Record: 29-41
Team Stats
- Batting Average – .233 (23 of 33)
- On Base Percentage – .322 (26 of 33)
- Slugging Percentage – .320 (19 of 33)
- ERA – 4.53 (27 of 33)
- WHIP – 1.49 (28 of 33)
- Walk % – 11.4% (23 of 33)
- Strikeout % – 18.4% (23 of 33)
After starting out the season 5-10, it was all downhill for the DSL Reds. Offensively they were not a very good team and the pitching side of things was not any better. In most categories on either side of the ball the Reds were in the 20’s among the 33 teams in the league.
Individual Position Players
17 year old William Moreno led the team in OPS with a .758 mark boosted up by a .391 OBP. The left fielder only hit .256, but his 14 walks and 15 strikeouts showed solid plate discipline skills.
Miguel Chacoa is back in the DSL for the 2nd year and like last season would hit .300 again. However despite being a year older, his numbers overall got a little worse. His strikeout rate was up and his walk rate went down.
Carlos Sanchez is a guy who intrigues me after looking at his stats. The 18 year olds .234/.299/.437 line doesn’t look all that impressive on the surface, but an 8.6% walk rate with a 15.8% strikeout rate while hitting for very good power does something for me.
Ariel Baez spent his time at the hot corner for the Reds, but his defense looks like it has a long way to go as he posted a sub .900 fielding percentage. Offenseively he showed solid peripherals across the board for an 18 year old, but a .227 batting average was a bit lower than you would expect.
Ronald Golindez hit .281/.378/.319 while splitting time at the three different outfield spots. The plate discipline looks strong, but 5 doubles, 0 triples and 0 HR in 160 plate appearances suggests a serious lack of power right now.
Junior Arias was one of the Reds bigger signings in 2008 as he reportedly got a 6 figure signing bonus. He flashed some good power by leading the team with 6 HR’s and 11 doubles. The 17 year old shortstop did have a big strikeout rate of 28.7% though, something he must improve upon as he moves up.
16 year old Yimmy Lopez was the youngest position player on the team. The catcher hit .232/.351/.316 with 11 walks and 24 strikeouts. He also threw out 34% of attempted base runners.
Best Positional Prospect
I simply can’t say that I know hardly anything on these players beyond the stats I can read. With that said, I do know a little bit about Junior Arias and the fact that he plays shortstop and showed some good power has to put him at the top of the list for me.
Individual Pitchers
Radhames Quezada led the team with a 2.06 ERA. He posted a 52% groundball rate along with an 8.8% walk rate and 17.3% strikeout rate. The 18 year old righty allowed 15 earned runs and a staggering 16 unearned runs on the season.
Jose Marizan spent some time in the US in 2007 as a 19 year old, but really struggled with his control. This season the 21 year old lefty struck out 29% of the batters he faced, but he was also walking 12.7% of the batters he saw.
Starlin Gerson is a repeat customer to the DSL as a 21 year old. The tall righty struck out 21.1% of the batters he saw while walking 8.2% of them. His 3.55 ERA ranked 3rd among the Reds starters.
Luis Machuca impressed in the DSL with a 2.34 ERA, 16.2% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate. The Reds promoted him to the GCL toward the end of the season.
JR Morillo pitched well for a 17 year old. The Venezuelan lefty posted a 3.90 ERA over 55.1 innings. Morillo coupled a 53% groundball with an 8.6% walk rate and an 18.8% strikeout rate. Not sure what he throws at all, but he is certainly someone to look for next year to see if he makes the trip to the US.
Best Pitching Prospect
Like above, I really have no clue on these guys as far as who throws what. All I can see is the stats. Given that the Reds felt that Luis Machuca was ready to come to the US toward the end of the year I would have to give him the nod based simply on that. However keep an eye on JR Morillo, there are things to like in his numbers.
Overall Assessment
As a team, these guys weren’t that good. Odds are pretty good that no more than 5 or 6 of these guys even make it to the US to play for the Reds and are much worse that any of them ever make it to the big leagues. Still, there were some interesting guys in this bunch who we will likely be hearing from again in the future.