Josh Smith

[batsfan]

Does anyone have any information about Josh Smith? He is a starter for the Dragons, and has a 1.91 ERA in 8 starts - is he a real prospect?

[dougdirt]

He is a real prospect, but he isn't a guy who projects to be as good as the numbers suggest. I still think he will make a better reliever than a starter, where his fastball is pretty average. He has a VERY good curveball in the low 80's. Good control.

[UC_Ken]

Lecure type?

[redsof72]

He throws harder than LeCure. Sam is high 80's-90. Smith is 90-93. Smith's breaking ball is unhittable when he throws it where he wants to. He needs to become more consistent with the location of the pitch to succeed at higher levels.

One of the things you see, and something Donnie Joseph is finding out I am sure, is that the sharp, nasty breaking ball that was a foot outside in the Midwest League was swung on and missed most every time. You go to higher levels and they don't chase the pitch that far out of the zone. Now, you are behind in the count and you have to throw a fastball that is good but not great and it gets hit. You have to be able to locate the breaking ball.

Donnie will get there. Don't give up on him. He will pitch in the big leagues.

[Doc. Scott]

Smith is 23 (and a couple of months from 24) already; that's part of his dominance of Low-A ball. That's true of many of the more successful Dragons pitchers (Hayes, Howell, Wolford, Doyle)- they're 22-23 and a tad older than the average Midwest League player already. Doesn't mean that a reliever who impresses scouts can't move up quicker than a starter- just saying.

This is also why the success of Daniel Corcino, who's just 20, is especially remarkable.

[Superdude]

Smith's breaking ball is unhittable when he throws it where he wants to. He needs to become more consistent with the location of the pitch to succeed at higher levels.

The location on his curveball was pretty freakin good the night I watched him. Maybe that was a fluke, but he threw an absolute truckload of breaking balls and seemed to have top notch control of the pitch all night.

[Tony Cloninger]

Originally Posted by redsof72

He throws harder than LeCure. Sam is high 80's-90. Smith is 90-93. Smith's breaking ball is unhittable when he throws it where he wants to. He needs to become more consistent with the location of the pitch to succeed at higher levels.

One of the things you see, and something Donnie Joseph is finding out I am sure, is that the sharp, nasty breaking ball that was a foot outside in the Midwest League was swung on and missed most every time. You go to higher levels and they don't chase the pitch that far out of the zone. Now, you are behind in the count and you have to throw a fastball that is good but not great and it gets hit. You have to be able to locate the breaking ball.

Donnie will get there. Don't give up on him. He will pitch in the big leagues.

They always say the best pitch is a 1st strike fastball as is the 2nd best pitch...a 2nd strike fastball. Basically....is this guy not realizing or has not realized that he needs to throw a fastball earlier in the count and get ahead 1st?

Guys with worse fastballs than him have pitched in the majors by at least locating their fastballs early.

His stats are just terrible and give you no indication other than this guy has peaked or is hurt.

[redsof72]

I wish I could tell you what is wrong with Donnie Joseph, Reds 2010 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. No one who has seen him in the good times can believe what is going on. Yes, I would agree, there has to be more to the story.

I would have a hard time believing, knowing the people involved, that they would let him keep going out there if his velocity is down but I don't have the answer, having not seen him pitch this season.

Joseph is a two-pitch pitcher with a fastball that is average and a slider that is at the top of the charts. While I would agree that with most pitchers, their best pitch is a well-located fastball, his best pitch is a killer slider that is virtually unhittable. I have seen LH hitters standing in the batters box after seeing his slider knowing they have absolutely no chance, and I have seen RH hitters swing at sliders that looked like they were coming in down the middle of the plate and the ball ended up hitting them in the foot (while they were swinging at it). Have you ever seen the video of John Kruk standing in against Randy Johnson? I have seen that look from LH hitters trying to hit Joseph's slider.

I will post something about Donnie when I talk to someone that can give me the story. You are talking about a deeply religious young man who is very focused on his career and very competitive, so this is really surprising.

[Tony Cloninger]

Originally Posted by redsof72

I wish I could tell you what is wrong with Donnie Joseph, Reds 2010 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. No one who has seen him in the good times can believe what is going on. Yes, I would agree, there has to be more to the story.

I would have a hard time believing, knowing the people involved, that they would let him keep going out there if his velocity is down but I don't have the answer, having not seen him pitch this season.

Joseph is a two-pitch pitcher with a fastball that is average and a slider that is at the top of the charts. While I would agree that with most pitchers, their best pitch is a well-located fastball, his best pitch is a killer slider that is virtually unhittable. I have seen LH hitters standing in the batters box after seeing his slider knowing they have absolutely no chance, and I have seen RH hitters swing at sliders that looked like they were coming in down the middle of the plate and the ball ended up hitting them in the foot (while they were swinging at it). Have you ever seen the video of John Kruk standing in against Randy Johnson? I have seen that look from LH hitters trying to hit Joseph's slider.

I will post something about Donnie when I talk to someone that can give me the story. You are talking about a deeply religious young man who is very focused on his career and very competitive, so this is really surprising.

I wish him nothing but the best in getting his year turned around.....and barring any injury...I do not see any reason why he would not.
Thank you for the information.

[LvJ]

Josh now has a 1.78 ERA in 10 starts (55.2 IP) with 72 K and only 11 walks. That's a 6.55 SO/BB ratio. He's 23 and I'd like to see how he does in AA and AAA this year. He's out of Nashville (Lipscomb) and we are rooting for him.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by LvJ

Josh now has a 1.78 ERA in 10 starts (55.2 IP) with 72 K and only 11 walks. That's a 6.55 SO/BB ratio. He's 23 and I'd like to see how he does in AA and AAA this year. He's out of Nashville (Lipscomb) and we are rooting for him.

Skipping a level there aren't ya? A+ will be next in line.

[LvJ]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Skipping a level there aren't ya? A+ will be next in line.

Taking his numbers and age into consideration I don't think A+ would be necessary.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by LvJ

Taking his numbers and age into consideration I don't think A+ would be necessary.

Guys generally aren't skipped over levels mid season by the Reds.

[johngalt]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Guys generally aren't skipped over levels mid season by the Reds.

Yeah, the most likely scenario for him skipping a level would be for him to finish this year in High A and pitch well, then if he looks good in the offseason and the spring, he could skip AA and go to AAA. Still don't think that's very likely to happen, but that'd be the most likely way he could skip.

[HokieRed]

Very tough step from Midwest league to AA.