Minor League Thread

[volzok]

Szymanski ready to put injuries in his past
By Marc Katz
Dayton Daily News

SARASOTA, Fla. | — Heads turned at the first sound, then came the low rumbling of "Wows" when B.J. Szymanski's long home run crashed off the aluminum batting cage roof more than 400 feet away.

The first sound was the crack of the bat on Diamond 4 behind Ed Smith Stadium at the Reds' spring training complex. The second sound came complete with a dent in the roof in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor-leaguers.

It was the kind of power Szymanski, 23, showed last season for the Class A Midwest League Dayton Dragons, which is where he'll also start this season. That's only because 2004's second-round draft pick has had limited playing time his first two seasons because of injuries. He pulled a quad during his rookie year at Billings and played in only 22 games. Last year he was reduced to 50 games at Dayton, sitting out two months with a freak knee injury and another month after running into the center field wall to make a catch and breaking a bone in the little finger of his left hand.

He still hit three homers at Billings and 10 in Dayton, including two in the same game the day he returned from the first injury.

"Hopefully, I can accomplish the same things," Szymanski said Thursday. "I'd like to stay out of the training room if I can."

Szymanski played four games for the Dragons, then came up lame warming up for the home opener at Fifth Third Field. He was doing high knee bends when a bone chip from years before came loose and locked up his knee.

The 6-foot-5 Szymanski, a former football receiver, wanted to begin his third season at a higher level than "low" A, but understands the need to get to the plate a few more times.

He would have played more in the postseason instructional league, but opted instead to finish his degree work at Princeton in psychology and pre-med.

"It's always an option," Szymanski said, "if baseball doesn't work out."

Dragons tales

• Bobby Mosby followed Szymanski with a homer Thursday as the Dragons scored three runs in the first inning. However, the team eventually lost 12-3.

• Speaking of homers, Terrence Long, recently acquired from the Royals but expected to begin the season at Class AAA Louisville, was taking batting practice with some Class A players when he sent a long homer into the lunch area behind the right-field fence on Field 4.

A second before the ball crashed into a picnic table about an inch from where prospect Joey Votto was sitting, one of the outfielders yelled, "Look out." The warning was way too late, but at least no one was hurt. Votto's water bottle turned over onto the Sports Illustrated he was reading, though.

• Stressing fundamentals more, the Reds are spending more time on drills in the minors. Nearly an hour was used Thursday morning on the 27-out drill, where coaches call out situations, hit the ball and watch the fielders make the plays.

"You try to get to 27 outs before making a mistake," said Freddie Benavides, the organization's infield coordinator and a former big leaguer and manager of the Dragons in 2000. "If you make a mistake, it goes back to zero.

"We do this early in spring training and sometimes during the season.

It's what I did that night in Dayton when I kept the players after the game on a Saturday night. It teaches the players to think for themselves."

[redsrbetter]

per rotoworld:

Reds released LHP Tommy Phelps.
Phelps, 32, was reassigned to minor league camp on March 20. He gave up four runs in five innings this spring. Mar. 31 - 3:20 pm

I wonder where he is going to play?

[homerun21]

Baseball America on Homer Bailey:

excerpt from BAs book:

"Bailey has front of the rotation stuff. He's armed with 2 plus pitches (a 92-94mph fastball that touches 96-97 with good life, and a hard 12-6 curve with potential to be a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale). He pounds the bottom of the strike zone and usually hits his spots. His control will be another plus. Though he did issue more than his share of walks in 05, the Reds attribute that to thier insistence that he work on his secondary pitches.

His changeup always will lag behind his 2 knockout pitches. It is presently a below average pitch with just a little sink. He did make a point to throw it more in 05 and did a better job delivering it with the same arm speed he uses with his fastball. Bailey doesn't always stay on top of his curveball. He also needs to improve on his consistency and show he can pitch effectively on nights when he doesn't have his best stuff."

[volzok]

Bats' pitching staff has a generation gap
Young rotation and a veteran bullpen
By Brian Bennett The Courier-Journal

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Louisville Bats' pitching staff looks kind of like a school bus. The youngsters are up front, and the experienced guys are in the back.

The Bats expect to feature a rotation of five pitchers 25 or younger. The bullpen will be full of veterans, with the notable exception of 23-year-old Ryan Wagner, who was optioned down from Cincinnati yesterday. But since Wagner spent most of the past three seasons with the Reds, he can be considered a veteran as well.

"Our starters are young but very good," manager Rick Sweet said. "And everyone in the bullpen has had success at Triple-A."

