Yesterday saw Cincinnati Reds 2015 1st rounder Tyler Stephenson head to the disabled list in Dayton with a strained left wrist. He hadn’t played since May 26th but wasn’t placed on the disabled list for nearly a week.
I’m in Dayton today to take in the Dragons game against the Lansing Lugnuts. One of the first things that I noticed was that Tyler Stephenson was walking around with a cast on his wrist. I asked around some and was told that the catcher is scheduled to remain in the cast for roughly the next two weeks and he will then be re-evaluated to see where he’s at.
It’s been a tough season for the Reds top catching prospect. He got out to a slow start both at the plate and behind the plate, then after a little over two weeks he suffered a concussion and hit the disabled list. Stephenson missed the next two-and-a-half weeks before returning to the lineup. When he came back he played much better than he had over the first few weeks of the season, on both sides of the ball, but once again went down due to an injury.
In other injury related news, Pensacola has had a set of roster moves that also involve catchers. Chad Wallach was placed on the disabled list with a broken “fifth finger” on his hand, which I assume means his pinky – but that’s very much an assumption on my part. No pun intended here, but that’s a tough break for Chad Wallach who seemed to be showing improvements in his game on the offensive side of the ball where he had more walks, 22, than strikeouts, 19 and a little bit of pop.
He’s been replaced on the roster by Kyle Skipworth. Skipworth is on a rehab assignment from the big league club after having offseason ankle surgery. The catcher began his rehab stint with the Louisville Bats earlier this week and played two games there, going 2-7. With a need down a level the organization pushed him down to the Blue Wahoos to fill out the roster with a need while he works his way back from the injury.