Justin Reed

[OnBaseMachine]

Has anyone noticed the start Justin Reed is off to in Sarasota? Through 64 atbats, Reed is hitting .297/.430/.469 - .899. He's walked 14 times compared to 15 strikeouts and he has stolen 5 bases. He's always had a load of talent -Baseball America compared him to Tim Raines and Matt Lawton out of high school. He had scholarships offers to play college football, including one from Ole Miss, so he's a great athlete. Though it's early, it appears he is starting to translate those tools into production.

It may seem like Reed has been around forever, but he's only 21 years old and doesn't turn 22 until the end of November. He's worth keeping an eye on, IMO.

Doug had a nice writeup on him today on his website:

http://redsminorleagues.com/2009/04/...e-justin-reed/

[dougdirt]

Obviously he has caught my eye this year. He has been nothing but impressive this year. His plate approach is showing incredible improvements this year. Its early, but he has never shown this kind of approach over a month before.

[camisadelgolf]

I remember getting some flack from a couple here when I said that I considered Reed a top-40 prospect in the organization. With that said, I don't expect him to OPS ~.900 the entire season. However, I do expect him to break out as one of the better-known prospects in the organization as he moves up.

[GIDP]

All I know is he can throw some solid punches.

[dougdirt]

All I know is he can throw some solid punches.

Haha, he looked pretty good in that brawl huh?

[GIDP]

Haha, he looked pretty good in that brawl huh?

haha he seemed more than happy to throw some around haha

[lollipopcurve]

He was a big-time footballer in high school, raw as a baseball player. Could be that his learning curve is stabilizing and we're seeing an elite athlete turning into a baseball player. Would love to see him menace the FSL as a true leadoff prospect.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Had Reed gone to college, he would be in his 1st full year of pro ball. Heck, the kid is only 7 months older than Devin Mesoraco.

.899 OPS in high A.

Pretty impressive. I would think he has to be considered one of the top 15 (non-pitching) prospects in this system.

AAA - Rosales, Valaika, Stubbs, Dorn
AA - Heisey, Cozart, Frazier, Francisco, Parker
A+ - Alonso, Soto, Mesoraco, Reed, Buchholtz
A- - Sappelt, Wiley

Rodriquez, Duran

[M2]

Reed's got tools. In this post-Bowden era many Reds fans sneer at the word "tools," but an organization should always be collecting a few raw athletes like Reed. It's readily apparent how dangerous he can be when he posts a decent BA. It's also impressive that he's doing this in the FSL. Very few Reds position prospects have done much of anything in that league.

[dougdirt]

It's also impressive that he's doing this in the FSL. Very few position prospects have done much of anything in that league.

Fixed that for you.

[M2]

Fixed that for you.

No, you just indulged your pathological need to make excuses for Reds prospects who don't perform ... again.

The FSL is the toughest circuit around for hitters, but many players still manage to hit there (setting themselves apart from the wannabes in the process). Reed deserves credit for what he's doing so far. If he keeps it up, it would distinguish him from a lot of Reds prospects who've struggled in the FSL.

For instance, Reed's giving an indication that he should be taken far more seriously than B.J. Szymanski ever was.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

.....and Devin Mesoraco. Ouch.

[dougdirt]

No, you just indulged your pathological need to make excuses for Reds prospects who don't perform ... again.

The FSL is the toughest circuit around for hitters, but many players still manage to hit there (setting themselves apart from the wannabes in the process). Reed deserves credit for what he's doing so far. If he keeps it up, it would distinguish him from a lot of Reds prospects who've struggled in the FSL.

For instance, Reed's giving an indication that he should be taken far more seriously than B.J. Szymanski ever was.

You are right. Lots of teams prospect go through the FSL and put up comparable numbers to that in which they put up everywhere else they play. Except that doesn't really hold true at all. It has nothing to do with the Reds, it has a lot to do with the environment in which they play. Yes, some guys do fine there, those guys are generally uber prospects. Your typical guys who aren't top 25 hitters in all of baseball though tend to struggle to match their career output in the minors when they are in the FSL.

[Kingspoint]

To show you what type of player Alonso is, with Reed getting on base so much, Alonso has 16 RBI's in his last 10 games. (Buchholz, who hits in front of Alonso, and Soto, who hits after Alonso, have 6 RBI's between them over their last 10 games.) Alonso's nothing but clutch. He'll be up at the next level in June. .....Mesoraco has 3 RBI's over his last 10 games. He's not going anywhere this year.

[JayBruceFan]

Why was Reed sent down?