Jonathan Willems solo home run proved to be the only run in a Daytona win as Jose Franco, Dennis Boatman, and Juan Manuel Abril combined to throw a shutout, Quincy McAfee homered and got on base three times for Dayton, Matt McLain hit two more doubles and TJ Hopkins picked up three hits for Chattanooga, and Jose Barrero doubled and had two hits for Louisville.
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The Louisville Bats lost 4-1. Box Score
- Aristides Aquino (rehab) went 0-3 with a walk.
- Jose Barrero went 2-4 with a double and an RBI.
- Colin Moran went 1-4.
- Alejo Lopez went 1-2 with a walk and he was hit by a pitch.
- TJ Friedl went 1-3 with a steal and a run.
- Justin Nicolino allowed 2 runs in 6.2 innings with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
- Jared Solomon threw a perfect inning of relief.
The Chattanooga Lookouts lost 3-2. Box Score
- TJ Hopkins went 3-5 with a double and a run.
- Nick Quintana went 2-3 with a walk and an RBI.
- Matt McLain went 2-3 with 2 doubles and he was hit by a pitch.
- Ivan Johnson went 1-4.
- James Free went 2-3.
- Alex McGarry went 1-1 with a double as a pinch hitter.
- Connor Phillips allowed 1 earned in 2.1 innings with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.
- Spencer Stockton threw 2.2 shutout innings with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.
- Ryan Olson threw 1.2 hitless innings with 2 walks and a strikeout.
- Pedro Garcia threw a perfect inning with a strikeout.
The Dayton Dragons lost 6-5. Box Score
- Quincy McAfee went 2-3 with a home run (8), 2 runs scored, and was hit by a pitch.
- Steven Leyton went 1-4.
- Tyler Callihan went 1-3 with a double and a run.
- Austin Hendrick went 1-4 with a double and a run.
- Garrett Wolforth went 1-4 with 2 RBI.
- Michael Trautwein went 1-4 with a run.
- J.V. Martinez went 1-4 with an RBI.
- Jake Stevenson threw 2.0 shutout innings with a walk and a strikeout.
- Donovan Benoit threw 2.0 shutout innings with a strikeout.
- Vin Timpanelli threw a perfect inning with a strikeout.
The Daytona Tortugas won 1-0. Box Score
- Ashton Creal went 1-3 with a steal (16).
- Hayden Jones went 3-4.
- Wendell Marrero went 1-4.
- Wilfred Astudillo went 1-4.
- Jonathan Willems went 1-3 with a solo home run (3).
- Jose Franco threw 4.2 shutout innings with a walk and 3 strikeouts.
- Dennis Boatman threw 2.1 shutout innings with 2 walks.
- Juan Manuel Abril threw 2.0 hitless innings with 2 walks and a strikeout.
The ACL Reds had the day off
The DSL Reds had the day off
They’ll be off until at least August 2nd. The rest of their games this month have been postponed, and August 1st is a regularly scheduled off day. As of now the game on August 2nd has not been postponed.
8/1 Game Preview
| Team | Record | Time (ET) | Probable | Box Score | Listen | Watch |
| Louisville | 41-57 | OFF | DAY | Here | Here | Here |
| Chattanooga | 41-55 | OFF | DAY | Here | Here | Here |
| Dayton | 48-46 | OFF | DAY | Here | Here | Here |
| Daytona | 38-55 | OFF | DAY | Here | Here | N/A |
| AZL Reds | 23-13 | 9:00pm | TBA | Here | N/A | N/A |
| DSL Reds |
18-20 | OFF | DAY | Here | N/A | N/A |
Great to see that McLain is heating up again. 4 doubles in the last two games! Also was very happy to see Johnson log a game in center! That type of position versatility will help him out quite a bit with all the middle infielders he’s competing with now.
Also of note, in Rosenthal’s last trade deadline update in the athletic he says the reds may actually be trying to extend Drury. I don’t know where he’s hearing that info and I’m not real sure what to think about that to be honest.
That would be a terrible move. This year is his outlier. He is 30 years old. You don’t people in their age 30 season.
