Who is Reds #26 Prospect?

[JaxRed]

Michael Beltre was selected as our 25 Prospect. No names were added this time, but someone voted other and didn't specify who so I left a "filler"


Michael Byrne (21) - Closer from Univ Florida - 14th Round 2018 pick. Started in Daytona and 1.25 ERA in 20 innings.
Fidel Castro (20) RF from Havana, Cuba. Oops. Dominican Republic. Posts .921 OPS in Az Rookie league as 19 year old.
Jacob Heatherly (20) - LHP from Cullman, AL. 3rd Round draft in 2017. 5.82 ERA in Greeneville.
Ryan Hendrix (24) RHP from Texas A&M. Drafted in 5th Round of 2016 Draft. 1.76 ERA in High A last year
Connor Joe (26) - INF from San Diego. Claimed off waivers from Dodgers. .935 OPS across 2 levels in 2018.
Joel Kuhnel (23) - RHP from UT Arlington. 11th round pick in 2016. 3.04 ERA in Daytona out of bullpen.
Packy Naughton (22) - LHP from Va Tech. 9th Round pick in 2017. 4.03 ERA in Dayton.
Alex Powers (27) - RHP. AA Closer in 2018. 18/20 Saves. 2.34 ERA and .097 Whip. Acquired as FA after release by W Sox.
Reiver Sanmartin (23) - LHP from Columbia. 2.81 ERA across several levels in 2018. Acquired from Yankees in Sonny Gray trade.
Debby Santana (18) 3B from Dominican Republic. Hit .250 with .721 OPS in Az as 17 year old. Signed as Intl Free Agent in Aug 2016.
Bren Spillane (22) 1b/RF from Univ Illinois. 2018 Big Ten Player of Year, 33rd round pick in 2018. .814 OPS in Billings.
Andy Sugillo (22) - OF hit .345 with .862 OPS and 20 SB in 2017. .297 and .730 OPS in 2nd half in 2018. Signed as International Free Agent in Oct 2013. Bonus $125K.
Josh Van Meter (23) .841 OPS in AA and in second half had .356/.568/.924 in AAA. Acquired in trade with Padres for Rule 5 player.

[Tuff Nut]

Still like the upside of Michael Byrne. 21 in A+, and last year in the same league, albeit a SSS, put up a 1.25 ERA.......yeah, sign me up for some more of that.

[mth123]

Nobody on the list, or already voted in, has ever put up a season of .935 OPS in 435 PAs in the upper minors (AAA and AA) except for Connor Joe in 2018. He's still my vote.

[M2]

Sometimes you just gotta suck it up and vote for Fidel Castro.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I have the OD roster as such:

Five OF (Kemp, Schebler, Puig, Winker, and Ervin to start, then Senzel), two catchers (Casali, Barnhart), four starting IF (Votto, Suarez, Gennett, Peraza), and two backups (Farmer and Trahan to start, then Blandino). 12 pitchers.

Bell might even go with 13 pitchers and move Farmer to AAA to start.

As a result, I'll not vote for Conner Joe.

[Mitri]

Sanmartin looks to be a fixture in the pen for years. He gets my vote.

[Edd Roush]

Can someone help me with the VanMeter over Joe vote? Neither prospects were young for their level and Joe out OPSed VanMeter at both AA and AAA last year by at least 100 and neither of them are very good at defense. Joe seems much more likely to contribute in the bigs.

[Edd Roush]

I have the OD roster as such:

Five OF (Kemp, Schebler, Puig, Winker, and Ervin to start, then Senzel), two catchers (Casali, Barnhart), four starting IF (Votto, Suarez, Gennett, Peraza), and two backups (Farmer and Trahan to start, then Blandino). 12 pitchers.

Bell might even go with 13 pitchers and move Farmer to AAA to start.

As a result, I'll not vote for Conner Joe.

I really hope Blake Trahan does not make the roster just because they want a glove on the bench who can play SS. Kyle Farmer has got starts in AAA the last two years for the Dodgers. I really hope he is the backup SS, or the Reds ask Suarez to play SS on occasion. If the Reds decide they cannot keep Senzel in Louisville to start the year, I hope he would be backup SS before Trahan.

