Taking a crack at Reds' 2006 minor league rosters

[OnBaseMachine]

I'm doing pitchers only right now, I'll do the hitters later on today.

Homer Bailey-Despite having a great Spring Training stint with the Reds, I would still stick Homer in High Class-A Sarasota. If he dominates there then I have no problem giving him a promotion to Chattanooga late in the season. 2006 club: Sarasota

Tyler Pelland-Should repeat this year at Sarasota. Nice strikeout rate(9.06 k/9) and homerun rate(5 hr/102.1 ip) last year but really needs to work on his control issues. Still only 22 years old, Pelland should be pitching in the Florida State League this season. A late season promotion to Chattanooga is not out of the question if he dominates the FSL. 2006 club: Sarasota

Travis Wood-I was almost tempted to say put Wood back in Billings this year, but I'm not so sure he has much left to prove in that league after his short stint there last season. Start him at Dayton and do not push him. No matter how wellhe pitches, in my opinion he should spend the whole 2006 season in Dayton. 2006 club-Dayton

Richie Gardner-Coming back from a shoulder injury, Gardner should be eased along. He should begin his comeback attempt in Sarasota, if he pitches well and stays injury free then bump him to Chattanooga after warm weather settles in. 2006 club-Sarasota/Chattanooga

Thomas Pauly-re: Richie Gardner. Start him in Sarasota and if he earns it, promote him to Chattanooga. 2006 club-Sarasota/Chattanooga

Rafael Gonzalez-Dayton

Abe Woody-Sarasota

Blake Hendley-Chattanooga

Jose Guevara-Chattanooga

James Avery-Sarasota or Dayton, either one is fine by me.

Sam LeCure-Sarasota

Zach Ward-Sarasota. I'm really excited to see how well he performs this year. He has the ideal size and stuff to be a very good pitcher, whether it be as a setup man or a starter.

Jeff Stevens-Stevens could go either way, Sarasota or Dayton. Stevens impressed the heck out of me last year in the hitter friendly Pioneer League. His periphals were outstanding - 7.29 h/9, 0.66 hr/9, 2.48 bb/9, 9.61 k/9, and a 1.09 WHIP.

Charles Fisher-Dayton. I would like to see the Reds stick him in the pen.

Phil Dumatrait-Chattanooga

Bobby Basham-1.19 WHIP, 2.98 era, 1.58 bb/9, and 8.06 k/9 in Chattanooga last year, if Basham could return to pre-injury form it would a huge bonus for the organization. I see Basham starting the season in Chattanooga, although Louisville is not out of the question, and then possibly making his Reds debut during the summer.

Philippe-Alexan Valiquette-I would stick him in the Dayton bullpen to start the season; let him get some confidence and then put him in the rotation if he pitches well. 2006 club-Dayton.

Terrell Young-see Valiquette.

Travis Chick-If it were up to me, I would start Chick out in Sarasota and let him dominate there for a while to give his confidence a boost. If he strings together five or six solid starts then you can bump him to Chattanooga. Though, in the end I think he will start at Chattanooga.

Camilo Vazquez-Sarasota

Calvin Medlock-One of my favorite prospects in the system. Medlock should start and finish the season in Chattanooga. In my opinion, Calvin is the most underrated prospect in the Reds system, a 3.06 era and 1.08 WHIP and still not much respect.

Ben Kozlowski-Louisville

Elizardo Ramirez-Louisville

Josh Hall-Louisville

Justin Germano-Louisville/Reds

[OnBaseMachine]

Jay Bruce-I expect Bruce to have a big breakout season and establish himself as one of the top 50 prospects in the game. I love his combination of hitting for average, power, plate discipline, solid defense, and strong arm. By all reports he looks like he could be a special player, maybe in the mold of a Jim Edmonds or Larry Walker type caliber hitter. 2006 club-Dayton

Joey Votto-I wouldn't be surprised to see him return to his 2004 form. Bad year last year - was it caused by DanO's rule of take the first pitch? I think it was. 2006 club-Chattanooga

Adam Rosales-Can he repeat his .946 OPS this year? Probably not but I could see him still having a solid year with an OPS in the .850 range. 2006 club-Sarasota

Chris Denorfia-Cincinnati

B.J. Szymanski-Sarasota

Chris Dickerson-Chattanooga

Jovan Moran-Chattanooga

Tonys Gutierrez-One of my favorite players in he system, Gutierrez hit .324/.396/.451 in Dayton last year. If he can add some power, and his frame suggests he could, he could be a great hitter in the majors someday. 2006 club-Sarasota

Miguel Perez-Chattanooga

William Bergolla-Louisville

[dougdirt]

The guys I am most interested in seeing where they end up are the 2005 draft college pitchers (Ward, Lecure, Stevens, Avery) end up. I would imagine Dayton/Sarasota and with good performances could be moved up.