I agree with you. No reason not to move him now. You can try to sign him back in the offseason if you’re looking for someone to bridge the gap to when these prospects come up.
The thing is that I don’t see them moving Farmer and if Drury is still at 3B I don’t see Bell letting Barrero get enough reps at SS. If Drury is moved Farmer can just bump to 3B.
What if the offers coming in are not that good though?
On the flip side, it is likely establishing leverage in negotiations. They don’t HAVE to trade him, other teams have to acquire him to improve. If he’s good enough to be acquired he has to be good enough to deserve an extension offer.
All that said, it’s best if 3b is open for the many 3b options in the system. Hopefully he can bring back a good prospect.
Agree age is main issue along with type team reds are atm.
Idc if get a Lottery ticket type deal.
Young rookie ball player with upside.
If getting low balled on deals.
Which Johnson logged a game in centerfield? It wasn’t last night according to the box scores.
https://mobile.twitter.com/ChattLookouts/status/1553791178193108993?cxt=HHwWgoCw9YO2lpArAAAA
Hmmm… maybe something changed but at one point yesterday he was slated to start in CF
It’s been noted that Johnson seems more athletic than McLain and, personally, I still believe in his bat. A good second half this year and perhaps AZ Fall League, and he could be right up there in the mix for utility. Unlike ALopez, he has some pop, can handle SS, and I suspect could fill in CF. His skill set suggests keeping Johnson right down the middle.
You don’t buy high on someone who has only done it for one year at age 30. That is bad money management on a small market team. Other teams realize this and that is why the offers may be small but it’s something the Reds are historically bad at. Take what you can get and let’s see if we have younger options with a future as utility players that can bridge the gap. If not you will get another chance to sign him in free agency.
I think Krall is getting blamed for a lot of Dick Williams decisions on poor contracts.
Why have the DSL Reds been off so long ?
Covid outbreak ?
Yes
Chattanooga update. I went and watched them play the rocket city trash pandas (what a name – Angels affiliate) Saturday night. Here are my observations.
– the infield defense was atrocious. Quintana, dela Cruz, and Deleon all committed errors and other misplays.
– McClain didn’t have much range at 2nd. Got late jumps on several balls that made it to outfield. Not errors but not good defense.
– I don’t see dela Cruz staying at short. Not fluid, not good footwork.
– Quintana takes 2-3 bunny hops before he throws to first. I can’t believe a college player with 2 years in pro ball hasn’t had that coached out.
– Deleon is a clown. In many ways.
– dela Cruz can definitely hit. Easy power and doesn’t try to pull.
– McClain is good but I didn’t see a first rounder. He needs to get stronger and use a bigger bat – like Dustin Pedroia – to have a chance. Future utility player imo.
– Hoskins has a chance to play in mlb. Very professional at bats.
– Cerda needs work. Very good defensively but doesn’t know the strike zone. Man can he play center though.
– Mcgary was not impressive. Struck out easily and very slow footed. I was hoping for more athletic. With serious training on explosiveness and footwork he could get there. But todays baseball athletes just don’t seem to take those things serious.
– ah the pitching. Hard to be too critical because the infield defense constantly made the pitchers work harder.
– keys and krvitz can’t find the strike zone. Salazar ok but not a starter.
Frustrating thing to me was you could tell which tram had better talent and athletes right out of the gate- Chattanooga. But they played very undisciplined on defense and strike out too easily – nothing special pitching for the trash panda. I’d like to see Wally Backman coaching this team to get them more serious about their profession.
Thanks for the update, very cool!
Did you see absolutely anything good at all ? Wow what a downer of a game.
Could have rained …
not much MK. I was expecting to see a very talented and skilled baseball team with lots of top prospects on it. I was impressed with Dela Cruz. That guy is the real deal. Everyone else…..I’m afraid this rebuild is going to take quite a bit longer than I realized.
I’ve seen Elly a few times in person at Dayton this year, and I think his length makes his footwork look a little worse than it is (yes, it needs work). There are times he looks awkward, but then he will get to a ball no one else can. There are also times that he looks so smooth on one play and not so much on the next. I think he can play SS at the ML level at this size but probably will outgrow it at some point. He just needs reps there if they plan on him staying.
