The Cincinnati Reds and Pensacola Blue Wahoos had three players, all pitchers, named to the Southern League Top 20 Prospects list earlier today.
Robert Stephenson came in at #4 on the list and the top pitcher in the league. Stephenson was one of the youngest players in the league, which worked in his favor, but he also had his struggles as he had a high walk rate and struggled some in other areas. He led the league in strikeouts with 140 in 136.2 innings. Only two other pitchers in the league with 100 strikeouts had fewer innings, so he was missing bats at a higher rate than anyone else in the league.
| Player | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Robert Stephenson | 136.2 | 114 | 18 | 74 | 140 | 4.74 | 1.38 |
Michael Lorenzen was the second Red to make the list and he came in at #12. He was very consistent for the Blue Wahoos. He made 24 starts on the year for Pensacola and posted a 3.13 ERA in 120.2 innings. Three quality pitches, good numbers and his groundball rates placed him on the list. He succeeded in keeping the ball in the park, allowing just nine homers on the season in 120.2 innings. That also helped keep his ERA low, as did his 44 walks.
| Player | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Michael Loreznen | 120.2 | 112 | 9 | 44 | 84 | 3.13 | 1.29 |
The third pitcher to make the list from Pensacola was Ben Lively. The right hander came in at #20, wrapping up the list. He had some starts where he struggled, particularly at home, his overall numbers were good in the league after getting a promotion from Bakersfield at the end of the first half. The scouting report at Baseball America notes his deception playing a big role into his success with a fastball that doesn’t blow guys away with velocity. His stats below are only from his time in Pensacola.
| Player | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Ben Lively | 72.0 | 60 | 7 | 36 | 76 | 3.88 | 1.33 |
There were several players who didn’t make the list who I thought had a chance. Yorman Rodriguez was pretty darn good outside of May in the league and was among the youngest players in the league. Kyle Waldrop had a strong second half with Pensacola, hitting .315/.359/.517 for the Blue Wahoos. Jon Moscot posted a 3.13 ERA over 149.1 innings as one of the younger pitchers in the league. There are 10 teams in the league and only 20 spots available.
The chat has not taken place yet and you will need to be a subscriber to Baseball America to read it, but if there are some interesting notes about Reds players I will be sure to mention them here.