Here's a closer look at the staff, starting with the starters:

Justin Germano will get the opening-day start at Ottawa on Thursday.

The 23-year-old right-hander arrived in the Joe Randa trade last July and went 3-2 with a 4.01 ERA in eight starts for the Bats. He doesn't have one dominant pitch but owns great command of four pitches and is nearly a finished product in terms of development.

"I love him," Bats pitching coach Mario Soto said. "I thought he would be the fifth starter for the Reds until they got (Bronson) Arroyo. The guy can pitch."

The Reds think they got a steal when they claimed Michael Gosling off waivers from Arizona in February. He's 25 and left-handed, and though he struggled in relief for the Diamondbacks last year, he posted a 3.33 ERA in five late-season starts.

"I've just got to get a little more consistent," he said. "Toward the end of spring training here I feel I've been throwing the ball better. It's up to me just to go to Louisville and put up good numbers."

click here for the rest

[volzok]

Reds counting on Bruce to power his way to Cincinnati
By Marc Katz Dayton Daily News

DAYTON | Jay Bruce wants to be treated like any other Reds prospect, but that's probably impossible.

Bruce was the franchise's No. 1 pick in last summer's first-year player draft, and the only guy who stands in front of him on the organization's list of top prospects is pitcher Homer Bailey, the No. 1 pick in 2004.

"My goal is to be treated like anybody else," Bruce said during his first spring training. "I try to treat everybody like I want to be treated."

He will be treated just fine if he hits the way the Reds think he can. Scheduled to open the season in center field for the Class A Midwest League Dayton Dragons, Bruce has already exceeded expectations in just over a year.

A Beaumont, Texas, native, Bruce was in the right state to be noticed, but not the right town. As a high schooler, he received notice, but not like some of the outfielders in high-profile Houston.

Through his junior year, Bruce was considered a 3-5 round draft choice — good, but not among the best. Several of those other outfielders, just from Texas, were considered better players.

"I don't know what happened to change their mind," said Bruce, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound left-hander who turns 19 today. "I felt like I was finally noticed."

Jimmy Gonzales, one of the Reds' amateur scout cross-checkers, said Bruce, "just got more physical. He had better strength. He was one of those guys on the bubble, and he just got better. He played in a select league in Houston over the summer and he performed well, with confidence."

Somehow, Bruce emerged from the pack and was the 12th player drafted.

"It's kind of unreal," Bruce said. "It was awesome. When you're young, you talk to your friends about being taken No. 1. I don't know what happened to change their mind."

Because he was so young — only 18 — Bruce was sent to the GCL Reds in Sarasota for his first pro experience. He hit .270 in 37 games with five homers and 25 RBIs in only 122 at-bats. He was moved to Billings, another rookie team, in Montana.

Again Bruce showed power with nine homers and 38 RBIs in 70 at-bats over 17 games while hitting .257.

Comparatively, Austin Kearns hit one homer as an 18-year-old at Billings in 1998 and 13 the next season at Rockford before that Class A team moved to Dayton. Adam Dunn, at approximately the same ages, hit four homers at Billings in 1998 and 11 at Rockford the next season.

Of course, last season Bruce was under the take-a-strike edict handed down by then-Reds GM Dan O'Brien. That's off now, and Bruce said he wasn't scarred by the ordeal.

"I didn't have an opinion," Bruce said. "I was just coming out of high school where you see it and hit it. But taking a strike helped me as a hitter because I went deeper in the counts. My biggest goal is to play within myself and play well."

The scouts, coaches and other officials in the Reds department of player development say all that will happen.

[volzok]

I am really looking forward to seeing what some of the guys in the minors will do this season. I will be posting the box scores when I get home from work about 2 am ET. Hopefully we will have several things to talk about this season. It would also be nice to get a pleasant surprise or two like we got with Denorfia last year.

I liked the article about Bruce and I really look forward to seeing what he does this year. I know comparsions are stupid, but it was interesting to see where Kearns and Dunn were at the same point. I would love to see Bruce dominate and at least get to Sarasota this season.

[redsrbetter]

I cannot wait to see what a lot of these guys can do. It is so fun to watch an organization grow. The minor league season will say a lot about the future of this organization. We need some guys to really step up and move through the ranks.

I am excited!

