Farmers Only: We're running out of room on the Travis Wood bandwagon

by BK on Jun 9, 2009 7:00 AM EDT in Farmers only

First, a little recap of the notable performances from over the weekend:

Daniel Dorn was 3-for-4 with a HR on Saturday.
Ben Jukich and Josh Roenicke combined for 3 perfect innings of relief on Saturday.
Homer Bailey pitched 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball, giving up 7 hits and striking out 6 on Sunday.
Drew Sutton was 3-for-4 with two doubles on Sunday.
Drew Stubbs was 3-for-5 on Sunday.
Zach Stewart won his 3rd game on Saturday, giving up 1 run on 2 hits in 6 innings of work, while striking out 8. His ERA is 0.39 in AA so far. He also drove in a run.
Zachary Cozart hit his 5th HR of the year on Saturday.
Travis Wood pitched a 3-hit shutout, striking out 11 on Sunday.
Todd Frazier and Zach Cozart both had two hits, including homers on Sunday.
Devin Mesoraco had a HR and 3 RBI on Saturday.
Jason Bour was 2-for-4 with a 3-run HR on Sunday.
Lance Janke gave up 1 run in 7 innings on Saturday.
Andrew Bowman pitched 5 innings of 1-hit ball, striking out 7 on Sunday.

And now, Monday's games:

Louisville beat Lehigh Valley 8-5 as the offense showed up in a big way. Wes Bankston was 3-for-4 with two doubles, and Kevin Barker hit his 7th HR of the season to lead the charge. Justin Lehr used the nice run support to earn his 7th win of the season, and Josh Roenicke pitched a hitless 9th for his 9th save. Up next: No starter listed for the Bats as they take on Lehigh Valley at 7:05, but it should be Sam LeCure.
Jordan Smith had his first rough outing of the year, getting his first loss as Carolina lost to Jacksonville 6-4. Smith gave up 5 runs (only 2 earned) in 5 2/3 innings. Chris Heisey was 1-for-2 with a walk before being ejected in the bottom of the 6th. Tough to tell what happened by looking at the box score, but somehow two runs scored on a sac fly to Heisey, and him and manager David Bell both got ejected on the play, by different umpires, no less. Hm. Juan Francisco also hit his 12th HR in the loss. Up next: James Avery takes on Jacksonville at 7:05.
Travis Webb ran into some control problems, walking 5, but only gave up one run as Sarasota beat Tampa's evil empire, 4-1. The Cycle and FSL All-Star Enerio Del Rosario combined for 3 2/3 innings of relief to preserve the win, and Denis Phipps led the offense going 3-for-5, driving in 2 runs. Up next: Rafael Gonzalez takes on Tampa at 7.
Dayton was rained out. They'll play a doubleheader with Great Lakes today starting at 6:05. Matt Fairel and Josh Ravin should be the starters.

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Sounds like the Carolina game

was a wild one.

The runner scored on the sac fly when the throw went into the dugout.

The benches cleared when Jordan Smith threw at someone’s head. Both sides were warned.

It was pouring rain, and the manager, and presumably Heisey, were ejected for arguing with the umpires that the game should be halted.

Sounds like the umps were afraid the game would spin out of control, and so had a quick hook.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Jun 9, 2009 7:15 AM EDT reply actions

Given that we have nobody to bring up...

it’s a good thing Lincoln still hasn’t been DFA’d.

Let me write out a formal proof for you.

by Gray on Jun 9, 2009 8:33 AM EDT reply actions

Our double A team is really stacked with hitting and pitching. I wish we could promote the entire team to triple A, send everyone in triple A to double A, except for Bailey, Stubbs, Dorn, and Roenicke. Okay, I’m kidding. But at what point are we going to find out about Heisey and Frazier. They’ve been tearing up double A all season and have nothing left to prove there. Same with Wood. He should be pitching in triple A. I just don’t feel like we have much in triple A that will help our major league club. Stubbs and Bailey, and maybe Roenicke are about it.

by Dude Rock on Jun 9, 2009 9:18 AM EDT reply actions

Well, we clearly still need to be giving at-bats to Norris Hopper and Darnell McDonald in Louisville

by Brendanukkah on Jun 9, 2009 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Actually, I think Pedro Viola and Robert Manuel can help too

Maybe they are waiting for the inevitable slump from Heisey or Frazier? There is a certain amount of sample that teams should wait for just so they are not promoting a hot streak as opposed to a player that is ready to move. That’s the only reason I can think of for waiting at this point.

