Reds Minor League Thread For Thursday - 05/06/2021

[RED VAN HOT]

Good test for Vlad, pitching with a big lead.

[texasdave]

LOUISVILLE - Scott Heineman's bases-clearing triple was the big knock in 7-run Louisville bottom of the 2nd.

Logan Allen, once again, stinks up the joint.

[texasdave]

DAYTON - The Dragons game is being delayed in the bottom of the 6th. They trail 1-zip.

[M2]

The combination of Lodolo and Greene might be really tough to beat in a short series.

If the offense in Chattanooga is even passable, they should put up some impressive numbers of a (half) season.

If they each keep having starts like these, I'm thinking they won't be long for Chattanooga.

[M2]

I caught some of Gutierrez pitching. Was nibbling more than I expected. I expected more power

I suspect reliever Vlad is much more of a power pitcher than starter Vlad.

[texasdave]

LOUISVILLE - There have been a number of sterling pitching performances down on the farm, and you can add Vlad's effort tonight to the list: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Gutierrez retired the final 14 in a row. Phillip Diehl worked a perfect 7th.

Beau Taylor singled home two in the 4th. Bats lead 9-0.

[texasdave]

DAYTON - The game is still in a delay. The radar indicates that it should be clearing up soon. Will they wait that long?

[texasdave]

CHATTANOOGA - Michael Byrne only went 3 innings, but there were a scorelss three. He only allowed a single hit, and did not walk anyone. Miguel Figueroa entered the game in the 4th, and has allowed three runs.

The Lookouts have been plating the runners in the second game, and lead 7-3. Packy Naughton must be serving up some room service. Narciso Crook (1) and Mark Kolozsvary (1) have each launched one into the outfield bleachers. KolozsvAry's was a 3-run shot. Leonardo Rivas has singled and scored twice.

[HammerTime]

CHATTANOOGA - First time through the pitching rotation, Greene and Lodolo have combined for 10 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, and 18 Ks. That works for me.

This pleases me. More of that.

[757690]

From Nightengale twitter:

Big night for some of the #Reds' highly-rated pitching prospects:

Vlad Gutierrez at Louisville: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K.
Nick Lodolo at Chattanooga: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K.
Noah Davis at Dayton: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K.

[texasdave]

LOUISVILLE - The Bats get on the smiling side of the scoreboard for the first time in 2021, winning 9-0.

Vlad Gutierrez hurled six innings of one-hit baseball. VG threw 76 pitches, 51 for strikes. Diehl, Adleman and Carle each posted a scoreless frame.

Mark Payton (2 SGL, DBL), Scott Heineman (3-run bomb (2)), Alfredo Rodriguez (2 SGL, HBP), and Beau Taylor (2 SGL) led the attack.

[texasdave]

DAYTON - is still in a delay. I never realized that delayed minor league games that long. Dragons are trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th.

[texasdave]

CHATTANOOGA - Be on the Lookouts for a 7-run lead. 'Nooga was leading 7-0 after four. But that lead has vanished. They now trail 10-7 heading into the bottom of the 6th.

Miguel Figueroa, Wes Robertson and Julio Pinto have all resembled human batting tees since coming on. Robertson was charged with 5 runs in one-third of an inning. Louisville claimed Robertson on waivers from the Down East Wood Ducks, and are probably scratching their head as to why right about now.

Manager Ricky Gutierrez just got tossed, and I can't say that I blame him.

Lookouts fall 10-7, splitting the doubleheader.

[texasdave]

DAYTON - They finally call the game. Dragons come out on the short end of a 1-0 pitching duel.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Lots of great pitching today, as there was yesterday. That augers well.

Garcia hitting a HR per day for the entire season would be pretty cool, I guess. I could even learn to deal with errors.

Brian Rey has started hot. He's got pop and needs to show some hit tool and some patience. I'd also like to see him play more than 2B.

Good to see Yoel Yanqui hit a bomb. There's no question that dude (25) can hit-- lifetime BA near .300 in the minors and a scouting report that insists he's a 55 in that role-- however, there is a question of how much power he can generate.

Alejo Lopez is slumming it in Chattanooga. But AAA is positively filled with 2B/ 3B guys. So is the parent roster. Dude should try CF.

I wonder if Michael Byrne's start is a (relative) permanent move or just a fill-in because of the doubleheader. If it's the former, he's shown something worth keeping an eye on. Something to watch for in the coming days.

Everybody in Louisville pitched well. That may become the rule and not the exception soon. Lots of guys there who've pitched at the major league level and are probably AAAA depth arms. That'll absolutely play in the minors. If injuries aren't a major issue, they could well be a good squad. How much they'll help the Reds, though, is TBD.

I'd love to know some velocity numbers. Why aren't those included in the box score? Someone get on that.

It's not my decision, but should the fifth starter become problematic with the parent club, some combination of Santillan, Gutierrez, Lodolo, and Greene could probably take care of that. Ditto a relief role. I'd expect at least two (and probably three) of those guys to be given shots this season. Who comes first? I'm guessing Greene as a reliever. But that's a complete WAG.