McLain only has a couple of games at 2nd. I wouldn’t put too much stock in that.
Interesting note on Cerda, hopefully, he was just having an off night since his BB rate has always been the one thing you could count on with him.
I guess we are lucky that McGarry is playing first base. Hopefully, he continues to have a WRC+ north of 140 and no one will mention his athleticism.
Thanks for sharing your observations from the game, hopefully, you can catch some more because that team should be interesting the rest of the year.
Even if Barrero is getting hot, I can see him not being called up until September. Per baseball ref, he’s at 0.129 service time. September/October would only net him 35 days, or finish the year at 0.164 years of time. If the Reds believe he’s as good as he was last year in AA/AAA, they may keep him down as long as possible. His current numbers certainly justify it.
Aquino’s last day of his assignment is today, I think.
The 4 relievers the Lookouts used have all probably earned a promotion to Louisville.
I like what I’ve seen from Hopkins this year.
I would assume Barrero gets service time credit for his time on the 10/60-day IL as well.
I believe that is correct, and that therefore there is no real chance to manipulate his service time.
While I am against all service time manipulation, it makes financial sense only for guys like De La Cruz, who may well turn into a superstar. There was some speculation that they were manipulating Senzel’s service time, and now they probably wish that they had called him up a year earlier.
You are absolutely correct. Completely forgot about that. Good call!
I think you are right on Aquino. If they trade Drury, Pham or Solano (or another position player like Senzel in a package with Mahle), then they will likely use that spot for AA. Else, I would guess that AA will take Fairchild’s spot.
Kieth Law updated his prospect rankings and released a new top 60 + 10 honorable mentions
Reds had 3 in the top 30 and 1 honorable mention
8 – de la Cruz
12 – Marte
29 – Collier (what a steal at 18 in the draft)
HM – Arroyo
Guess he figured Lodolo would be coming off the list very soon so he wasn’t included. Injury probably cost McLain
He mentioned that he only included players currently in the minors on his list. Said his post season list would include all still rookie eligible players. Agree that the injury and the play right before the injury cost McLain, but he could finish strong. Since coming off the IL he’s got 4 doubles, 6 walks, and only 5 strikeouts (6 games). Since June, he’s got about a 16% walk rate and only a 25% k rate. Looking forward to a strong finish.
McLain been having bad luck with hbp.
Hitting him in bad spots.
But yea approach been better overall for a while now.
Early on seemed trying to prove he has power.
Now more line to line hard contact.
Homeruns will come, playing more towards his strengths now imo.
Would be interesting to see how many of the yearly top 100 make it to the majors and make a impact of some kind.
Doug, any updates on Yerlin Confidan? Thanks
+100
Quad strain in early May does not equate to 3 months of recovery. He must have partially torn it.
No. Last I checked in was about a month ago and was told he’d be back mid-to-late July. But it’s now August 1st…. so we’ll see.
Thanks Doug. Excited to watch him play. Hopefully he’s back on the field soon
Is this the most stacked the reds farm system has been? It’s been good at times but always seems to Peter out around 8 but I’m pretty excited down to twenty. Who knows what they’ll turn into but it’s something to watch.
No.
Jay Bruce was the #1 prospect in baseball, and they also had 3 other guys who were rated inside of at least one list from a reputable play that were also inside a Top 25 with Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, and Joey Votto. Beyond that they also had shiny new 1st-round picks in Devin Mesoraco, Todd Frazier, and some depth behind them, too.
I still think the farm system is weird right now. There’s not a top 10 prospect in the organization right now that’s in the upper minors that’s performing well at the level. Still early with De La Cruz because he’s been there for like 2 weeks. Everyone else is either performing less than you’d like, or in A-ball or rookie-ball.
It’s a farm system with a lot of upside. But it’s also not exactly one that I think we should be talking about as outstanding, either. At least not yet.
Drury is 29. He will be 30 shortly, but this is considered his age 29 season. Extending a guy through his age 32 season is not like doing so through his age 35 season. Take a look at Justin Turner’s career; he pretty much just got started at age 29.