Connor Joe would add way more to the Reds than Blake Trahan.

[HokieRed]

Can someone help me with the VanMeter over Joe vote? Neither prospects were young for their level and Joe out OPSed VanMeter at both AA and AAA last year by at least 100 and neither of them are very good at defense. Joe seems much more likely to contribute in the bigs.

I'd like to see Joe stick with the Reds this year. I hope Farmer and Trahan do not (barring some unforeseen, outstanding ST). Case for VM ahead of Joe would be based on greater positional flexibility for VM and fact he is 2 and a half years younger. But to me it's largely a wash (and there are about 6 different candidates I could see voting for here)

[BillDoran]

Can someone help me with the VanMeter over Joe vote? Neither prospects were young for their level and Joe out OPSed VanMeter at both AA and AAA last year by at least 100 and neither of them are very good at defense. Joe seems much more likely to contribute in the bigs.

One can play 2B, 3B, corner outfield and possibly SS in a pinch. The other is Connor Joe, who has an .889 career fielding percentage at 3B. Joe's certainly a better hitter, but he's going to have to be as a 1B. Positional versatility matters when trying to crack the bottom of a roster. That's why I think the cards are stacked against Joe.

[mace]

Can someone help me with the VanMeter over Joe vote? Neither prospects were young for their level and Joe out OPSed VanMeter at both AA and AAA last year by at least 100 and neither of them are very good at defense. Joe seems much more likely to contribute in the bigs.

With minor-leaguers, I tend to emphasize the trends. It's not a convincing sample size, but most of the damage VanMeter did last year came in his final month-plus at Louisville, when he OPSed over 1.000. He also hit much better against older pitchers than younger ones (.815-.629), which portends well. And for platoon or matchup purposes, which are important for bench players, he was highly effective against right-handed pitchers (.859 as opposed to .581 against left).

[Edd Roush]

I'd like to see Joe stick with the Reds this year. I hope Farmer and Trahan do not (barring some unforeseen, outstanding ST). Case for VM ahead of Joe would be based on greater positional flexibility for VM and fact he is 2 and a half years younger. But to me it's largely a wash (and there are about 6 different candidates I could see voting for here)

I think there is room for Farmer and Joe while still having a backup C and two OF. I really hope Farmer stays around, too. Farmer's bat interests me and his positional versatility allows Joe to have a bench spot as one of the first bats off the bench.

[Edd Roush]

One can play 2B, 3B, corner outfield and possibly SS in a pinch. The other is Connor Joe, who has an .889 career fielding percentage at 3B. Joe's certainly a better hitter, but he's going to have to be as a 1B. Positional versatility matters when trying to crack the bottom of a roster. That's why I think the cards are stacked against Joe.

I would rather have one guy like Farmer who can play all of the infield positions and then also have a huge bat who can backup 1B (like Joe) who is a great hitter and who can also play 3B in a pinch, rather than two utility infield guys who are less likely to impact a game with their bat.

[Edd Roush]

With minor-leaguers, I tend to emphasize the trends. It's not a convincing sample size, but most of the damage VanMeter did last year came in his final month-plus at Louisville, when he OPSed over 1.000. He also hit much better against older pitchers than younger ones (.815-.629), which portends well. And for platoon or matchup purposes, which are important for bench players, he was highly effective against right-handed pitchers (.859 as opposed to .581 against left).

I don't want to split up a small sample any more than I have to. Connor Joe's yearly numbers were great and it is awesome that cut down that K rate in AAA over 188 PA which is 3x the stabilization point for that stat. The Reds need to find a way to keep Joe on the bench because both Joe and Kemp would be the best bench bats the Reds have had in a long time.

[OGB]

Heatherly is a big, young LHP with decent heat, a 4 pitch mix, a 3rd round pedigree, and a high k/9 in limited action.

Just a hunch on my part that he cuts down on the walks, plays a full season in Billings, and has a solid year.