Reds land 3 in Baseball America's Southern League Top 20

[Kc61]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Frazier played 2B in Louisville, where Goya and Sweet both saw him play at. Frazier isn't very good at 2B just yet. He can play 3B and LF though.

Thought GOYA was also talking about Frazier at third base, but I could be wrong. He'll chime in at some point and we'll get his assessment.

[lollipopcurve]

Anybody who saw Francisco's ABs in Cincy has to recognize he can be selective if he wants to be. And, contrary to what the BA guy said in his chat, Francisco showed he could handle offspeed stuff while he was up with the Reds. Sure, small sample, but when you see a young hitter excel like that, you have good reason to suspect he can excel in the long run, too. The only issue that concerns me is where he plays.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Frazier can play defense well at both 3B and in LF. Francisco isn't good at 3B and is an unknown everywhere else. Not quite the same.

This is what I thought too. But if this is the case, why are the Reds pushing Frazier to second? TRF also mentioned that Todd's going to the instructional league to work out at second too. Is this true?

With our need in LF and the fact that Rolen is an aging, oft-injured player...why the desire to push Todd to any position other than 3b or LF. I'm simply baffled by this move all year.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Kc61

Thought GOYA was also talking about Frazier at third base, but I could be wrong. He'll chime in at some point and we'll get his assessment.

Todd didn't play 3B in Louisville. He played 14 games at 2B and 1 in left field.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by lollipopcurve

Anybody who saw Francisco's ABs in Cincy has to recognize he can be selective if he wants to be. And, contrary to what the BA guy said in his chat, Francisco showed he could handle offspeed stuff while he was up with the Reds. Sure, small sample, but when you see a young hitter excel like that, you have good reason to suspect he can excel in the long run, too. The only issue that concerns me is where he plays.

Like I noted, I was certainly impressed with some of his pitch selection in Cincinnati (he did still strike out 28% of the time he stepped to the plate). But I also saw 150 at bats of his this year and some of them were not pretty, at all. I like what I have seen from a few guys as far as their plate approach goes from the minors to the majors, so I really do hope that someone said the right thing to him and he can be more selective like he was in Cincinnati.

As for the 'he can handle offspeed stuff'.... when its over the middle of the plate, yes, he can. When its on the inner half, he is not very good at all from what I watched this season.

[mace]

To me, the encouraging thing about him is that he has moved seamlessly from level to level. In fact, on each step up from Dayton--including the majors, in his brief stay--he has improved both his batting average and OBP. He also acquitted himself exceptionally well last year in winter ball, against excellent competition. The message seems to be that the better the competition, the better he fares. That seems, somewhat, to soften the concerns about his professionalism at the plate.

[OnBaseMachine]

Here's a summary of BA's scouting reports:

On Frazier:

Good hand-eye coordination, athleticism, and plate coverage. Strong, but more of a line drive hitter as evidenced by his 45 doubles (tied for third most in minors). Average speed, strong and accuract arm. Mixed reviews in left field but Reds were impressed with the progress he made. Inexperienced at second base.

On Heisey:

Great instincts. Good approach at the plate and routinely puts together solid plate appearances. Good bat speed. Above-average runner who is very smart on the bases. Lacks a classic center fielder's body, but plays good defense has a strong, accurate arm.

On Wood:

88-91 mph fastball, throws changeup at 75-79 and is a plus to plus-plus pitch with great sink. Mixes in a 83-86 mph cutter that he uses to jam righthanded hitters. Also throws a slow curve as a show-me pitch.

Ben Badler on Zack Cozart:

Dave (NW CT): Where does Zach Cozart fall into your rankings, and what does he need to improve upon for 2010?

Ben Badler: He'd probably be somewhere in that 21-30 range. He's not a speedster but he has good instincts in the field and is a good defender at shortstop. I like him as a sleeper who might put it all together a couple years down the road once he continues to gain strength and become more of a force at the plate.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/onlin...09/268978.html

[bellhead]

After the #'s Wood put up I find it hard to believe he was only the 20th ranked prospect.

An ERA of under 2.00. Age wise he's right on track. He was promoted to AAA.

Taking these three things he should have been in the top 10 overall.

[Kc61]

Originally Posted by bellhead

After the #'s Wood put up I find it hard to believe he was only the 20th ranked prospect.

An ERA of under 2.00. Age wise he's right on track. He was promoted to AAA.

Taking these three things he should have been in the top 10 overall.

I was surprised Wood made the top twenty.
He had great numbers at AA, but when he got to AAA his K/BB rate was 5.92 to 2.96.

So he averaged fewer than 6 Ks per nine innings and just under three walks.

Assuming some fall off from that in the majors, it doesn't project well IMO. But his AAA sample size wasn't too large, so perhaps next year it will improve.

If a guy can't strike out 6 per nine innings at AAA, it raises some questions. Wood does have youth on his side.

[bellhead]

I think Wood is one of those pitchers who doesn't throw the hardest but is a smart pitcher and just needs time to season and adjust to his new level. Wood has a average fastball, but a ++ change up and a cutter according to the report and is working on a curveball. Give him another year at AAA to work on the curve or another pitch, adjust to the league and improve. If he puts up a 3.00 ERA or better next year then we really have something.

Baily was the opposite of this until this year with the Reds. He was able to get by on ability.