Record: 29-26
Team Stats
- Batting Average – .243 (6 of 16)
- On Base Percentage – .307 (13 of 16)
- Slugging Percentage – .324 (13 of 16)
- ERA – 3.10 (8 of 16)
- WHIP – 1.26 (9 of 16)
- Walk % – 8.9% (11 of 16)
- Strikeout % – 18.1% (13 of 16)
The GCL Reds were one of only two farm teams to post a winning record on the season. They were middle of the pack offensively and on the pitching side, while their 29-26 record had them right in the middle at 8th overall in terms of winning percentage. The pitchers average age was just 19.7, the third youngest staff in the league. The average age of the positional players was even younger at just 19.0, the 4th youngest in the league. These guys seemed to do well given their age compared to the league.
Individual Position Players
Juan Silva led the Reds in OPS at .833. He would hit .280/.372/.462 with 21 walks and 45 strikeouts. The 18 year old Puerto Rican’s .172 isolated power (slugging-average) was the only one over .100 on the team for players with at least 100 plate appearances.
19 year old Henry Rodriguez hit .322/.354/.421 for the Reds. Overall he had a pretty good season. While he had a low walk rate (4.4%), he had a very low strikeout rate as well (11.2%) that negates the need for a higher walk rate so long as he can keep similar ratios.
Jefry Sierra is another 19 year old from the Reds. Like Rodriguez he hit for a high average, .336. Sierra had the 4th high average of players with at least 100 plate appearances in the league. His overall line was .336/.367/.402 with a 5.8% walk rate and a 20.8% strikeout rate. His line was boosted by a .439 BABIP.
Theodis Bowe is a hold over from last year, but just turned 19 in August. The 2008 21st rounder improved dramatically across the board as he hit .287/.372/.356 while stealing a team best 15 bases. Theodis Bowe, perhaps the best name in the system has an 11.6% walk rate and a 17.4% strikeout rate.
Billy Hamilton was the Reds 2nd round pick this season. The 18 year old shortstop had an up and down year that took a downturn after an injury caused him to miss some time and he didn’t quite pick up where he left off.
Juan Duran struggled from the very start and I believe that struggling may have led to a lot of pressing that continued those struggles. Duran started out something like 0-25, but he showed solid discipline over that time with 5 walks and 6 strikeouts. From that point forward though he walked just 3 more times while striking out 46 times.
The GCL Reds also got solid short term production from guys like Trey Manz, Cristobal Rodriguez, Mauricio Pimentel, Danny Vicioso and Yorman Rodriguez who all had under 100 plate appearances each.
Best Positional Prospect
This is pretty tough to say since I use 100 plate appearances as the cut off and Yorman Rodriguez, the clear choice only had 95 PA. Duran and Hamilton have the tools and the status going for them, but Juan Silva looked REALLY good in his scouting video I saw and his numbers were pretty darn good as well. Hamilton is arguably the best athlete in the system, but his production wasn’t good this season at the plate. Duran can supposedly hit the ball a mile at times, but struggled to hit this year. In the end, I would give the edge to Silva based on his swing and production.
Individual Pitchers
Tyler Cline was a lightning rod during last years draft where many thought he was an overdraft. Well, faast forward to this seaason and Cline has provided those doubters with a nice big serving of crow. The righty posted a 2.09 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP to go along with an 8.5% walk rate and a 17.3% strikeout rate.
Jacob Johnson (also known as Harold) was the Reds 11th round pick in 2009. The 6’4″ righty came out and performed right away posting a 2.83 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. The 18 year old had a walk rate of 8.2% and a strikeout rate of 19% while posting a 56% groundball rate.
Marcos Molina pitched out of the bullpen, but still tallied 33 innings, 4th most on the team. The 21 year old righty posted a 2.18 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Molina coupled a 57% groundball rate with a 20% strikeout rate and an 11.1% walk rate.
Daniel Tuttle was the Reds 5th rounder this season and like draftmate Jacob Johnson, Tuttle performed immediately. The 6’1″ right hander had a 1.67 ERA to go along with a 54% groundball rate, 21.6% strikeout rate and a 7.2% walk rate.
Nathan Driessen worked out of the bullpen, but the 18 year old Australian lefty was dominant. Driessen’s 3.41 ERA is not nearly as high as his other numbers suggest. An 18.1% strikeout rate and 2.6% walk rate alongside a 50% groundball rate are all very impressive, especially for someone who is 18 years old.
Raul Rodriguez was a bit Jekyll and Hyde. The 2008 25th round pick is just 18 years old, but he posted impressive strikeout numbers with a very high walk rate. While Rodriguez struck out a team leading 21.8% of the batters he faced, he also walked 15.1% of them. Despite the high walk rate, he did post an ERA of 2.73.
Tzu-Kai Chiu came off an injury to post a 0.95 ERA and a 17-1 strikeout to walk ratio. Pedro Villarreal posted a 1.47 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP over 18.1 innings. Luis Machuca got a call up from the DSL Reds and picked up where he left off as he posted a 2.40 ERA with a 4.8% walk rate and a 19.4% strikeout rate.
Best Pitching Prospect
Another tough call. Daniel Tuttle, Tyler Cline and Jacob Johnson were all in the running, but Tuttle wound up getting my vote. He has the numbers and the scouting report. With an above average slider and a fastball that has been up to 94 MPH in the past it was tough to not pick him. If he can get his change up to improve over the next few seasons he could become a very strong prospect.
Overall Impression
The GCL Reds were solid this season, and even pretty good given their age compared to the rest of the league. There were certainly a lot of interesting prospects on the team. Lots of potential was on the field for the GCL Reds at any given moment, both offensively and on the pitching side of things.