The 2021 mace Minor League Player of the Day Thread

[Reds Freak]

Games of Wednesday, August 25

A good night on the farm yesterday as all four top teams notched victories and the offenses combined to score 32 runs. macePOD honors go to Lorenzo Cedrola, Lookout: 5-6, 3 RBI, 2 R. All five hits were singles and it sounds like some good fortune was involved, but getting on base five times is getting on base five times. Cedrola's fine season continues: .315/.445/.447.

Honorable Mentions:

Allan Cerda, Dragon: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI, BB, 2 R, SB. Four hits in his first eight Dayton ABs.

Rece Hinds, Tortuga: 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R. Nice to see Daytona get some talent back.

Other notables:

Alejo Lopez, Bat: 2-4, 2B, R

Mike Freeman, Bat: 2-3, RBI, BB, 2 R

Braxton Lee, Bat: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Hunter Greene, Bat: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Leonardo Rivas, Lookout: 2-4, RBI, BB, R, SB

Wilson Garcia, Lookout: 2-6, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R

Drew Mount, Lookout: 2-5, HR, RBI, R

Brian Rey, Lookout: 2-5, RBI, R

Matt Lloyd, Lookout: 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, R

Chuckie Robinson, Lookout: 3-5, 4 R

Alex McGarry, Dragon: 2-3, HBP, RBI

Vincent Timpanelli, Dragon: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Andy Fisher, Dragon: 2.1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Ruben Ibarra, Tortuga: 2-5, 2B, R

Elly De La Cruz, Tortuga: 2-5, RBI, R

Austin Hendrick, Tortuga: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

Reyney Reyes, Tortuga: 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB, 2 R

[Reds Freak]

Games of Thursday, August 26:

Short write up today with two teams inactive last night (one due to rain, the other due to COVID). Nonetheless, the macePOD goes to TJ Friedl, Louisville: 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R. The lefty outfielder has scuffled a bit after a strong June where he hit .301/.402/.530. His season totals are down to .252/.356/.404.

Others of note:

Mike Freeman, Louisville: 2-3, BB

Reiver Sanmartin, Louisville: 5 IP, 4 H, R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Dauri Moreta, Louisville: IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Ten out of his 11 pitches were in the zone. Might be forcing the Reds hand here.

Daniel Vellojin, Daytona: 1-3, 2 BB, R

Ruben Ibarra, Daytona: 2-5, RBI

Danny Lantigua, Daytona: 2-4, 2B, R

Justice Thompson, Daytona: 0-1, 3 BB, R. Tortuga debut for the 2021 sixth-rounder and former Tar Heel.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Friday, August 28th games:

Sometimes, greatness is evident. Sometimes, greatness is thrust upon you. And sometimes, greatness had to get down on its hands and knees and search the garbage for its Mace Minor League Player of the Day. Dayton Dragon corner infielder Juan Martinez had a night wherein he was all three levels of greatness wrapped up together in one tasty burrito shell. He went 4-6 on the day in two games with a walk, 2 K, a 2B, and his 6th HR of the season. That'll play. His POTD production raised the 22-year-old's BA to .267 on the High A season. His .328 OPB and .437 SLG works out to a 108 wRC+ over 229 PAs.
Discussion question:
For middling prospects like Juan Martinez, what would make you sit up and pay attention? Positional utility? One carrying tool? Positional scarcity? OBP?

Honorable Mention: Riley O'Brien, AAA SP: 1-2, R, 5 IP, 2 H, 6 K, 3 BB, 1 ER
O'Brien did just about everything you could ask of a starting pitcher. The Bats, as is their wont, did not capitalize. O'Brien's been, with the exception of three starts, more than solid for Louisville. He still nibbles far too much. That in itself probably makes him a reliever at the major league level. That said, he's shown much better control over the past month. In 5 starts this month, he's given up 5 BB against 26 K in 20.2 IP. That 11.3 K/9 and 5.20 K/BB ratio will certainly play.
Discussion Question:
Where does O'Brien rank on the Red pitching pipeline?

Others, on a night wherein the Tennessee Smokies once again shut down due to Covid-- which should remind us all to get vaccinated:

- Low A Daytona 3B Rece Hinds: 2-5, 3B, R
Hinds, back in low A after an 11 game rehab stint in the ACL, has gone 4-14 with a HR, a 3B and a 2B in his three games back. He's also K'ed five times. If Hinds can get another 150 ABs on the season, I'm hoping he can move up to Advanced A Dayton next season.
Discussion Question:
How many K's is too many? At what percentage do you begin to question prospects as viable major leaguers?

