Jacob Hurtubise got on base three times and now has a .622 on-base percentage in 14 games with Louisville, Blake Dunn extended his hitting streak to 14 games in Chattanooga’s win, and Austin Hendrick homered for Dayton for the second night in a row.
If you are interested in getting emailed every day during the season with additional game notes and a rundown on how the Cincinnati Reds Top 25 Prospects performed (along with other perks) you can sign up to support the site through Patreon and get all of that for a few bucks a month. If that’s something that sounds interesting you can get more information here.
The Louisville Bats lost 4-2. Box Score
- Jake Fraley (rehab) went 1-4.
- Tejay Antone (rehab) threw 0.2 innings without a run while allowing a hit and hitting a batter.
- Jason Vosler went 1-4 with a solo home run (15).
- Henry Ramos went 2-4 with a run.
- Jhonny Pereda went 2-4 with an RBI.
- Chuckie Robinson went 1-4.
- Jacob Hurtubise went 1-2 with 2 walks.
- Miguel Hernandez went 1-1 as a pinch hitter.
- Evan Kravetz threw a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts.
- Eduardo Salazar threw a perfect inning.
- Chasen Shreve threw a shutout inning with a walk and a strikeout.
The Chattanooga Lookouts won 4-2. Box Score
- Blake Dunn went 1-2 with 3 walks, a triple, and 2 runs.
- Tyler Callihan went 2-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI.
- Alex McGarry went 2-5.
- Mat Nelson went 1-3 with a walk.
- Francisco Urbaez went 1-3 with a walk, home run (6), and 2 RBI.
- Nick Northcut went 1-4.
- Thomas Farr allowed 2 runs in 5.0 innings with a walk and a strikeout.
- Jake Wong threw 2.0 shutout innings with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
- Michael Byrne threw 2.0 shutout innings with a strikeout.
The Dayton Dragons lost 11-1. Box Score
- Edwin Arroyo went 1-3.
- Ruben Ibarra went 1-3 with a walk.
- Austin Hendrick went 1-4 with a solo home run (14).
- Hector Rodriguez went 1-4.
The Daytona Tortugas were postponed
Doubleheader for this makeup game will be Saturday.
8/31 Game Preview
| Team | Record | Time (ET) | Probable | Box Score | Listen | Watch |
| Louisville | 65-61 | 7:35pm | Phillips | Here | Here | Here |
| Chattanooga | 66-55 | 7:35pm | TBA | Here | Here | Here |
| Dayton | 61-61 | 7:05pm | Acuna | Here | Here | Here |
| Daytona | 51-66 | 4:00pm | TBA/TBA | Here | Here | N/A |
| ACL Reds | 28-28 | Season | Complete | Here | N/A | N/A |
| DSL Reds | 28-26 | Season | Complete | Here | N/A | N/A |
Jacob Hurtubise has a .622 OBP in 14 games for the Bats. That’s insane. I’m going to continue to bang the “protect Hurtubise from the Rule 5 draft this offseason” drum. Oh, he also has a 27% walk rate and an 11% K rate. Neither is likely sustainable, obviously, but those are crazy numbers.
Blake Dunn continues to do Blake Dunn things.
Realistically I think the Reds will make a couple trades before that 40 man crunch comes in November to allow guys like Hurtubise to be protected.
Friedl and India a couple that might be on the block, and perhaps others. Reds have too many good CF options coming up, and Friedl a very lackluster 2nd half and below average defense. He’s not the long term answer there.
One more thought – the Bats have 22 games left. Hopefully they can go 10-12 or better and secure a winning season. 9-13 would get them a .500 season.
HI. Is the success of Dunn another indicator as to how hard the MLB draft is? He has succeed expectations. Right? Some guys just “get it” one day and turn the switch on…then the rest is history.
