In January of 2022 the Cincinnati Reds signed one of the top players in the amateur ranks when they picked up shortstop Ricardo Cabrera. The first month of his career was about tough of an introduction to professional baseball as he could have imagined. In 17 games last June he hit .120/.274/.200 with 19 strikeouts in just 62 plate appearances. But when July started so did his bat and he didn’t look back as he hit .314/.403/.461 for the Dominican Summer League Reds.
This year he’s picking up where he left off and then some. Last night in Arizona, Ricardo Cabrera picked up two more hits for the ACL Reds. Through the first 12 games of the season he’s now hitting .341. That’s come along with 10 walks and 10 strikeouts in 55 plate appearances. That’s helped him post a .473 on-base percentage. His five extra-base hits have led to a .523 slugging percentage.
Alfredo Duno and the DH
Sticking with big time international signings, Alfredo Duno has been playing with the Dominican Summer League Reds this year and he has only played as the team’s designated hitter. Signed in January, Duno was one of the top international players in baseball before putting ink to contract. The catcher was a potential 5-tool player with a big time arm behind the plate. The season is just start for the DSL Reds, but Duno is eight games in and he hasn’t caught yet. And he’s not going to this season, either, remaining as the designated hitter with the team.
The 17-year-old has had a few arm issues in the past, tweaking something a few times. The organization is working with him the rest of the summer on building up his arm and doing different throwing exercises. He’s not likely going to catch in games until the fall instructional league.
While he’s not been behind the plate, he’s been showing off at the plate. Prior to Friday morning’s game (Duno is 1-2 as I am typing this) he was hitting .391/.563/.609 with eight walks and six strikeouts in his seven games played.
Sheng-En Lin and his arrival
Three weeks ago the Cincinnati Reds made a big splash on the international scene when they signed shortstop Sheng-En Lin out of Taiwan for $1,200,000. He is expected to join the organization on the field around the same time that the team brings in their signed draft picks in mid-July.
Jackson Miller could return later this summer
If there’s a player who could use something going his way, it’s Jackson Miller. The 2020 2nd round pick by the Reds has dealt with injury after injury after injury. He’s played in three games since the start of the 2021 season and they all came in a 1-week span in July of 2021.
The catcher will likely go two years between games played. He’s in Arizona and could return around mid-August. The organization is working with him on his throwing mechanics after he’s dealt with a whole bunch of injuries along the way in his career. Like Alfredo Duno, when he returns to the field this year he will be a designated hitter for the remainder of the season.