In the 2000 Presidential Election, Ralph Nader won the Green Party nomination and 2.7% of the popular vote. After the hanging chad and endless recounts, many Democrats blamed Nader for taking crucial votes away from Al Gore, thus allowing W to get the W. The beauty of American Democracy™ is that candidates who have no business holding public office can get on the ballot, allowing hopeless ideologues to vote for them anyway.
In that same spirit, we here at RR have listened to the vocal minority and have added to the ballot the Ralph Nader of the 2010 RRCPR, Travis Wood! Vote in good health and good conscience, but don't come crying to us when gas costs $8 a gallon and privileged white males can't get jobs!
Before we get to the voting, however, congratulations are in order for the 2010 RRCPR #1 Prospect, Todd Frazier!
Just like in 2000, this was an extremely close election, but unlike that year, the man who won the popular vote gets the prize. (Aren't you glad Wood wasn't on the ballot? Otherwise that bleeding heart liberal Alonso might've won!)
The Man from Snowy River had a fantastic season split over AA and AAA, posting a combined slash line of .292/.351/.481, while playing solid defense, mostly in LF. Although I personally voted for Alonso, I can't argue with this selection at all. It seems like for most of you it came down to whether you placed greater value on tools/projection or minor league performance. Alonso clearly has the superior offensive tools, but has yet to put together a great season in the minors, while Frazier has never posted an OPS below .830 in any of his 3 pro seasons. Hopefully he can contribute to the Redlegs this season!
Now, on to the voting for #2! Please note that this poll will only last 1 day, and will close at 10 pm tonight, so vote early!
Yonder Alonso, 1B:
Baseball America rank: 2
2009 RR CPR rank: 1
Age: 23
Draft/Acquisition Details: 1st round (pick 7), Reds, 2008
Highest Level Played: AAA (Louisville [playoffs]), AA (Carolina [regular season])
2009 Statistics:
GCL Reds (R): 6 G, 15 AB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, .133/.278/.133/.411
Sarasota (A+): 49 G, 175 AB, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 0 SB, .303/.383/.497/.880
Carolina (AA): 29 G, 105 AB, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 1 SB, .295/.372/.457/.829
Peoria (AFL): 23 G, 86 AB, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 0 SB, .267/.353/.395/.748
Caguas (PRWL): 16 G, 61 AB, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, .213/.304/.377/.681
Mike Leake, RHSP:
Baseball America rank: 3
2009 RR CPR rank: NR
Age: 22
Draft/Acquisition Details: 1st round (pick 8), Reds, 2009
Highest Level Played: NCAA (Arizona State), AFL (Peoria)
2009 Statistics:
Arizona State (NCAA): 18 GS, 16-1, 1.71 ERA, 142 IP, 162 K, 24 BB, 0.84 WHIP
Peoria (AFL): 5 GS, 1-2, 1.37 ERA, 19.2 IP, 15 K, 3 BB, 1.17 WHIP
Chris Heisey, OF:
Baseball America rank: 4
2009 RR CPR rank: NR
Age: 25
Draft/Acquisition Details: 17th round (pick 504), Reds, 2006
Highest Level Played: AAA (Louisville)
2009 Statistics:
Carolina (AA): 71 G, 271 AB, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 13 SB, .347/.426/.572/.998
Louisville (AAA): 63 G, 245 AB, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 8 SB, .278/.323/.465/.788
Peoria (AFL): 24 G, 91 AB, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 5 SB, .297/.379/.593/.972
Juan Francisco, 3B/LF:
Baseball America rank: 5
2009 RR CPR rank: 6
Age: 23
Draft/Acquisition Details: Signed in 2004 out of Dominican Republic
Highest Level Played: MLB (Cincinnati)
2009 Statistics:
Carolina (AA): 109 G, 437 AB, 22 HR, 74 RBI, 6 SB, .281/.317/.501/.818
Louisville (AAA): 22 G, 92 AB, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 0 SB, .359/.384/.598/.982
Cincinnati (MLB): 14 G, 21 AB, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .429/.520/.619/1.139
Cibao (DWL): 46 G, 182 AB, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 0 SB, .302/.352/.566/.918
Travis Wood, LHSP:
Baseball America rank: 7
2009 RR CPR rank: NR
Age: 22
Draft/Acquisition Details: 2nd Round (Pick 60), Reds, 2005
Highest Level Played: AAA (Louisville)
2009 Statistics:
Carolina (AA): 19 GS, 9-3, 1.21 ERA, 119 IP, 103 K, 37 BB, .97 WHIP
Louisville (AAA): 8 GS, 4-2, 3.14 ERA, 48.2 IP, 32 K, 16 BB, 1.21 WHIP