Ivan Johnson had another big game out in Arizona on Friday for the Surprise Saguaros. Getting the start as the teams designated hitter, Johnson doubled in the 1st inning. In the 3rd inning he’d get another hit, this time a single, as he moved to 2-2 on the day. After a strikeout in his next plate appearance, Johnson came back to the plate in the 7th and unloaded on a pitch, crushing a 416-foot home run.
After a 3-4 day that included a home run, Ivan Johnson is now hitting .267/.382/.667 through 13 games. His five home runs are one behind the league leaders and tied for 3rd on the circuit. He’s drawn 8 walks in his 13 games, but he’s also struck out 22 times. When he’s made contact he’s done some real damage, but he’s missed a whole lot so far out in Arizona.
Checking in on the Dominican Winter League
Francisco Urbaez had another big night down in the Dominican Republic on Friday. The infielder went 4-5 in a win for Escogido. Those four hits raised his line on the season to .393/.452/.393 with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts in 32 plate appearances.
Last night was also the 2021 Dominican Winter League debut for Aristides Aquino. He joined Licey, where he’s played in two of the past three seasons (did not play last winter, but did the previous two). It was a good debut for The Punisher as he went 2-4 on the night.
Puerto Rican Winter League begins today
Another winter league kicks things off today, with five teams in the Puerto Rican Winter League getting ready to begin their season this weekend. And even better – some of the games will be available on your television. Just announced on Friday, the league signed a deal with Fox Sports to broadcast some games FS2 (including tonight).
Opening day rosters are not yet available. From what I could tell, four Reds prospects are under team control, but that doesn’t mean that they will be playing (either immediately, or at all). We shall see if they wind up on the field soon enough.
People are not fired because they are doing what Bob tells them to do.
I have to agree with the assessment of this franchise. Years ago I was dumb enough to be both a Reds and Bengals fan. When the lost decade(shula years) happened I finally wised up and quit punishing myself by giving a crap about the Bengals. Foolishly though I had held out hope with the Reds. I became a fan at age 5 in 1970 and maybe that was bad timing, because as a kid, seeing your favorite team in the World Series off and on for an entire decade sets the tone for what you think is normal. I’ve wised up over the years and dialed down expectations, but seeing your team give away talent and refuse to even attempt to complete is just the last straw. Even if they don’t want to be big spenders, they don’t have to be stupid…. do they?
Well said. Bob never cared about winning. He just wanted to provide the impression he cared so people would come to games and watch on TV.
This team did not make the playoffs in 2021. Now they have lost their best hitter from 2021 and their best pitcher from 2021. Seems safe to say they are not making the playoffs this year.
Intelligent Bob signs Miley and even if he can not trade him for peanuts he can trade Castillo and/or Gray to compensate for this salary. He can trade Winker. Get quality prospects because it is obvious we will not win in 2022.
Short sided Bob lets Miley go. I have no doubt that Redsfest will come and Bob will be saying they plan to compete. They hold onto Castillo, Gray and Winker and get nothing for them at the end of 2023 or 2024. They may even reject Gray’s 2023 option.
Fangraphs has a Ivan Johnson blog:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-ivan-johnson-is-making-a-making-a-name-for-himself-as-a-cincinnati-reds-infield-prospect/
Thanks Stock
Johnson’s power is a nice surprise.