TJ Friedl homered for the second straight day in a Louisville win, Jack Rogers homered for his second straight game with Dayton, Elly De La Cruz tied for the league lead in triples despite playing in just his 25th and 26 games of the season in the Low-A Southeast, and Allan Cerda hit two home runs to jump into a tie for 3rd place in the league with 12 home runs.
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The Louisville Bats won 2-1. Box Score
- Tejay Antone (rehab) threw a hitless inning with 2 walks.
- Michael Feliz (rehab) threw a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts.
- R.J. Alaniz (rehab) threw a shutout inning with a strikeout.
- TJ Friedl went 1-4 with a 2-run home run (8).
- Max Schrock went 2-4.
- Braxton Lee went 2-4.
- Brantley Bell went 2-3 with a run.
- Reiver Sanmartin was charged with an unearned run in 5.0 innings on 3 hits and he had 3 strikeouts.
- Nick Howard threw a perfect inning with a strikeout.
Game Notes
The big news of the day in Louisville involved Nick Senzel being activated from the 60-day injured list by the Reds and then optioned to Triple-A Louisville.
TJ Friedl homered for the second consecutive day. The homer was his 8th of the season and is now a career high, topping the 7 that he hit back in 2017 when he played in 114 games (87 games this year).
In his last 11 games (4 starts, 7 relief appearances) dating back to June 22nd, Reiver Sanmartin has thrown 30.2 innings with 24 hits, 4 walks, and 27 strikeouts to go along with an ERA of 2.05.
Louisville began the 6-game series against Nashville at 32-51, while Nashville was 49-35. The Bats won 5 of the 6 games in the series.
The Chattanooga Lookouts lost 6-5. Box Score
- Wilson Garcia went 1-4.
- Robbie Tenerowicz went 1-4 with a run.
- Drew Mount went 3-4 with a triple, run, and an RBI.
- Miguel Hernandez went 1-4 with a run.
- Chuckie Robinson went 1-4 with a run.
- Yoel Yanqui went 1-3 with a home run (7) and 3 RBI.
- Matt Pidich threw a perfect inning of relief.
- Daniel Duarte threw 2.0 hitless innings with 2 walks and a strikeout.
Game Notes
The game that was completed on Sunday began on Saturday but was suspended by rain in the 7th inning. During the national anthem right before the start of the 2nd game it began to rain and it never let up, postponing game 2.
Drew Mount picked up his first non-home run extra-base hit of the month. He has hit four homers in August, but his triple on Sunday was the first non-homer, non-single in 12 games.
Yoel Yanqui’s home run was the first for him in nearly two months, with his last home run coming on June 19th. He played 40 games and had 147 plate appearances in between the two games.
Daniel Duarte made his return to the mound in pro baseball on Sunday. He had been with Team Mexico in Tokyo for the Olympics.
The Dayton Dragons lost 5-4. Box Score
- Michael Siani went 1-5 with a triple and a run.
- Ivan Johnson went 1-3 with a run and an RBI. He was also hit by a pitch.
- Matt McLain went 1-3 and was hit by a pitch.
- Quin Cotton went 1-4 with an RBI.
- Jack Rogers went 1-4 with a 2-run homer (2).
- Victor Ruiz went 1-4.
- Vin Timpanelli threw 1.1 perfect innings with 4 strikeouts.
- Ricky Karcher threw 2.0 perfect innings with 4 strikeouts.
Game Notes
Ivan Johnson enjoyed a big first week with Dayton after his promotion from Daytona. The infielder played in all 6 games of the series in Lansing and hit .360/.429/.560 as he continued his outstanding run at the plate. Since returning from the injured list on June 15th he’s hit .298/.383/.503 in 49 games between Daytona and Dayton.
Jack Rogers homered for his second straight game and his 2-run shot in the 9th tied the game up. It’s also his third straight game with an extra-base hit – he tripled in his Dragons debut on August 11th.
Dayton hit 7 home runs in all of July. They homered 13 times in this 6-game series against Lansing.
