The Cincinnati Reds top prospect has been on the injured list for nearly a month. Alfredo Duno had to exit the game in Birmingham early after running out a groundball on July 29th. He’s been on the injured list ever since as he recovered. Today he was activated in Chattanooga as the Lookouts are set to open up a home series against the Columbus Clingstones.
Duno had been hitting well with Chattanooga before the injury. Called up on the final day of June, the Venezuelan born catcher had played in 18 games with the Lookouts and was hitting .288/.397/.500 with eight extra-base hits, 12 walks, and 13 strikeouts. It seemed that he had barely skipped a beat from his time with the High-A Dayton Dragons in the first half of the season that saw him post a line of .260/.390/.512 with 29 extra-base hits.
The Reds farm system had more than a few roster moves on Tuesday involving some of their top prospect. Carlos Jorge, the #6 rated prospect in the system was activated from the injured list in Triple-A. The outfielder hasn’t played since he went 2-2 on August 1st, with the final hit being the one in which he injured himself on while beating out a hit. Jorge had hit .330 in the first half with Double-A before moving up to join the Bats in late June. Over his 23 games with Louisville before landing on the IL he had hit .267.
Right-handed pitcher and #25 rated prospect Mason Morris was promoted from Single-A Daytona to High-A Dayton. He had pitched in 21 games for the Tortugas with a 5.54 ERA in his 92.2 innings. Over his last four games he had thrown 21.1 innings and given up eight earned runs (3.38 ERA).
While Daytona is losing a starting pitcher with the promotion of Morris, they are also losing a starting pitcher in Aaron Watson, who is the #8 prospect in the organization. At least for now. Watson was placed on the development list with the Tortugas. That means he’s eligible to travel, practice, and be in the dugout with the team but is not eligible to play in games while on the list. There’s no set time for how long one has to be on the list, but the Tortugas only have 12 regular season games remaining this year. They are currently leading their division and could make the playoffs.
In Dayton the Dragons are losing pitcher Ovis Portes and Mason Neville to the injured list. Portes left his outing on Sunday after throwing the second pitch to the second hitter he faced. He didn’t even remain on the mound to wait for a mound visit as he walked towards the dugout as the manager and trainer were heading out there. Neville exited the game on August 19th when he was playing in right field and he hasn’t playing since.
And, as the announcer in the Dragons’ game said, “Damian Ruiz, my goodness.”