[volzok]

I am going to post the lineups today just to remind/point out who is playing for where:

Louisville lost today 4-1
Box score

Hopper CF
Sanchez LF
Gutierrez 1B
Stratton DH
Snyder 3B
Buchanan RF
Bannon SS
Sardinha C
Menechino 2B

Bannon went 1-3 with a solo HR
Germano got the loss going 4.1 inn, 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 BB, 3 K
Wagner pitched 1 inn, 2 hits, 1 run
Shackelford and Standridge both had shutout performances

[volzok]

Chattanooga got shutout 2-0
Box score

Dickerson CF
Herr 3B
Votto 1B
Colina 2B
Crozier LF
Asadoorian RF
Perez C
Machado SS

Votto went 1-4
Perez went 1-3 with a walk and a K
Dumatrait was fantastic again going 6 inn, 1 hit, 0 BB, 5 K. It probably wont be long before we see him in Louisville.

[volzok]

Sarasota lost 7-3
Box score

Roberts CF
Anderson 2B
Rosales SS
Schramek 3B
Garthwaite DH
Strait RF
Purdom C
Hernandez 1B
Gentry LF

Rosales went 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI
Bailey got the loss going 4.2 inn, 5 hits, 5 runs, 2 earned, 0 BB, 5 K

[volzok]

Dayton makes it a losing day for the Reds minors falling 7-5
Box score

Griffin 2B
Janish SS
Bruce CF
Szymanski RF
Mosby 1B
Cabrera LF
Tatum C
Roberts DH
Reininger 3B

Bruce went 2-5 with a double, a stolen base and a K
Griffin went 3-5 with 2 runs, a double, 2 triples, 3 RBI and a K
Janish went 2-4 with 2 RBI and a K
Szymanski went 0-5 with 2 K

[volzok]

Szymanski serves as mentor to Bruce
Reds' outfield prospects learning from each other
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com

DAYTON, Ohio -- If any reminder was needed that Jay Bruce turned 19 this week, the sight of him dancing on the tarp around home plate during batting practice Thursday afternoon gave testimony to his youth.

As "Stacy's Mom" blared over the loudspeaker at Fifth Third Field, Bruce shook his hips, sang along and bounced his batting helmet like a basketball. Dayton's starting center fielder proceeded to step into the batter's box and rock a few balls off the center field fence, some 400 feet away.

If Bruce, Cincinnati's first pick in last year's draft, was nervous as he prepared for his full-season debut against South Bend, he was shaking it off as easily as he moved to the music. The idea that he'll be taking over for his idol, Ken Griffey Jr., someday at The Great American Ballpark isn't all that far-fetched. After all, the Reds did make him the 12th overall pick and with such a pedigree comes great expectations.

In a stark contrast to Bruce, B.J. Szymanski -- Dayton's other prized outfielder -- was a bit more composed Thursday afternoon, not as interested in the music as he was with sizing up hitting coach Alonzo Powell, who was throwing batting practice. The expectations placed on Szymanski (second round, 2004) are a bit different but no less great as he begins his third season with the Reds.

click here for the rest

[volzok]

Here is a pretty decent article about Alex Sanchez and his "comeback" attempt in the Louisville Courier-Journal. Click here if you want to read it.

[volzok]

Well, I am finding all kinds of articles tonight. Hope this isnt overload. But then again, if its too much, just dont read it. This one is about the Lookouts CF Chris Dickerson, who is the cousin of Eric Dickerson. It is from the Chattanooga Free Times Press. Click the title for the rest.

Dickerson rated one of the best
By David Paschall Staff Writer

Being related to a famous professional athlete has its perks, unless you’re trying to make your own name athletically.

Chattanooga Lookouts center fielder Chris Dickerson is a cousin of Eric Dickerson, the Hall of Fame running back who set the NFL’s single-season rushing record in 1984 with 2,105 yards as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. By the time Eric’s career was winding down in the early 1990s, Chris already had his fill of comparisons.

"When I was in elementary school, that’s when it started," Dickerson said. "Every team we played against was like, ‘Little Eric. Little Eric.’ Eve r since I started playing sports, people automatically made the assumption I had to play football. It bugged me then, and I guess it still bugs me. I want to be my own person."

Though not as known as his 45-year-old cousin, the 23-year-old Dickerson is plenty prominent with Cincinnati Reds officials. The 6-foot-3, 226-pounder entered his first Double-A season, which began Thursday night in Jacksonville, rated by Baseball America as the organization’s top athlete.

[redsrbetter]

Not a good job from Wags last night. If he is going to want to be called up he is going to have to do far better than that.

Even though Bailey got the loss, he only gave up 2 earned runs. The defense obviously lossed it for him.

Great to see another good performance by Dumatrait. Roslaes is still playing well and our young outfielder Bruce isn't doing bad either.

Mostly good even though they all lossed.

BTW, very nice job on the updates again this season volzok! Keep it up bro! +rep