Then again, they may be waiting for a long time if that is the case. Frazier especially has been destroying the ball over the last month (.409/.471/.656). He has a 29% line drive rate this season. That’s better than what Joey Votto was doing this year. Heisey’s been hitting well for the month too (.371/.417/.600), but his LD rate is just 20% on the season. See, he sucks. :)

Another reason could be that the Reds just don’t think there is that much difference between the quality of pitching at Double-A compared to Triple-A. This is entirely possible as teams tend to use Triple-A for journeymen pitchers who can spot start, or fringe major leaguers. I think you see a lot more highly touted pitching prospects make the jump from Double-A these days, so maybe the Reds like that these guys are facing better stuff? It’s just a guess.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Jun 9, 2009 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions

I think Frazier will be next to get the call.

But, I think it will happen after Edwin gets his rehab done at 3rd. There’s a logjam of outfielders in Louisville, and Luis Bolivar doesn’t need to be getting regular 3B time, but I think they’re anticipating a rehab stint from Edwin, and after that happens, I think they’ll move Frazier into that spot.

Heisey is a little more complicated, because of said logjam. There’s Stubbs, Hopper, McDonald, Bankston, and Dorn blocking him. I’d think they’d want to get Stubbs and Dorn the most at-bats because they’re the prospects of that group, and I would assume they like Hopper better than McDonald as a minor league backup. I’m not sure what McDonald is still doing there. Bankston could be seen as AAA insurance too, but if he’s blocking Heisey getting a chance to prove himself in AAA, he should be gone too. I think, worst case scenario, Heisey takes Stubbs’ spot when he gets called up to the show.

Wood should already be in AAA. You can move Jukich back to the bullpen to facilitate that.

"We, as for me all seasons you are affected peculiarly in the edge of my seat and are happy concerning the fact that the Adam Dunn fan has been mixed up exactly." - Reynard-san

by BK on Jun 9, 2009 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Frazier was so impressive in ST when we were down in Sarasota

This kid is self-aware, and it so athletic. I kiddinginly asked him if the Red’s were going take him north because Edwin was hurting at the start of the season…that’s how impressive he was. .He was heads above just about every other young guy there. He was playing almost exclusively 3b in the 3 games I saw him play in. He made the trip against the Yankees in Tampa but DNP. He has a killer arm and knows his way around the batter’s box.

Sweat plus sacrifice equals success. Charles O. Finley
Sweat plus sacrifice equals a runner in scoring position. Dusty Baker
Sweat plus sacrifice equals another useless out. Mads

by Madville on Jun 9, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Seeing Frazier cut his Ks in half at a higher level is really impressive

He’s also not walking as much, but I don’t see a problem with favoring good contact over patience when you’re seeing the ball that well.

by ken on Jun 9, 2009 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah, a 7% walk rate is totally tolerable when it's stuck with an 11% walk rate

given that he was walking over 10% of the time previously, I think it’s safe to say that his plate discipline isn’t really a problem. It’s exciting to think that he could very well turn out to be a right-handed Joey Votto, though with slightly less home run power.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Jun 9, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Please note:

I am a big time fan of Frazier. His swing is so quick and balanced. Even when he was fooled he could compensate and get a piece of the ball. He a good size kid who should fill out and become a good RC-LC alley hitter and I think he’ll hit plenty of dingers. I see him as a better fielder and a more consistent hitter than EdE with the potential for about the same power 22 – 25 HR.

