First thing of note for the day, and it is a big one: The Reds game is on FSN Ohio this afternoon at 3:05pm. Turn it on. DVR it. Do something to find a way to make it happen for you. If you want to check out the entire schedule for TV and Radio, check out Jamie Ramsey’s blog Better Off Red.
Here is how the prospects performed in the game yesterday afternoon:
- Denis Phipps: 1-2 with a double.
- Zack Cozart: 2-3 with a run and a double.
- Didi Gregorius: 0-2.
- Daryl Jones: 1-2.
- Todd Frazier: 0-3 with a run.
- Neftali Soto: 0-2.
- Kristopher Negron: 0-3.
- Donald Lutz: 1-1
- Henry Rodriguez: 1-1 with a walk and a run.
- Tucker Barnhart: 0-2.
Mark Sheldon has an article up on Donald Lutz over at Reds.com.
Most American players have already had 10-15 years of experience at some level before reaching a big league camp. Lutz has only about seven years.
“There are a couple of ways you could look at that,” DeShields said. “He could be behind a little bit, but at the same time, he hasn’t had a lot of bad teaching either. When we got him, he was pretty raw and an open slate. His energy and enthusiasm for the game kind of sets him apart from the other kids. He really likes to play and he’s a very coachable young man.”
This is always a good way to look at it. Professional coaches are the best around, better than anyone a guy has ever had before. But sometimes amateur coaches get bad habits into guys that are hard to break. Inexperience can certainly play into a coaches molding of a player.
Mark Sheldon also has up an article on Neftali Soto over at Reds.com from over the weekend. Here is what Dusty Baker had to say on Soto:
“That’s one reason why you can trade an Alonso when you have [Soto] coming up,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “The guy has tremendous power and he’s getting better. He works hard. He’s an outstanding first baseman. I see him in the weight room every day. He’s come a long way in a short period of time.”
We all know that Dusty isn’t a “stats guy”, and we know he is absolutely a players manager who doesn’t often say a bad thing about a player (and when he does, it really leaves most of us scratching our heads). With that said, the Reds didn’t trade Alonso because they had Soto. They would have done that deal if they had 4 of us playing first base for them in the minors. Hopefully Soto can figure out how to work a few more walks into his game this season and improve his plate discipline. After watching him this year some, I think he had better discipline than his numbers suggest so perhaps the improvements can show up in the numbers.
Tom Nichols started up his Annual Team Preview over at DaytonDragons.com. The first installment takes a look at the catching position. The article looks at Yovan Gonzalez, Nick O’Shea, Danny Vicioso and Rafael Vera with the projected starter being Yovan Gonzalez. I could see the first three guys listed all winding up in Dayton, especially since O’Shea can also play first base and the team has a designated hitter that will help spread out some playing time for all of the guys. Here is what Nichols had to say about Gonzalez:
Last season at Billings, Gonzalez hit .262 with two home runs in 141 at-bats. He threw the ball extremely well from behind the plate, nailing 52 percent of opposing base stealers to easily lead the league (the Pioneer League average was 31 percent). Gonzalez is known as a very solid defensive catcher and will have the opportunity to start to build some credibility with the Dragons in his first year in a full-season league in 2012. He could be a similar player to what Dragons fans saw from Barnhart in 2011, which would be a good thing. Gonzalez is a right-handed batter.
Go read the article for some more information on each guy.
Hal McCoy thinks that Robert Stephenson will begin the season with the Dayton Dragons. There isn’t much insight as to why he believes that, in fact there is none, but he did put it out there. I do want to note that while I am in agreement with him, I also think that he will begin the year in extended spring training and will make his way to Dayton at some point in May to have him avoid the normally cold April that the Midwest League brings as well as a way to keep his innings down a little bit and control his limit.