The Daytona Tortugas lost a doubleheader
Game 1: 3-0 loss. Box Score
- Elly De La Cruz went 1-4 with a triple.
- Garrett Wolforth went 1-3 with a walk and a steal.
- Leo Seminati went 1-3.
- Reyny Reyes went 1-3.
- Gabriel Aguilera allowed a run on 2 hits with 2 walks in 4 innings. He also picked up 2 strikeouts.
- Alberto Gonzalez threw 2.0 shutout innings with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
Game 2: 9-8 loss. Box Score
- Daniel Vellojin went 1-4 with a home run (5).
- Garrett Wolforth went 1-4.
- Allan Cerda went 2-4 with 2 home runs (12).
- Ruben Ibarra went 1-4 with a run.
- Danny Lantigua went 1-4.
- Leo Seminati went 2-3 with a walk, home run (8), and 2 runs.
- Brandon Leyton went 1-3 with a double and a run.
- Blake Dunn went 2-3 with a grand slam (1).
- Jason Parker allowed 3 runs in 5.0 innings on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5.
Gameday Notes
Game 1 began on Saturday but was suspended by rain in the 4th inning and resumed on Sunday. Daytona led game 2 by a score of 7-1 after the third inning, but saw Jupiter score in the next five innings to pick up the extra-innings win.
Elly De La Cruz tripled in the first game. It gave him 6 with Daytona, and 7 on the season. His 6 triples with the Tortugas tied him for the league lead. He’s played in 26 games in the Low-A Southeast…..
Allan Cerda hit 818 feet worth of home runs on the day. His 12 home runs are now tied for 3rd most in the league.
Blake Dunn’s grand slam was his first professional home run. The 15th round pick has played in 8 games this season.
The ACL Reds had the day off.
The DSL Reds had the day off.
Top 25 Prospect Rundown
8/16 Game Preview
| Team | Record | Time (ET) | Probable | Box Score | Listen | Watch |
| Louisville | 37-52 | OFF | DAY | Here | Here | Here |
| Chattanooga | 42-44 | OFF | DAY | Here | Here | Here |
| Dayton | 48-42 | OFF | DAY | Here | Here | Here |
| Daytona | 44-46 | OFF | DAY | Here | Here | N/A |
| ACL Reds |
18-16 | 9:00pm | TBA | Here | N/A | N/A |
| DSL Reds |
11-11 | 10:30am | TBA | Here | N/A | N/A |
Does the Reds organization have a reputation for saying go ahead and hit us we won’t retaliate. The Reds get drilled a lot and by looking at the Dragons game all of the néw draftees got hit in the last two days. Might be time to send a message. My former High School pitchers knew how to protect each other more than the Rrds organization seems to.
Hey Doug, How does the talent levels compare between the DSL and the ACL? Are they comparable or is the DSL a step below? Would most of the players in the DSL have to go thru the ACL as they advance, or would they go straight to Daytona? What players stick out to you as needing to be promoted? Not just from AAA to the Reds but at all levels. I’m sure Barrero, Greene Lodolo and Santillan are at the top of the list. Anyone else?
The DSL is significantly lower and they almost always go through Goodyear before going anywhere else. Think of the DSL as basically high school baseball. Most of the players there are 17-19.
What is the current take on Drew Mount especially his BB/K rate? Has he improved?
Comparing his 2019 Daytona numbers to this year’s Chattanooga numbers, he’s striking out nearly exactly the same pace (about 28.5%). His walk rate however has jumped from 4.3% up to 7.9%. His slugging is also up about 150 points.
I mentioned being curious as to what the Reds would do regarding rule 5 protection of Lorenzo Cedrola the other day, I also am curious to see what they do with Mount.
Nick Senzel being kept in AAA for why? I don’t get it at all. I realize respect from an organization toward player is empty space, but he has to be wondering about his future with the organization. Do the Reds think Nyquin, Shogo, or Aquino give them a better chance to win? I don’t. How does being kept in AAA effect his major league his major league service time. The kid can’t catch a break as he has been jerker around like a yo-yo. Would India be as productive if he had been moved to CF and not given everyday reps?
