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    Highlights of Christian Roa, Rece Hinds in the AFL

    Doug Gray 10

    The Glendale Desert Dogs did not play on Wednesday out in the Arizona Fall League, getting the day off. They’ll return to the field on Thursday night. But on Tuesday they played a night game at Salt River where they have the Hawkeye system set up, providing us with both data and video that we don’t usually get as only Salt River’s home field spits out the data to the public realm.

    Christian Roa started the game and he rebounded well after a tough first outing (1IP, 5H, 6ER, 2BB, 2K). This time out the right-hander threw 3.0 shutout innings on two hits and two walks while striking out three batters.

    On the night his fastball worked between 90.3 and 95.3 MPH. Funny enough, both of those fastballs were pitches that were swung on and missed. He was also throwing a curveball in the mid-to-upper 70’s, a change up in the 84-85 MPH range, and a slider/cutter in the 83-86 MPH range. The game was in Salt River, which has the Hawkeye system set up and that means additional statcast data and video. I grabbed all of the swinging strikes that Roa had in his three innings and put them together in video form for your viewing pleasure.

    Rece Hinds was the only position player for the Reds to take part in the game. He finished 2-7 with three strikeouts. His first hit of the game was on a 105 MPH. Later on he would line out to center at 111 MPH.

    Through the first six games he’s played in out in Arizona, Rece Hinds is hitting .250/.323/.464 with four extra-base hits, six runs, and a stolen base.

    Mexican Winter League

    The Mexican Winter League began on Tuesday night. Not every team in the league was in action and only three players from the Reds organization are currently listed on rosters – Alejo Lopez, Isiah Gilliam, and Daniel Duarte.

    Gilliam was the only guy who played on the night and he finished 1-3. The games on Wednesday night were still taking place as of midnight, so the results will have to wait for the next update.

    Saturday will be the start of the Dominican Winter League. Things get started in the Venezuelan Winter League on October 22nd. Then they’ll get started in Puerto Rico on November 4th. Rosters aren’t set for any of those leagues just yet.

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    10 Responses

    2. Roa is a little too herky jerky….kinda like Hunter Greene early on…..doesn’t lend itself to repeatability. Hopefully it will smooth out because the stuff is there.

    3. A fairly disappointing start by Hinds, McLain and Marte. In a league where hitters are thriving these three are not.

      Of the 16 hitters for Glendale Hinds ranks 10th in OPS (.787), McLain ranks 13th (.675) and Marte ranks 15th (.544).

      The team has walked 60 times and struck out 64 times. Every player except Rece Hinds has a K/BB ratio under 2. Hinds has a 4.0 K/BB ratio (12 K, 3 BB). Hinds has a 38.7% K%. Everyone else on the team is under 30%.

      1. While there is no question that his strikeout rate is too high, Hinds is an outlier. Going into Arizona, he had 527 PAs in organized ball after being drafted in 2019. He got 10 PAs at age 18 in 2019 before being drafted, then missed the Covid year entirely. In 2021 at age 20, he got hurt again and had 226 PAs, but his strikeout rate at Daytona was only 27%.

        They bumped him to High A and then AA this year, despite his having only 236 PAs overall, including some rehab time in the Complex league. His K-rate spiked this year, but he continues to hit the ball very hard when he connects. You can make the case that he played a level higher than he should have last year, especially given that he had yet another injury this year (broken hamate bone).

        Hinds turned 22 in September, so he has time to become what the Reds had hoped for when he was drafted. He is about 600-800 PAs behind the optimum for a guy drafted 3.5 seasons ago. It will be a challenge for the development people, but he was ideal for Arizona this year, where he can get a lot of individual attention from good hitting coaches. In Arizona, he has hit several balls very hard to right-center, which is always a good sign.

        1. They want Hinds to hurry up and slow down. Given the time missed from his injuries and the Covid year, he’s 22 and needs a good, full, healthy year. That said, the Reds need to give him a full year at A+ or AA with no rushing and everyday play at one position and 500+ PAs. If he really lights it up, then AAA and MLB ETA in mid-2024. If he progresses nicely, later 2024. That still allows slower development and age 25 ETA.

          Plenty of talent to properly work with.

        2. High risk, high reward. In this years draft, the TV crew was still referencing Hinds’ power when making comps to 2022 draftees.

      2. Marte, for one, has to be pretty physically and mentally fatigued. His life was turned upside down with the deadline trade and a move cross country to Dayton. At the seasons end he travelled to Germany to play with Team Spain in the WBC qualifier. Now he travels across the world again to Arizona. Travel alone has to be exhausting.

        Don’t forget with Hinds there was hamate bone surgery in the middle of the season.

        1. Very true. Marte has gone from Stockton, CA to Everett, WA to Dayton, OH from the DR before Germany and now Glendale, AZ in just about a year. He’s 20.

    4. Roa’s 90 mph pitch looked like a mistake change up rather than a fastball. Looked like a frisbee.

      1. I pulled the rosters on Opening Day, but prior to the games taking place. It’s possible (and seemingly likely at this point) that some teams had not updated their rosters for the current season because I did go double check and neither of those guys are on a current roster.

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