Elly De La Cruz: 2-4, 2B
You know who else had an 11-game stint in the ACL this season? De La Cruz. Kid's also got a 115 wRC+ in low A. And K issues. And power potential.
Discussion Question:
Which is the better prospect, Rece Hinds or Elly De La Cruz?

[Tom Servo]

Games of Saturday, August 28

Mike Freeman, Louisville: 3-4, HR, 3B, BB, 3 RBI. Congrats to this young and upcoming star on his PotD win, truly every dog has it's day.

In other action, with Chattanooga still out of commission due to COVID-19:

Mark Kolozsvary, Louisville: 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI. It's a rather small sample size (160 ABs) but the Olympian and former Gator is hitting better this year (.238 /.341/.450) than he had ever had in the past and might yet carve out a backup catcher role at the highest level.

Alejo Lopez, Louisville: 2-4, 2B, BB

TJ Friedl, Louisville: 3-5

Narciso Crook, Louisville: 2-5, HR, RBI

Tommy Milone, Louisville: 1 inning, 1 hit, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 0 runs. The Reds would have to make the move fast to have him eligible for the playoffs but I feel Milone is probably a better LH option than Amir Garrett right now.

Diomar Lopez, Louisville: 3 innings, 0 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 0 runs.


Matt McLain, Dayton: 1-3, BB, stolen base

Ivan Johnson, Dayton: 1-3, BB, stolen base

Eric Yang, Dayton: 1-1, 2B, BB


Rece Hinds, Daytona: 2-4, stolen base. He unfortunately missed a lot of time this season due to injury but the Reds 2019 second rounder is sporting a solid .816 OPS in Dayton so far this season.

Elly De La Cruz, Daytona: 1-3

Miguel Medrano, Daytona: 5 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 1 run.

[Danny Serafini]

Games of Sunday, August 29:

You'd think it would be a short rundown with only three teams in action yesterday, but since they averaged nearly 8 runs apiece there's more than enough bats to highlight. The biggest bat belonged to Rece Hinds (2-4, 2 HR, BB, 2 R, 4 RBI), so he's the day's macePOD recipient. His two homers made the difference in Daytona's 9-6 win at St. Lucie that brought the Tortugas oh so close to .500.

Honorable mention goes to Dayton's Allan Cerda (3-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R), who just keeps on hitting no matter what level he's at. And to balance out all the hitting, Daytona's James Marinan (5 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K) will get an honorable mention as well. Some lousy bullpen work meant he got hosed out of a win, but he pitched well enough to deserve one.

Best of the rest:

Michael De Leon, Louisville: 2-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Mike Freeman, Louisville: 2-4, BB, 2 R

Narciso Crook, Louisville: 2-3, BB, 2 RBI

Alejo Lopez, Louisville: 2-5, R

Cionel Perez, Louisville: IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, K

Eric Yang, Dayton: 3-4, 2B, BB, R, 2 RBI

Alex McGarry, Dayton: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI

Jack Rogers, Dayton: 2-5, SB, 2 R

Pedro Garcia, Dayton: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Danny Lantigua, Daytona: 2-4, R, RBI

Jose Torres, Daytona: 1-3, HR, BB, 2 R, RBI

Daniel Vellojin, Daytona: 1-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI

[Danny Serafini]

Four players got their first macePOD of the year last week, a pretty unusual occurrence this late in the season. Of course it's a couple of guys who aren't new to the top that are the biggest stories. Lorenzo Cedrola has crept out of nowhere to be amongst the leaders with his 4th award, while Allan Cerda's racking up of honorable mentions this week has propelled him into top hitter status and tied him with Ashcraft and Greene for the top spot overall. It's funny how these standings evolve over the year. Remember when Brian Rey was unstoppable atop the list? He's now gone 3 1/2 months without a single award. Here's the updated standings:

