Cincinnati Reds Minor League Game Review: May 5, 2021

Wednesday was mostly a positive day on the Cincinnati Reds farm system as Hunter Greene returned to the mound for the first time in 2.5 years, Rece Hinds crushed his first career home run, the Dayton pitching staff continued to befuddle Great Lakes, and Tony Santillan had a good showing in his Triple-A debut.

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The Louisville Bats lost 2-1. Box Score

• Shogo Akiyama (rehab) went 1-5 with an infield single.
• Scott Heineman went 1-3 with a walk.
• Dwight Smith Jr. went 1-3 with a walk.
• Mike Freeman went 1-2 with 2 walks and a run scored.
• Alfredo Rodriguez went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI triple.
• Tony Santillan was charged with an unearned run in 4.0 innings with no walks and 7 strikeouts.
• R.J. Alaniz threw 2.0 shutout innings with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
• Hector Perez threw a hitless inning with a walk and a strikeout.
• Brad Brach threw a hitless inning with a walk and 2 strikeouts.

Game Notes

Columbus scored a run in the top of the 9th to break a 1-1 tie and that run was all they needed.

Shogo Akiyama went 1-5 with 3 strikeouts, an infield single to second base, and a pop up to shortstop just onto the outfield grass.

Mike Freeman made an outstanding catch running into foul territory and catching a fly ball before leaping onto the railing just before the tarp.

The Chattanooga Lookouts won 6-1. Box Score

• Alejo Lopez went 2-4 with a walk and an RBI.
• Jose Garcia went 1-4 with a walk and a solo home run (1).
• Yoel Yanqui went 1-2 with a walk, steal, and 2 runs scored.
• Robbie Tenerowicz went 1-3 with a walk.
• TJ Hopkins went 1-4 with a double, 2 runs and an RBI.
• Lorenzo Cedrola went 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Mark Kolozsvary went 2-2 with 2 walks, two doubles, and 2 RBI.
• Hunter Greene allowed a run in 5.0 innings on 3 hits, no walks, and he had 8 strikeouts.
• Nick Howard threw a perfect inning with a strikeout.
• Reiver Sanmartin threw 2.0 shutout innings with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
• Dauri Moreta threw a hitless inning with a walk and a strikeout.

Game Notes

Hunter Greene threw 43 fastballs on the night. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic was in Chattanooga for the game and reported that 37 of them were 100 MPH or higher. It sounds like he topped out at 102.6 MPH, but reached 102.0 or higher at least three times. Greene threw 71 pitches with 51 strikes, and had 4 ground outs versus 3 fly outs. His earned run was initially ruled unearned, but an error was reversed and became a hit after the inning had been completed. I’ll have a more complete write up and review on this Thursday morning.

Jose Garcia hit the first pitch he swung at in 2021 out of the ballpark against the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft Reid Detmers.

There was a scary moment to end the top of the 2nd inning when left fielder Drew Mount made a catch against the wall and went down to the warning track. He stayed there for what felt like forever, but was several minutes before he was able to get up and walk off of the field on his own. The play ended the inning, so he technically wasn’t replaced until the bottom of the inning when his spot came up in the order three batters into the frame.

Chattanooga has a double header scheduled for Thursday evening.

The Dayton Dragons won 4-0. Box Score

• Jose Tello went 1-5 with a run scored.
• Eric Yang went 1-3 with a walk and a run scored.
• Quin Cotton went 1-4 with a steal and an RBI.
• Quincy McAfee went 0-1 with 3 walks and a run scored.
• Brian Rey went 2-4 with a 3-run home run (1).
• Victor Ruiz went 1-3 with a walk.
• Eduardo Salazar threw 5.0 shutout innings with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts.
• Jacques Pucheu threw 2.0 hitless innings with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts.
• Francis Peguero threw a hitless inning with a walk and a strikeout.
• Johnnie Shneider threw a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts.

Game Notes

Dayton’s pitching staff has allowed a total of five hits through the first two games of the year.

The Dragons offense walked seven times. The Dragons pitching staff had seven walks.

Dayton is hitting .294/.422/.485 with 15 walks and 18 strikeouts as a team. They’ve held Great Lakes to a .088/.307/.211 line – with 18 walks and 20 strikeouts.

The Daytona Tortugas won 12-4. Box Score

• Tyler Callihan went 1-5 with a steal, run, and an RBI.
• Rece Hinds went 2-5 with a double, home run (1), 2 runs scored, was hit by a pitch, and had 2 RBI.
• Austin Hendrick went 0-3 with 3 walks.
• Allan Cerda went 3-5 with a double, triple, walk, 2 runs scored, and an RBI.
• Ivan Johnson went 1-2 with 3 walks, an RBI, and 2 runs scored.
• Debby Santana went 1-4 with a walk, stolen base, and a run scored.
• Wilfred Astudillo went 2-5 with a run and 2 RBI.
• Danny Lantigua went 2-5 with a double, run, and an RBI.
• Carson Spiers allowed a run in 4.2 innings with a walk and 4 strikeouts.
• Juan Manuel Abril allowed a run in 2.1 innings with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts.

Game Notes

Rece Hinds picked up his first two hits of his professional career on the day with a double and a home run. Both were over 100 MPH off of the bat. His home run went 399 feet. And I was able to get my hands on the video.

The hardest hit ball of the day went to Allan Cerda on a triple that was 105.9 MPH off of the bat. He’s had a heck of a start to the year, going 4-8 with a double, triple, home run, and two walks.

Ivan Johnson has drawn four walks through two games and is 2-5 in his non-walks.

Ricky Karcher struggled on the afternoon with his control. But he threw the 23 hardest pitches of the game, topping out at 99.

Top 25 Reds Prospect Rundown

5/6 Game Preview