Jonathan India as starting second baseman

[Bourgeois Zee]

Not bad for a farm that’s been repeatedly touted as a dumpster fire the past few years.

They've been continually under-ranked because of a variety of reasons:

1.) It's Cincinnati, and recent history doesn't favor the Reds' development acumen. Since they've long been considered a relative failure, everything is seen through the lens of that failure. Senzel being injury-prone, India struggling early, Greene getting hurt, Lodolo struggling in his one pre-season start against Detroit-- it all drives perception.

2.) Many Red top draft picks have been HS players and have necessarily taken a long route to the big leagues. Stephenson was drafted in 2015, the same year as six-year veteran Alex Bregman. Robert Stephenson had a tortured development as well. Even Nick Howard and his yips took a relative lifetime to deal with. Sometimes, kids take an inordinate time to develop. Cincinnati just happened to follow low-round gambles (Phil Ervin) with a yips guy, with young kids.

3.) Last year's development was completely overshadowed largely because prospects didn't play against other squads. Cincinnati didn't get helium on, say, India because so few people did see him. (And the narrative that India is a bust was a powerful one in the industry.) (Same is happening, fwiw, with Greene and perhaps Lodolo.)

4.) Again, because of the pandemic and lost minor league season, no one was able to judge the effectiveness of adding a strong analytic department to prospect development. We saw some success with Antone and company at the major league level with Driveline, but we saw very little from the hitters. As a result, the narrative drove the perception. (As is often the case with national prospect divination.) With India's development (and perhaps with good news from Lodolo and/or Greene and/or Gutierrez), perhaps the narrative will change.

What's funny is that this cycle of super young top prospects will continue through at least two more seasons. Rece Hinds, Tyler Calihan, Austin Hendricks, and other recent high draft picks are almost exclusively very young in their developmental process. We'll have to be patient with them too. (Or we could just insist the Reds don't know what they're doing, and their minor league developmental system sucks.)

[Larry Schuler]

I looked at the thread again and it was actually only 1 idiot and he was quickly called and idiot by multiple people.

Stuff like this happens all the time. If someone brings up a tepid, non-immediate or inaccurate grievance or they have shaky motives or are making demands that don't quite fit their grievance, they often get ignored or put in their place by their own community before it ever reaches eyes and ears outside their bubble.

This could gain traction in the future but it will most likely be accompanied by something more substantial. If it's a musician on a label known for supporting LGBTQ+ musicians and spaces, that could be something. A baseball player voting for Trump is going to be a yawn from both barstool idiots and woke warriors.

[TRF]

I guess India nixed The Red Sparrow as a nickname.

Too bad as that totally has a pre-1920's baseball nickname vibe to it.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I guess India nixed The Red Sparrow as a nickname.

Too bad as that totally has a pre-1920's baseball nickname vibe to it.

The issue is that this is Red Sparrow:

[RiverfrontRed]

Not a lot of pop to his bat yet but he's looking the part of a clutch hitter.

[sdwagers]

I guess India nixed The Red Sparrow as a nickname.

Too bad as that totally has a pre-1920's baseball nickname vibe to it.

I though my he said in a post game interview he didn’t care...

I still think Cap’n Jack is much better.

[Bob Sheed]

Just put an "e" sound on the end of it, like every other nickname.

Senze
Indy
Votto-e

ok maybe not every nickname...

[Larry Schuler]

Are y’all talking about Jay Eye Blind?

[UKFlounder]

Or the “first initial, partial last name”route - J. Ind

Just put an "e" sound on the end of it, like every other nickname.

Senze
Indy
Votto-e

ok maybe not every nickname...

[marcshoe]

The Cincinnati Baseball Player

[RedTeamGo!]

Florida Man

[Big Klu]

Just put an "e" sound on the end of it, like every other nickname.

Senze
Indy
Votto-e

ok maybe not every nickname...

Jonathan E.?

[Ron Madden]

We’re just a bunch of ballers out there,

The Reds have scored more runs in the first six games of the season (57) than any Reds team in franchise history, topping the record held by the 1976 Big Red Machine team (51).

It's the third-most runs scored by a National League team in the first six games of a season since 1900, according to Baseball-Reference's archives.

"We play with heart," Reds rookie Jonathan India said. "We play with a lot of pride. We’re just a bunch of ballers out there, that’s the bottom line."

A lot of problems are solved when a team is hitting as well as the Reds, but their winning streak is about more than their offense.

"Our defense, I think, has gotten a little bit lost because we’ve been scoring some runs and we’ve pitched well, " Reds manager David Bell said, "but I thought today was another good example of just a lot of good defensive plays."

If that wasn't enough, then there was Luis Castillo. He bounced back from a poor Opening Day start to throw seven scoreless frames. He struck out five and permitted just five base runners on four hits and a walk.

Bobby Nightengale, Cincinnati Enquirer

[Larry Schuler]

I don’t necessarily disagree with the use of the word ballers. HBO had a series called Ballers. I understand the word. It’s the selfishness of the word for me. Whether it’s calling yourself a baller, refusing to wear a mask, or stealing a breadstick out from under the nose of an elderly man who is just there to enjoy a basket of breadsticks by himself on a quiet afternoon. I worry that we’ve become a culture of Me. And I don’t enjoy that.

[Ron Madden]

Oh c'mon man.