I have no problem with extending Drury for 3 years for reasonable terms. They aren’t going to extend him for $14 million a year, which I agree would be a bad move. Drury is exactly the risk that the Reds need to take, as opposed to the Moustakas contract, which is an albatross.
Besides, Drury isn’t going to produce a great return, anyway. His track record is short; he’s done it in a hitter’s ballpark; and he is the quintessential rental. The Reds might as well keep him and have the inside track at resigning him.
You cannot sign utility players for 4-5 million per year as a small market club. 30 years old is that start of the decline for an overwhelming majority of players. Why would you bridge the gap with free agency level players when you have to see what the younger guys can do?
We signed Solano for 4.5M, and Drury was signed to a minor league contract. He’s under 1M at 0.9M. Drury largest contract was for 1.3M. We should easily be able to get him for 6M or less.
Uh, Drury is not a “utility player,” but instead leads the Reds in AVG, R, HR, 2B, SLG, OPS and RBI. He is their best hitter. They don’t have anybody in AAA knocking on the door to play 3B next year, so Drury fits for next year, without taking anybody else’s shot to play.
After next year, both Moustakas and Votto will be gone, so Drury could slide to 1B or LF and let the younger guys play third.
Drury is a perfect, low-cost bridge to the next window.
Farmer, on the other hand, is 2 years older than Drury, and he makes $3.1 million this year and would presumably make about $4 million next year. Farmer has a .567 OPS against RH pitching; he has very limited range and the arm of a first-base coach. Farmer would be blocking legit young shortstops next year if he returns, and in my opinion should be traded or non-tendered. Farmer, not Drury, is the $4 million utility player for which I agree that the Reds should not pay.
Drury has had one good year. Until he does it again he is what he has established himself to be prior to this year which is a utility player who couldn’t even get a major league contract over the winter. If you want to sign him to one year deal that makes him prove his worth do that and take the risk of paying more down the road. If you sign him for multiple it will probably cost you 4-5 million per year. That’s alot of money for a small market team that does not bad contracts.
Old Big Ed, doesn’t make any difference what his hitting numbers look like as Drury has played games at 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, RF and DH which is the definition of a utility guy.
As far as Farmers defense ESPN lists Farmer with a 0.6 Defense War which is sixth in NL. Not so terrible. He is certainly keeping the seat warm for Marte or Arroyo. I personally see Barrero as a center fielder and de la Cruz at third base.
The Baseball America I received today reports that Noelvi Marte’s prospect standing at 43 is falling after a less than stellar first half though Arroyo seems to be holding his own at 44.
Both Drury and Solano consistently give quality at bats. This is important for the development of the young bats following behind, such as India, Stephenson, & Senzel.
IMO, keeping (extending) one or both of Drury and Solano isn’t going to block the next prospective Reds minor league infielder, Barrero. The players blocking Barrero are Farmer and Reynolds. With Barry ‘Grain of Salt’ Larkin suggesting, on air, that the club should extend Farmer 3 years and make him team Captain would indicate the die is cast against Barrero. Unless he is made into a utility player, at age 24, or into a CF, Drury, Solano, Votto, and Moose would handle the corners and 2B until Elly and Marte arrive.
Hader to padres for Rogers and Prospects.
We’ll see how both closers respond to being traded from winning teams. Hopefully they meet in the playoffs. I have to say, Milwaukee has not been afraid to go unconventional the last 3-5 years and it often pays off. I’m intrigued.
somebody please explain to be why AJ Preller felt compelled to give Brewers 2 of his top 10 prospects while he was helping gt them out from under a big $ contract next year. And the Brewers get their closer who has 28 saves already this year??? I can see a couple flyer-type prospects but 2 of their best? Brewers just fleeced them.
Hope upside ptbnl for Pham.
Just a lottery ticket for an older player, would be nice.
Understand selling off, getting value.
Going be positive seems like a long rebuild for some.
But if can develop pitchers have at the MLB level.
Could come much faster.
Got aa talent for bats close enough.
Come help india hopefully stephenson.
Hopefully can find nice utility guys.
When need them most, like a Salano, Reynolds, Farmer.
Love those type of players, if have other talent around.
Awesome for rest and when injuries hit.
Now all about devlp Pitchers have atm.