arm who is young, has had good results, is improving quickly, and has the makeup to keep getting better. Not sure where he comes in, but surely somewhere in the top 10.

Agreed. Breakout year for Rogers this year.

Stephenson has the most potential of any Reds arm in the last 35 years

Wow. High praise, and nice to hear. Seems like he's got the head to avoid the pitfalls that could come with hype, too.

Reds really like Romano even though numbers have not shown up yet.

The 9 Ks last night are a nice flash. Kid's pitching in a very hitter friendly league vs older competition. I think he's had a very solid first professional season.

It reminds me of comments Steve Mariucci once made about Kurt Warner, a non-drafted free agent who will someday go to the Hall of Fame. Mariucci, quarterbacks coach with the Packers when Warner was in camp prior to his Arena Footbal days, was asked how everyone could have made such a big mistake on this guy. He said there was no mistake, that Warner should NOT have been drafted, that no reasonable person could have expected him to ever transform from what he was coming out of college to what he eventually became.

It's what makes following the minor leagues fun. Nice post, 72.

[mace]

72 -- Was wondering if you had any remarks on Jacob Johnson. I know that, in the past, you've praised his makeup and noted that the organization thinks very highly of him. Obviously, he has been battered this season. Do you think it's because he's coming off surgery--maybe tired or not quite up to speed--or is it a case of insufficient stuff? My instinct is to stick with him as a prospect. From what you've seen this year, is that appropriate?

[Vottomatic]

Originally Posted by redsof72

I like Rogers. He is a power arm who is young, has had good results, is improving quickly, and has the makeup to keep getting better. Not sure where he comes in, but surely somewhere in the top 10.

I follow Rogers. Another guy who just seems to know how to pitch. Good stuff you posted.

[MikeS21]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Interesting.

I've not seen Stephenson (or Cingrani) as much as I'd like. I'm assuming you have. Is it the top end velocity, '72? The electricity in his arm?

I think both Cingrani and Corcino, if they hit their ceillings, are legitimate TOR arms. One's not any better than the other, IMO and both have warts. Judging from his statistics (and the limited number of IP I've seen), I'd think Stephenson also has warts-- primarily among them, control.

I think the deal with Stephenson is the way he lights up the radar gun right now - and he is a starter. His control issues do raise a red flag, but IMO, that's what the lower minor leagues and coaching are for. If Stephenson is 23-24 years old at AA and still battling control issues, that's a problem.

I suppose the dream of most of us who follow the minor leagues on a regular basis is that the Reds would come up with a young arm late in a draft, bring him in and with a couple coaching sessions, turn an overlooked prospect in to a legitimate TOR prospect. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen too often. Scouts today do a good enough job that if one scout sees an adjustment, so will all the other scouts.

By the way, my attention was diverted during last night's game, but did I hear Welch and Grande talking about Pete Schoureck and that someone suggested a tweak to him that resulted in a jump in velocity from 88 to 95 mph? Did I hear that right?

[JaxRed]

Originally Posted by MikeS21

....someone suggested a tweak to him that resulted in a jump in velocity from 88 to 95 mph? Did I hear that right?

Thanks, Barry... I'll give that stuff a try.