Louisville got home runs from Henry Ramos and Jose Barrero on Saturday night, while James Free, Allan Cerda, and Quincy McAfee went deep in Chattanooga.
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The Louisville Bats lost 9-2. Box Score
- Stuart Fairchild (rehab) went 0-3 with a strikeout.
- Henry Ramos went 2-4 with a home run (13) and a steal (5).
- Matt Reynolds went 1-4.
- Jose Barrero went 1-4 with a home run (15).
- Eric Yang went 1-3 with a walk.
- Jacob Hurtubise went 1-3 with a steal (39).
- Ryan Nutof threw a shutout inning with a walk and a strikeout.
- Levi Stoudt threw a hitless inning with a walk.
Game Notes
Louisville was being shutout until the top of the 9th inning when they got solo home runs from Henry Ramos and Jose Barrero.
Barrero’s home run gave him 15 with the Bats. He also has 17 steals with the Bats. Those are good numbers for having played in just 73 games.
Henry Ramos extended his hitting streak to seven games. He’s hitting .327/.450/.633 in 14 September games.
Jacob Hurtubise extended his hitting streak to six games. In his 29 games with Louisville he’s hitting .405/.544/.494 with 20 walks and just 10 strikeouts.
Top Pitch Velocity: Eduardo Salazar – 96.1 MPH (foul)
Top Exit Velocity: Henry Ramos – 104.7 MPH (home run)
Furthest Hit Baseball: Jose Barrero – 402 feet (home run)
The Chattanooga Lookouts lost 8-6. Box Score
- Edwin Arroyo went 1-4 with a double and an RBI.
- Quincy McAfee went 1-5 with a home run (14).
- James Free went 1-5 with a home run (17).
- Francisco Urbaez went 1-4 with a walk and a run.
- Mat Nelson went 1-1 with a walk, was hit by 2 pitches, and he scored 2 runs.
- Allan Cerda went 1-4 with a home run (7).
- Jacob Heatherly allowed a run in 2.0 innings with a walk and 5 strikeouts.
- Jayvien Sandridge was charged with an unearned run in 2.0 innings with a walk and 3 strikeouts.
- Braxton Roxby threw a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts.
- Michael Byrne threw a perfect inning.
Game Notes
Edwin Arroyo has an extra-base hit in each of his first three games with the Lookouts.
Quincy McAfee extended his hit streak to 5 games. They’ve all been 1-hit games, but he’s walked three times, homered twice, and tripled during the streak.
James Free has homered in back-to-back games. He’s 9-17 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 2 walks, and a triple in the last four games.
Allan Cerda homered for the second straight night.
Michael Byrne continued to be stingy with giving up runs. He’s given up just one of them in 22.1 innings since August began. In September he’s now thrown 7.0 innings without allowing a hit, walk, or hit batter. An error on Saturday night meant his run hasn’t been a perfect one, but he’s faced just one batter over the minimum during the month.
Top 25 Prospects Rundown
9/17 Game Preview
| Team | Record | Time (ET) | Probable | Box Score | Listen | Watch |
| Louisville | 71-70 | 1:05pm | Richardson | Here | Here | Here |
| Chattanooga | 70-66 | 2:15pm | TBA | Here | Here | Here |
| Dayton | 67-65 | Season | Complete | Here | Here | Here |
| Daytona | 56-72 | Season | Complete | 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 |
I wonder if it would be better to give a chance to Hurtubise in the major team in place of 33-year-old Martini or even Renfroe …
Said the exact same thing a couple days ago….Martini or Renfro for Hurtubise. Martini is a 31yo flash in the pan. Was almost no chance his short success would last once the scouting report gets out on him. He’s already got a negative bWAR. I’d send him down now for Hurtubise.
LOL 33 years old even!
It’d be good to know what you’d be getting in Hurtubise.
The issue is little to no power (see Doug’s reply in the comments a few days ago, https://www.redsminorleagues.com/2023/09/14/cincinnati-reds-minor-league-game-review-september-14-2023/)
His ceiling might be a Brett Butler type singles hitter and left fielder, which, IMO, has decent value. The irony is that Butler was in camp this spring.
With the power issue, though, the risk is ML pitchers would simply knock the bat out of Hurtubise’s hands.
“With the power issue, though, the risk is ML pitchers would simply knock the bat out of Hurtubise’s hands.”
I wouldn’t go that far. His SLG is dramatically up over last year.
2022, .308 SLG
2023, .489 SLG
He’s always had speed, so it’s more than just turning singles into doubles. In his 1st 2 seasons as a pro he had 1 HR, this year he has 7. Now that’s not a power hitter, but he is hitting the ball harder, which makes him a more dangerous hitter.
At some point in 24 Dunn, Hurtubise, and Hinds might be ready to join Benson, Fraley, and Friedl in the Reds OF. That’s not counting the strong possibility of an infielder being permanently moved to the OF. It should be a fun year to see how things develop with the OF.
He power was literally non-existent last year, and he’s still not hitting the ball hard. He went to Driveline last offseason to increase his bat speed, and that’s the more likely reason behind his slugging, being able to barrel up balls and shoot them through the infield and through the gaps. His slugging is just doesn’t match how hard he’s hitting the ball. So, while his ceiling might be a Brett Butler type, the floor of his hit tool is more like Billy Hamilton. Pop ups and weak ground balls. That said, given the success of the Reds’ player development for hitting, there may be more to come. Even a fourth OF would be an asset and have really good value. Given his growth this year, another half year or year at AAA might get him into more in-game power. The club will almost certainly give him a look against ML pitching, given his 2023 and his story.
I agree his floor is low no argument there. I just don’t think his power is as big of an issue as your thinking. There are plenty of guys in AA, and AAA that fire in big time fastballs, and he is doing well down there. It’s the increased command, and off speed stuff the pros have that’s usually the bigger issue for young hitters.
Joe Boyle making his MLB debut today for Oakland starting against SD. Boyle has pitched great in Oakland system since being dealt. Didn’t like his inclusion in the trade for Moll. If he makes it as a legit MLB starter the Moll trade will go down as a very poor deal by Reds. I didn’t like dealing Boyle because he is a stuff pitcher who has been improving his control annually.
Congrats Joe Boyle on the call up with the A’s today.