5-3: Graham Ashcraft, Allan Cerda, Hunter Greene
5-2: Jose Barrero
4-1: Francisco Urbaez
4-0: Lorenzo Cedrola
3-3: Alejo Lopez
3-2: Austin Hendrick
3-1: Reiver Sanmartin, Bo Takahashi
3-0: Nick Lodolo, Brian Rey
2-3: Elly De La Cruz, Carson Spiers
2-2: Noah Davis, Victor Ruiz, Robbie Tenerowicz
2-1: Bryce Bonnin, Wilson Garcia, TJ Hopkins, Jacob Hurtubise
2-0: Narciso Crook, TJ Friedl, Max Schrock
1-2: Tyler Callihan, James Free, Rece Hinds, Danny Lantigua, Riley O'Brien
1-1: Mike Freeman, James Marinan, Wendell Marrero, Quincy McAfee, James Proctor, Lyon Richardson, Michael Siani, Gus Steiger, Michel Triana, Yoel Yanqui
1-0: Mariel Bautista, Quin Cotton, Connor Curlis, Nicky Delmonico, Juan Martinez, Matt McLain, Dauri Moreta, Logan Morrison, Josh Osich, Leonardo Rivas, Christian Roa, Chuckie Robinson, Braxton Roxby, Eduardo Salazar, Tony Santillan, Leonardo Seminati, Case Williams
0-3: Alex McGarry, Daniel Vellojin
0-2: Stevie Branche, Michael De Leon, Michael Mariot, Jason Parker, Ricky Salinas, Vincent Timpanelli
0-1: RJ Alaniz, Brantley Bell, Michael Byrne, Fidel Castro, Blake Dunn, Vladimir Gutierrez, Nick Hanson, Ivan Johnson, Ricky Karcher, Mark Kolozsvary, Evan Kravetz, Matt Pidich, Debby Santana, Jay Schuyler

[DocRed]

Rece Hinds has had a great year. I guess that reporting out of Prasco Park was dead on last year when they cited India and Hinds as the 2 that stood out the most. A little worried about his D at 3B though as his career fielding % is sub .900. Maybe a candidate to replace Joey in a couple of years? at 6-4 he certainly fits the mold there. I've got him as #8 in my Reds prospect list right behind Ashcraft at this point.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Rece Hinds has had a great year. I guess that reporting out of Prasco Park was dead on last year when they cited India and Hinds as the 2 that stood out the most. A little worried about his D at 3B though as his career fielding % is sub .900. Maybe a candidate to replace Joey in a couple of years? at 6-4 he certainly fits the mold there. I've got him as #8 in my Reds prospect list right behind Ashcraft at this point.

Some speed and a cannon arm make me want to try him in RF first.

If he continues to fill out, perhaps 1B makes sense.

[Benihana]

Some speed and a cannon arm make me want to try him in RF first.

If he continues to fill out, perhaps 1B makes sense.

Agree, Hinds seems to me like a cross between Aquino and Juan Francisco, but I’m hoping he turns out better/more consistent than both.

[Mitri]

Some speed and a cannon arm make me want to try him in RF first.

If he continues to fill out, perhaps 1B makes sense.

Yeah, he’s got RF written all over him. Hope he can stay healthy. Could be an exciting player if he does.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Agree, Hinds seems to me like a cross between Aquino and Juan Francisco, but I’m hoping he turns out better/more consistent than both.

He's got a lot more patience than either of those guys either in their low A debuts or as 20-year-olds. That makes me hopeful. His hit tool doesn't seem to be as good though.

The good news is that, despite that substandard hit tool, he's producing at an alarmingly good rate-- a 133 wRC+ is All-Star level in the majors (or at least nearly there). If he can keep his BA above .250 and continue to K at less than 25%, walk at 8% or better, and exhibit the monster slugging/ ISO he's shown so far in small samples, he'll be more than acceptable.

He reminds me of Cleveland 1B Bobby Bradley.

[DocRed]

Hinds another HR tonight

[Reds Freak]

Games of August 31

Three of our four games were washed out yesterday, but the Tortugas made the one game count with a 9-1 shucking of the visiting Mighty Mussels out of Fort Myers. Leading the way was our macePOD honoree Rece Hinds, Daytona: 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R. The 10th home run and 10th double of the year in only 144 ABs for the 2019 second rounder.

Others of note:

Jose Torres, Daytona: 2-4, 3 RBI, R

Elly De La Cruz, Daytona: 2-5, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, R

Brandon Leyton, Daytona: 2-5, R

Justice Thompson, Daytona: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Joe Boyle, Daytona: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 8 K. Second start of the year in Daytona for the 2020 fifth rounder out of Notre Dame. The walks were gross, but the rest of the numbers looked fine.

[Sea Ray]

BTW...is Debby Santana (I apologize if I got his last name wrong) still in the organization? Haven't seen him mentioned in awhile

[Danny Serafini]

He's having a pretty lousy year in Dayton:

https://www.milb.com/player/debby-santana-672437