Votto, ready to make a run at another MVP
It is May the 16th and very early in the MLB Season, but the Reds have already had alot of ups and downs. We are 35 games into the season so far and the Reds are 18-17 and 2.5 games behind the first place Cardinals. This is not where I and alot of other Reds fans expected them to be at this point in the season, but they are still in striking distance and we have a long way to go in the season. I thought once the Cardinals let Albert Pujols go to the Angels in free agency that the Reds were clearly the team to beat in their division, but the Cardinals have once again proved me wrong but I can’t wait to see what the standings look like in October.
Their have been some highlights and lowlights so far this season. We will take a look at the highlights first. If your talking about the Reds you have to start with Joey Votto. He is by far their most consistent player he is batting .311 with a .465 on base percentage( Yes that’s right a .465 on base percentage, that means he is pretty much getting on base 1 out of every 2 at bats) with 5 home runs, 16 doubles, 24 RBIs, 34 walks to only 29 strikeouts ( Yes he has more walks than strikeouts). Jay Bruce has also been great so far this year he is hitting .300 with 10 bombs and 26 RBIs. Catcher Ryan Hanigan has been very solid this year hitting .311 even though he has been splitting time with young phenom catcher Devin Mesoraco. Brandon Phillips is only hitting .252 so far this year but he makes up for it by saving runs on defense, I look for him to turn it up soon and be hitting between .280 to .300 at the end of the season. SS Zack Cozart is coming along and even though he is only hitting .246 right now everytime I turn on a game he is on base. Also some pitchers have also stepped up so far this season Johnny Cueto has a 4-1 record with a slim 1.89 ERA and the bullpen has been very good Aroldis Chapman has been making batters look silly so far this year and sports a 0.00 ERA( this is why I think he should be in the starting rotation ). Big Man Logan Ondrusek also has a 0.00 ERA coming out of the bullpen and has looked dominant all year.
Now it’s time to look at some reds that have been struggling early in the season. The obvious person to start with is Scott Rolen, Never in my life did I ever think I would want Edwin Encarnacion back on the Reds but Edwin is mashing right now for the Blue Jays and Rolen is hitting .174 and is back on the DL. The one good thing about this is young third baseman Todd Frazier is getting more playing time and starting to show what he can do, I do hope that Rolen get’s better and is able to come back healthy because the Reds will need him later in the year when they are fighting for a playoff spot. Another player that has not been as good as advertised is Mat Latos. Was I the only Reds fan that was mad when the Reds gave up alot of top prospects for a guy that pitched for the padres and had good numbers. Every pitcher for the Padres has good numbers look at what Volquez is doing for them this year their ballpark is one of the biggest in the league. I knew that when he came to a smaller park like Cincinnati’s his numbers would go up some, but I hope he settles in and gets used to his new surroundings and starts pitching like the Reds expected him to when they gave up the farm to get him.
Speaking of the farm, below are 3 players in the Red’s minor league system that I think you should keep an eye on for the future. All 3 of them play for the Red’s high A ball team the Bakersfield Blaze which is managed by former Big Red Machine member Ken Griffey Sr.
Billy Hamilton
The first prospect to watch is Billy Hamilton a 21 year old burner that has 35 stolen bases in 35 games so far this year. He is also hitting .345 with a .413 OBP. He is a great athlete that signed a letter of intent to play football at Miss. St. before choosing to play baseball. He is playing SS right now but some scouts see him as a second baseman at the pro level. I think they might try to move him to the outfield to get him up to the pros quicker because he would be a great leadoff hitter and the Reds need one Drew Stubbs has great speed but never gets to use it because he never gets on base. I think he will be at the pro level within the next couple of years.
Donald Lutz
The next prospect is Donald Lutz and he has a power bat. He is 23 years old and in 38 games so far this season he is hitting .313 with a .354 OBP and 11 Home Runs and 34 RBIs. The only bad thing for Lutz is that he plays first base and the Reds have a guy named Joey Votto playing there so maybe he can learn how to play another position to get to the pro level because the Reds would love to have that power bat in the lineup in the future.
Tony Cingrani
The last prospect to keep an eye on is Pitcher Tony Cingrani who was a 3rd round pick by the Reds in last year’s draft. He is a college pitcher that played at Rice which is a college baseball powerhouse. So far this year he has started 7 games and pitched 40 innings. He has a 0.68 ERA with 53 strikeouts and only 10 walks. He is 22 years old and since he did pitch in college hopefully they can put him on the fast track to the Majors because the back end of the rotation has been very inconsistent so far this year.
That is all the info I have for this Reds Roundup so until the next Roundup, Go Reds.
