Monday afternoon Reds news and notes

While I was on my visit to watch the Greeneville Reds last week there was a roster move in the works that caught my eye, but wasn’t officially announced until this afternoon. The Cincinnati Reds placed 5th round pick Evan Kravetz on the 60-day injured list on the Greeneville roster. The left-handed pitcher threw just one inning in his professional debut, though that was a planned situation from the start. He hasn’t pitched since. I’ve been told that he’s simply being shut down after a long college season and that this isn’t a season ending injury kind of situation.

Ibandel Isabel makes The Hot Sheet

Cincinnati Reds prospect Ibandel Isabel is known for his massive power. Last year he broke the Florida State League record for most home runs in a single season that had stood for 68 years. He’s moved up to the Southern League this season, and once again he’s leading the league in homers – though he’s not quite on pace to break the league’s home run record.

On the season he’s hit 19 home runs, even though he’s missed a few weeks on the injured list. Ibandel Isabel missed nearly 3 weeks in June, but since returning from the injured list on June 20th he’s hit .341/.383/.750 with 3 doubles and 5 homers in 11 games played. The 24-year-old’s hot streak since returning landed him the #8 spot on the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet this week. He’s hit .360/.385/.800 for the Lookouts over the last week.

One thing that they noted was that he had begun to cut down on the strikeouts. And they are right. In April he struck out 38 times in 90 trips to the plate (42.2%). During May he struck out 47 times in 106 trips to the plate (44.3%). In June that strikeout rate dropped, with 20 strikeouts in 61 trips to the plate (32.8%). That’s still higher than you want to see, and the sample size is quite small – but it’s worth noting, and worth keeping an eye on moving forward.

The Hendrik Clementina Counter

On Sunday evening Hendrik Clementina hit two home runs for the Daytona Tortugas. That gave him a total of eight home runs on the season in the pitcher friendly Florida State League. That tied him for the team league with Jonathan India, and into a tie for 8th place in the league in homers. It also put his home run total dead even on the season with his walk total.

After April, he had two walks and one home run. But in May he homered four times and walked just once, leaving him with five home runs on the year and just three walks. But in June he racked up five walks and hit three homers to bring the two back to even. And in a world where statistical oddities are fun to think about, the question I’m now thinking about is which stat is higher at the end of the season for Hendrik Clementina, his home run total or his walk total?