Andrew Brackman has been impressive early on. From John Fay:
“He looks good,” Price said. “He throws hard. He’s got that good curveball. His arm strength is good. And he’s shown good athleticism. He’s been outstanding in (pitchers fielding practice). I don’t know that I’ve ever had a 6-10 guy move like that.”
If Brackman can throw strikes, he could turn out to be an absolute STEAL for the Reds. He will be one of the guys I will be following the most during the spring. He has a potentially elite level arm.
Dusty Baker breaks down his current view on the catching breakdown between Devin Mesoraco and Ryan Hanigan. I think Dusty has it right with this quote:
“A lot depends on what kind of progress Mesoraco makes. If he continues on the path, he’s the catcher of the future. When the future is, is undecided.”
In April, I would probably try to go with a 3-2 Mesoraco to Hanigan split, mixing up who catches who to get Mesoraco time with each guy and perhaps go from there depending on how Mesoraco is performing at that point. With that said, unless he is just clearly out of his element, I wouldn’t cut down his playing time, but only increase it if he is performing well.
The Reds will play a very short, 2 inning “practice game” against themselves on Friday. The pitchers will all be prospects. Andrew Brackman, Josh Judy, Donnie Joseph and Nick Christiani will be the pitchers.
Barry Bloom has up an article on Reds.com taking a look at Todd Frazier and how he is coming into spring with an approach to be ready for anything since, as he says “It’s kind of funny to talk about because I don’t have one position.”
Kind of going off of what I talked about with Brackman earlier, which stems from a question in yesterdays AQA that I thought I would extend to you guys as well. Who are the prospects you are most interested in following in the spring and why? Here are my four guys:
Andrew Brackman – As I noted above, he potentially has an elite level arm to work with and could be a difference maker if he can hone in his control. There is room in the bullpen for another arm like that if he can make the adjustments and take a step forward.
Didi Gregorius – He is one guy to watch for who could have an impact on just what the Reds do with Brandon Phillips. I like his potential at the plate as a high contact hitter who has a little bit of pop in his bat for a shortstop. Getting off to a strong start could go a long way to him finding himself in Cincinnati by 2013 and a strong spring could get that going.
Henry Rodriguez – Much like Gregorius, his progress in 2012 could directly influence what the Reds do with Brandon Phillips. He has hit over .300 every year he has been in the US. Defense has always been the question with Rodriguez, so it is something to keep an eye on.
Daniel Corcino – Another big arm to keep an eye on. He has no chance of breaking with the Reds, but with a strong spring he could jump to Pensacola and with an impressive year he could be on the mind of the brass when September rolls around if he has had a strong year. Mostly though, it will just be interesting to see how he can perform against more advanced hitters given his lack of time above Low-A.