Saturday afternoon saw Cincinnati Reds 2012 first round pick Nick Travieso throw live batting practice. Things didn’t start out as well as he’d have liked, but he turned it around quickly and finished strong.
Reds manager Bryan Price was impressed with the session, particularly with the control that Travieso was able to show.
He’s a physical guy who’s throwing at the bottom of the strike zone, which is very important to see guys that don’t just have arm strength but bottom-of-the-strike-zone command. He’s has a very, very good slider. He’s a yes-sir, no-sir guy. The rest of the organization is excited about him too. It gave me even more excitement to see him personally.
Among the prospects in camp, Travieso is among the players with the best control. He controls his fastball quite well and can usually do the same with the slider and change up. That’s not something you usually see from a 20-year-old (he’s now 21).
He’s not likely to stick around big league camp for more than a few weeks as he isn’t really competing for a roster spot. With that said, despite never pitching above the Low-A level, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him jump over Daytona and begin the season in Pensacola. He’s got the stuff and the control to compete at that level right now.
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