His draft year was the COVID draft when there was only 5 rounds. If there had been a regular draft, he would absolutely have been selected. So in terms of meeting expectations, we shall see. He’s raking in AA, but for me, beating expectations, he needs to continue to rake all the way up the Major leagues. Many players have raked in AA only to not be able to continue that success the further up the ladder they go.
Doug, what’s going on with Antone? I get being cautious but he’s been rehabbing for well over a month now and hasn’t given up a run in his last 7 outings. Is his stuff just not good enough anymore? TIA
Pretty sure yesterday was the second time he’s pitched on back to back days which is what they were probably waiting for. Highly suspect he’s a Sept 1 callup
The fastball certainly isn’t what it used to be. He’s down about 2 MPH from where he was in 2021. Last night he averaged under 94 with his fastball. He’s also throwing a sinker again – a lot more than he’s throwing his 4-seamer.
Thanks Doug, that’s what I suspected. He would have been called up already if the Reds felt he was an improvement over what they already have.He still seems to be effective though given his last 7 scoreless outings. Hopefully he gets the call up. Duarte seems like the guy who would go down but he’s been decent as well…
I have thought the Driveline approach (velocity and spin) is what increased his velocity that got him to the big leagues and is also what created the pressure which blew his previously reconstructed elbow. So, a drop in velocity might be necessary to stay healthy. But who knows whether that will be good enough to pitch effectively in the big leagues. I mentioned previously it looks like his mechanics are less violent.
If we don’t nab a hitter on waivers then its time to move up Hurtubise and/or Dunn. Send down Marte, Senzel, Hopkins etc. Those guys aren’t helping us win at the bat or with the glove.
Dunn gets his hits and just as importantly gets his walks. Teammates facing the same pitcher go 0-5, 1-5 with no walks. Look around, EDC, CES, Marte all good hitters but they are getting out because they can’t lay off the sliders off the plate. Reds need more Dunns and Hurtubise.
There’s such a steep learning curve from minor league to major league pitching. While this will shock people, it’s a guarantee that if Dunn or Hurtubise were to be called up, they too would struggle with major league pitching. Most fans don’t have the patience to allow a player to work through the learning to walk and lay off pitches designed by solid major league pitchers to get them to chase. Some guys never figure it out. I’ll be much more interested in where EDC, CES, Marte, etc. are after about a 1000 mlb at bats, than where they are right now. As for Dunn and Hurtubise, when or if they are called to the majors, then their clock will start for them to learn how to lay off pitches they’ve never quite seen before. The rotations are faster, the breaks are sharper, and the set ups much more deceiving. The difference between AA and major league pitching is astronomical.
Agree Mac. There is a big difference laying off a minor leaguers slider and a big leaguers slider. Barrero is a perfect example of that just like EDC and CES are finding out now. We don’t know yet how Dunn and Hurtubise will react.
True, but Hurtubise has a 15.4 K rate, and a 15.1 BB rate. That’s excellent, and by far the best on the AA team. Granted that’s not a guarantee that his strike zone management will be good on the Reds, but it’s a pretty good indicator.
However after saying that, I’m in no hurry to get Hurtubise up. I think Hurtubise, and Dunn should both be in AAA right now. I guess we’re half way there.
Hurtubise is 4 years older than Elly. How well would Elly hit in AAA in 2027? CES in AAA in 2025?
That said, you don’t see many speedy guys draw walks as consistently as JH. He and Dunn do look like guys that would play above replacement level in mlb right now and wouldn’t consider it a mistake to call them up this year but I just saw about Renfroe and Bader so unlikely.
Both Hurtibise and Dunn have unusual circumstances concerning their age and level of MiLB they’ve reached. I’d be less concerned about age, than their performance for the first 200-300 PAs in AAA. If they put up numbers like this years rookies, they’ll have their MLB opportunity next season, likely before August. The speed and defense gives them a bench spot earlier than most.
Austin Hendrick has put on a power show here the last couple days. Wonder if he is pulling the Ali approach. Go hard the last 30 seconds of a round because that is what the the judges remember.