Senzel simply hasn’t produced at the plate (OPS+64 this year, 54 last year). Solid defense, but still generating negative WAR over the last 2 years. C. Trent reported at the Athletic that Pat Kelly (AAA manager) states Senzel is still favoring his knee. Akiyama and Naquin are both producing, at least in August. Frankly, I’m not surprised Senzel was optioned. To me Barrero is the most likely guy to get a call from AAA. He looks ready to me, but AAA production doesn’t always mean a prospect is ready to make the jump.
You absolutely have to ignore 2020 stats for Senzel (and many others). He got COVID and was never the same after. Having had COVID I can attest to it taking six months to get back to full workouts – trying to play a sport at its highest level would have been nearly impossible.
As for 2021 the sample size is small, while his wRC+ is lower than Naquin’s, his xwOBA is a more predictive stat, and it’s almost twenty points higher.
If Senzel needs more time to regain strength and confidence in his knee or to get back into form at multiple positions and at the plate, then 1) don’t option him until the rehab time is up and b) say so.
Jefferson he wasn’t producing before CoVid in 2020.
He has been disappointing since his chronic vertigo cropped up in the minors. He was rushed to the majors after that with very little field time due to one injury, illness or both. His body has changed due to this illness and various injuries, the biggest being his shoulder and unless he learns to adjust to what his body can do now, he won’t be back.
In 2020 before he caught COVID he absolutely was producing. Sample size was small but he had an .816 OPS at the time he went onto the IL. When he came back he went 2-25.
You can justify any decision when you start ignoring data sets. Was the 2020 season unusual? Absolutely! Did getting COVID impact his performance? Probably. How about Akiyama … did his early injury affect his performance this year? How about the injury to his wife? Probably. If we dug in, we can probably find a few excuses for Naquin as well. At the end of the day, the Reds need to put the best team on the field if they hope to make the playoffs. Why a player hasn’t performed is really not as relevant as if they can reasonably expect a bump in performance today. Senzel’s rehab #s are middling at best. His offensive performance this year has been poor. His performance in year #1 (2019) was below average: 85 OPS+ and 0.0 bWAR. His 3-year track record is below average (600+ PA). The players he would replace are relatively hot.
I agree the timing is curious at best. Perhaps his knee can pass all of the strength and agility test, but Senzel continues to favor it. I don’t have a good answer for why they chose to pull him off his rehab assignment early.
As I posted before, Pat Kelly stated Senzel was still favoring his knee–so I think that qualifies as saying so. Personally, I’m glad Krall does not share the Red’s proprietary evaluation of players within their system. I think he shared enough — Senzel wouldn’t be the starter and he needs everyday at bats to fulfill his ceiling. Hopefully, he improves quickly as a healthy, productive Nick Senzel in CF would be a boost to the Reds.
Should have added he was not even in the lineup yesterday.
That’s also a telling statement. Regardless of your opinion of Senzel, the fact that he’s not getting everyday reps in AAA, and was optioned makes me think the Reds don’t believe he’ll be ready to go before Sept 1.
If healthy, Senzel’s upside – including immediate upside – is much higher than all three OF currently getting the playing time in a pennant race.
If Senzel needs more time to regain strength and confidence in his knee or to get back into form at multiple positions and at the plate, then 1) don’t option him until the rehab time is up and b) say so.
History shows that shoulder injuries and surgeries have been the downfall of a lot of hitters. In the Reds past Johnny Bench will talk about how his power and hitting were diminished by shoulder surgery after recovering from lung surgery. Today I believe Suarez’s productivity has gone to pot since his off-season shoulder injury and surgery before 2020. Michael Siani has had a poor offensive season as he came into the season with a shoulder injury. Senzel had the shoulder surgery a few years ago and has not been the same since.
MK – good points as always. I believe Ryan Ludwick was on pace for a good year when he had his surgery and was never the same. Also Remember Scott Rolen having much more power and then having shoulder surgery. Lets hope the rest of the players avoid the shoulder surgery pitfall.