This is going to be a little different than what it had been the first few times. This is for the entire first half of the season (well, at least until the AA All-Star break).
Stock up
Daryl Thompson – He had been ranked in the Mid 20’s coming into the season and now may be the Reds best pitching prospect with Cueto and Bailey graduating from the rankings.
Chris Valaika – Always considered a good prospect, I had him just outside of the top 15 (where he came in at #16) but he has come back to life with his bat after a rough second half in Sarasota last year. The shortstop is hitting a combined .318/.366/.509 between Sarasota and Chattanooga this year.
Robert Manuel – Despite not having overpowering stuff its hard to argue 78 strikeouts to 13 walks in 60.2 innings this year, mostly coming at AA.
Chris Heisey – The guy just looks like he is a ballplayer. He has just 5 more strikeouts than walks and has stolen 21 of 22 bases in Sarasota.
Shaun Cumberland – He was unranked last year and is now spending his time in AAA as a 23 year old. He is hitting a combined .291/.375/.449 between AA and AAA
Philippe Valiquette – The 21 year old has a combined 2.87 ERA and 48 strikeouts with 20 walks in 47 innings.
Zach Cozart – He always had the glove but his bat was in serious question by me. This year I am seeing a different hitter. His overall line may not be too impressive, but he is a changed man at the plate in a good way.
Sean Henry – Hitting .320 and slugging .498 in AA at an age appropriate level will get your stock way up, especially when I had you outside of the top 40. Doh!
Stock Down
Juan Francisco – His lack of plate discipline just isn’t getting better and without showing any signs of improvement he has slipped some.
Marcus McBeth – What happened to this guy? He lost all control this year, walking nearly 3 times as many guys as he did last season.
Adam Rosales – His bat has looked like it is coming around lately, but this year he has been somewhat disappointing at the plate with a .693 OPS in AAA.
Pedro Viola – While he has been incredibly unlucky this year (.450 BABIP against him through 211 batters faced), his overall body of work is still down from last year.
Jose Castro – Sent back down to Sarasota this year after struggling mightily in Chattanooga.
Helium Stocks
Kyle Lotzkar – This kid has a chance to be the absolute best pitcher in the system by the end of the year and he is only 18. Despite being the youngest starting pitcher in the league, he is striking out 33% of the batters that step up against him.
Neftali Soto – This kid is absolutely raking. I am going to go out on a limb and say by the end of the year, he will be the Reds #1 prospect.