[Steve4192]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

Travis Wood-I was almost tempted to say put Wood back in Billings this year, but I'm not so sure he has much left to prove in that league after his short stint there last season. Start him at Dayton and do not push him. No matter how wellhe pitches, in my opinion he should spend the whole 2006 season in Dayton. 2006 club-Dayton

I definitely think you start him at Dayton rather than stashing him in the instructional league for two months. However, I'd be tempted to let him come out of the bullpen in Dayton and move him down to the Billings rotation when the Pioneer league season begins.

[dougdirt]

Can anyone tell me why they are worried about starting Travis Wood in Dayton? Am I missing something here?

[Gallen5862]

Very nice work OBM. It should be interesting to see where everyone starts.

[OnBaseMachine]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Can anyone tell me why they are worried about starting Travis Wood in Dayton? Am I missing something here?

I don't like to rush young pitchers...

If you re-read it, I did say that he didn't have left to prove in the Pioneer League, but his age and the cold weather in Dayton had me a bit concerned about starting him at Dayton.

[Steve4192]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Can anyone tell me why they are worried about starting Travis Wood in Dayton? Am I missing something here?

Because 24 Pioneer League innings, no matter how impressive, don't fill me with confidence. If Wood lights it up for the first two months in Dayton, then by all means he should stay there. However, if he struggles in April/May, he might be better off finishing the year in Billings.

[dougdirt]

I dont see the problem. He performed very well in Billings, and he had 48 innings overall last year. Sean Gallagher of the Cubs went from 34 innings in teh arizona league to 146 in the midwest league last year at the same age. It doesnt concern me much. The Reds have a problem with arm injuries, but I think some people want to baby them way to much.

[Doc. Scott]

Dumatrait and Basham need to be in AAA. They're both at that age where it's time to put up or prepare to be nomadic.

I'd put as many of the 2005 draft boon of college pitchers as there is room for in Sarasota with Homer Bailey and Tyler Pelland. The Reds need to put their first-full-year hitters in Dayton and their first-full-year advanced arms in the FSL.

BJ Szymanski ought to be bumped to Chattanooga. The last thing he needs is to slug .390 in High-A.

[indy_dave00]

Just going off what Pacer announcer Mark Boyle (he did the Billings games on radio last summer) told me I have no problem with Travis Wood starting the year at Dayton. He said Wood's stuff was outstanding but that his demeanor on the mound was almost as impressive , he said the kid looked comfortable and actually used 3 pitches effectively. I'm very encouraged by Wood and Bailey's potential.

[tbball10]

Originally Posted by Doc. Scott

Dumatrait and Basham need to be in AAA. They're both at that age where it's time to put up or prepare to be nomadic.

I'd put as many of the 2005 draft boon of college pitchers as there is room for in Sarasota with Homer Bailey and Tyler Pelland. The Reds need to put their first-full-year hitters in Dayton and their first-full-year advanced arms in the FSL.

BJ Szymanski ought to be bumped to Chattanooga. The last thing he needs is to slug .390 in High-A.

I agree with everything said here, especially with Szymanski. The FSL is a pitcher's league, and we saw what it did to Votto last year. He is is a little old for the FSL, and it would be a major setback if he didn't perform well there. If he is as good as a prospect as experts say, then he should handle Chattanooga well.

[medford]

Nice list.

An off the wall question about a player few care about...Justin Mallett

Any clue where he'll be this year? For some reason, I grew a liking to this kid when he pitched for the Dragons. A tall late blooming righty who's only chance in the majors seems to be perhaps a middling reliever type (if he ever makes the majors, he's never listed as much of a prospect). Gets very little pub, but has put up solid numbers the last 2 seasons. Seems to have a great offspeed pitch, but I'm not sure that he brings much heat. He made it up to AA last year for a spell but seemed to have his season cut a bit short (injury?). If anyone knows where he'll end up, please pass it along.

[dougdirt]

OBM, looks like Abe Woody is stationed in Chattanooga after being apart of that combined no hitter they had yesterday. Im interested in seeing where everyone else ends up.

[lollipopcurve]

Brandon Roberts (the fast kid kid from Cal Poly) -- Dayton or Sarasota?