Comments on: Reds Top Prospects List – Baseball America

By: Wayne

Wayne — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:11:17 +0000

Theo Bowe is from a very small town in Delaware where no one throws 90 mph. Just give him a chance, they compare him to pierre… and he’s a great kid

By: Ken Geib

Ken Geib — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:15:07 +0000

The arguments for and against Heisey may have merits on either side but the one thing that Heisey is more than anything else is a true competitor and a winner. You can bank on Heisey playing in the Major Leagues and hopefully the Reds will give him the chance to do it with them.

By: Doug Gray

Doug Gray — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:28:10 +0000

GregD: @David: Some will make a clear case for being promoted to the major league level, some will bust (or play their way into a bench/backup role), get injured, or get traded.Like the Barry Larkin vs. Kurt Stillwell dilemna of the 1980’s, if multiple players make the strong case to being major-leauge ready, we hope the front office makes the right decision again!

If the decision was as easy as that one should have been, then it will be difficult to screw it up. Scouts liked both guys a lot. One guy was actually doing something on the field while one guy was hitting like Willy Taveras (slight exageration). The Reds wound up keeping the guy who showed he could perform on both sides of the ball.

By: Doug Gray

Doug Gray — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:24:05 +0000

GreatRedLegsFan: Doug, what do you think will be the future role of Juan Francisco: a)LF, b)3B, c)Utility or d)Trade chip. In my opinion, there’s no sense to move him to LF having an all-OF positions-player like Heisey coming up and in order to take over 3B he’d have to wait until 2012, at least. Furthermore, Frazier is more likely to pursue an IF position sooner than him. So, any thoughts?

I don't see the Reds trading him. I think he will be the Reds left fielder or third baseman for a while. They love his power and his plate discipline is showing signs (to the eye at least, although he does have 13 walks in his last 118 PA - on pace for 65 over a full season) of coming around some. Heisey is a guy who doesn't seem to do anything good enough to hold back Francisco is things are going well for him.

By: Doug Gray

Doug Gray — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:20:20 +0000

David: Doug – Where would you grade Stewart and Roenicke in this group?

I would have had Stewart at #2 behind Alonso and ahead of Frazier at #3. Roenicke wouldn't have made the list.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:21:45 +0000

Heisey is really struggling lately in AFL and been strike out a ton. I feel that he would be a very streaky hitter with an .240- .250 avg in the majors.

By: wanderinredsfan

wanderinredsfan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:11:23 +0000

@David: Look, I understand everyone's admiration of Heisey, but he is likely not an integral part to the Reds' future. You have to ask yourself one question: Which LF/1st-base combination is most likely to make the Reds the most competitive? Is it Heisey/Votto, or is it Votto/Alonso? I go with the latter, and I think it is the most wise decision. Heisey could be a great 4th outfielder, but I think it's time we start thinking about Votto in LF. Votto's not really a very good first baseman defensively, anyways. Of course, like GregD points out, not all of these guys' performance is going to translate at the big league level. This is exactly the reason why our depth in AAA bodes well for building the core of this team over the next couple of seasons. If anything is a problem, it's the fact that we don't have enough high-ceiling depth at key positions in AA/AAA. We could use a top-tier prospect at catcher, shortstop, and starting pitcher to help round out the field.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:40:02 +0000

I don’t see the problem with rating guys who don’t have pro-ball experience. You rate a players potential. Leake dominated college. With his stuff, make-up, and barring injury, this guy will be very good. Do doubt he has more potential than Wood or Maloney.

By: GregD

GregD — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:13:56 +0000

@David: Some will make a clear case for being promoted to the major league level, some will bust (or play their way into a bench/backup role), get injured, or get traded. Like the Barry Larkin vs. Kurt Stillwell dilemna of the 1980's, if multiple players make the strong case to being major-leauge ready, we hope the front office makes the right decision again!

By: GregD

GregD — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:09:31 +0000

He’s injured and pulled out of the rest of the AFL season. Doug reported that it was a bone spur in the hand, but I haven’t heard that it will affect his readiness to play in spring training.

By: David

David — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:04:12 +0000

@GregD: I agree it's a good problem to have. However, you can't play all these guys at the big league level. Even if Francisco marinates at AAA until 2011 when Rolen's contract expires, the team trades Phillips to make room for Frazier, and Heisey slots in at LF, Alonso is still not playing. The guy's only 22. Would Alonso stay in AAA until Votto is 29 and the team moves on? I believe his contract would prohibit that, no?

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:15:06 +0000

Does anyone know what happened to Cozart in the AFL? is he injured. I haven’t heard anything and was curious.

By: GreatRedLegsFan

GreatRedLegsFan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:06:49 +0000

Doug, what do you think will be the future role of Juan Francisco: a)LF, b)3B, c)Utility or d)Trade chip. In my opinion, there’s no sense to move him to LF having an all-OF positions-player like Heisey coming up and in order to take over 3B he’d have to wait until 2012, at least. Furthermore, Frazier is more likely to pursue an IF position sooner than him. So, any thoughts?

By: Alan Horn

Alan Horn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:13:23 +0000

Travis G.: Again, those are nice problems to have.Seems unlikely that all of Frazier, Alonso, Francisco, Valaika and Cozart will succeed at the ML level, but even if only half of them earn a spot on the 25-man, you’d end up with two or three cost-controlled big leaguers. Not too shabby, especially when you’ve already got Votto and Bruce.

I agree. By July we should have clearer picture barring injuries.

By: Travis G.

Travis G. — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:37:58 +0000

Again, those are nice problems to have.

Seems unlikely that all of Frazier, Alonso, Francisco, Valaika and Cozart will succeed at the ML level, but even if only half of them earn a spot on the 25-man, you’d end up with two or three cost-controlled big leaguers. Not too shabby, especially when you’ve already got Votto and Bruce.