Sweat plus sacrifice equals success. Charles O. Finley
Sweat plus sacrifice equals a runner in scoring position. Dusty Baker
Sweat plus sacrifice equals another useless out. Mads

by Madville on Jun 9, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Notes on Travis Wood after his last start

From BP:

A second-round pick in 2005, Wood lost a lot of velocity when the Reds revamped some big mechanical issue in his delivery, and as a guy with fringy velocity, a great change and control problems, he put up a seven-plus ERA last year at Double-A. This year, the 22-year-old has dropped nearly six runs off that mark, as in his last four starts, he’s given up two runs over 29 frames. He still doesn’t throw especially hard, but he’s added a 2-seamer and a cutter to his mix, and he’s looking very much like a guy who could fit in towards the back of a rotation.

by D-Rock on Jun 9, 2009 9:42 AM EDT reply actions

a 22-year-old Maloney?

Works for me. But then again, I’ve been captaining the Wood Bandwagon for a while…thanks for the recruiting effort, BK

by Cy Schourek on Jun 9, 2009 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Well……if you’re looking toward the future…..

AGon has an option for next year which I doubt gets picked up. I think it’s for $6 million.

Tavares is in the first of a 2-year deal.

Hernandez, I believe….don’t hold me to it……has an option for $8 million next year. Because we lack depth in the farm system at catcher, I can see mgmt picking up his option and continuing the platoon of Hanigan-Hernandez.

If the rumors are true, many of these double A guys will be in triple A more than likely after July 1st. Or like another poster said, management doesn’t view much difference between double and triple A. And then maybe we see several of these guys in Septembere, such as Frazier, Heisey, Alonso, and possibly Cozart.

If you go by positions……Stubbs and Heisey appear to be our next OFers to go with Bruce. Frazier appears to be the future third basemen. Cozart the future SS. BPhil is not going anywhere, but Cody Puckett (2B) is doing really well at Dayton. Yonder Alonso at 1B. Wood, Stewart, and Fairel are looking like very promising players, and Maloney may be our left handed Arroyo.

Are Arroyo and Harang’s contracts up after next season? They may both be gone at that point.

by Dude Rock on Jun 9, 2009 11:23 AM EDT reply actions

Arroyo and Harang both have options for 2011

and while both are expensive, they are fairly close to market value, so they’d only not be picked up if either pitcher tanks or the Reds have obvious replacements lined up for much cheaper.

Hernandez does have an $8.5M option for 2010, with a $1M buyout. Personally, I don’t think he’s worth that much, especially since he’ll be 34 next year – catchers notoriously fall off the cliff quickly. But, barring any injuries this year, I’m guessing the Reds will pick up the option.

No way they pick up Gonzalez’s option. Janish or Cozart could replace Sea Bass today and we probably wouldn’t notice any fall-off.

By my count, not including option buyouts or pre-arb or arb eligible players, the Reds have $23.5M in the rotation, $16.5M in the bullpen, $11.5M in the infield, and $4M in the outfield spent for 2010. That’s $55.5M, and if Weathers’ and Hernandez’s options are picked up, that’s another $12.2M added in. So the Reds could be at $67.7 million spent to start the off-season, and that only covers 9 contracts (one of which is Mike Lincoln who may get paid to not be here). That doesn’t leave them a lot of budget to fill out the roster, so I think it would behoove them to be aggressive with a couple of minor leaguers in the hope that they can fill a few spots next year with some cheap, quality talent.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Jun 9, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Homer...

I just noticed the guy has put up a 3.41 ERA in Louisville, with 58Ks and 22BBs in 66 innings pitched. After a rough start, he seems to have settled down.

That’s actually pretty not-bad, for a 23-year old.

The major league start was bad, but if you take the perspective that it’s a start from a 23-year old normal prospect who might develop into a No.1 or No.2 starter and not the over-hyped savior of the franchise who was rushed to the majors at 21, I think we take that.

Of course, that makes what Johnny Cueto is doing at the age of 23 even more extraordinary.

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on Jun 9, 2009 11:24 AM EDT reply actions