While there is not true minor league baseball games happening right now, there are some leagues around that are playing baseball. And without a minor league season the players not in the player pool, with team approval, can play independent league baseball this year. Several of the Cincinnati Reds prospects have taken advantage of the opportunity. Some players are in leagues that were next to impossible to track down online, but a few players are participating in leagues that have some online presence and I figured it would be a good time to check in on them.
Serie A Italian League Baseball
Unless I missed someone, there’s only one Cincinnati Reds minor league player that is currently playing professionally in Italy and it’s catching prospect Hendrik Clementina. Known for his raw power at the plate, Clementina has only played in a handful of games for Bologna thus far and racked up just 12 at-bats, but he’s made his time on the field count. He’s hitting .250/.412/.500 with a home run, three walks, on hit by pitch, and he’s struck out just once.
If you want to keep track of the league stats, here’s the link I used to do so.
City of Champions Cup
The Joliet Slammers, Nerds Herd, Tully Monsters, and my favorite – Chicago Deep Dish are competing in the City of Champions Cup. Corky Miller and his mustache are managing the Nerds Herd. He’s got two Cincinnati Reds minor leaguers on his team, too.
Catcher James Free has played in eight games for Nerds Herd. On July 25th he homered and drove in four runs. He’s hitting .200/.300/.320 so far through 25 at-bats. Outfielder Ashton Creal joins Free on the squad. Like Free, he’s played in eight games so far. His biggest game came on July 23rd when he went 3-4 with a double, RBI, was hit by a pitch, and scored two runs. Overall he’s hitting .250/.313/.286 through 28 at-bats.
If you want to track the Nerds Herd you can do that right here. Their season will run through September 6th, with 17 more games on the schedule.