The Reds made a few signings over the last few weeks.
Andrew Brackman is officially a Red now.
The Reds also signed PJ Phillips, he is Brandon’s younger brother. He is a former 2nd round draft pick of the Angels (2005), so he at least had tools at one point. He has severe plate discipline issues though that have held him back from using those tools on the offensive side of things. He had 551 career strikeouts to just 103 walks. On the bright side, he did have 31 strikeouts and 10 walks in 97 plate appearances last season. Perhaps something began to click. He will be 25 next season and is probably due to start in A+ or AA.
The Reds also signed catcher Brian Peacock, who has spent the last 5 seasons in A+ Potomac. He looks to be a backup minor league catcher who was added for some depth. He is a career .238/.306/.376 hitter in the minors. He did throw an inning last year as a pitcher, so perhaps he could be one of those converted to pitchers guys. Seems unlikely, but you never know.
Michael Griffin signed with the Reds. He has been with the team since they drafted him but was a free agent.
Jonathan Mayo updated the MLB.com Reds Top 10 prospects list for guys after the trades. Of course he did list Juan Francisco, who is no longer a prospect. Todd Frazier in the top 5 but Robert Stephenson not in the top 10 is awful confusing.
The guys on the Dayton Dragons roster on April 27th will get to experience something they may not get to for a few more years or even ever again. The Dragons will play a road game in Miller Park against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
It was brought up yesterday that after the trades I should add to the Top 25 prospects. I am not going to do write ups for each guy right now, as I am about as deep into working on the 2012 Prospect Guide as I can be, but here are the next #21-25 prospects who have replaced Yasmani Grandal, Yonder Alonso, Dave Sappelt, Brad Boxberger and Ronald Torreyes:
21. Donnie Joseph – LHP
22. Junior Arias – 3B
23. Juan Duran – OF
24. Pedro Villarreal – RHP
25. Nick Christiani – RHP