Coming into the season, one of the stated major strengths of this club was its depth. With some folks on the big club either hurting or struggling, this edition of Farmer's Market would like to focus on some players who are heating up and could possibly help the team soon. The stale list features a highly touted player who has disappointed as well as 2 players who could be useful to the Reds if they could get their stuff together.
Yonder Alonso
Alonso had a slow start to the year, hitting for little power and not walking enough. That might've been partly due to the fact that the Bats faced 10 lefty starters in their first 17 games. He has been on fire of late, hitting .382/.450/.588 in his last 10 games, raising his OPS for the season to .815. The platoon splits are still present (.794 OPS vs lefties, .831 vs. righties) but he could help as another possible Gomes platoon partner and occasional speller of Votto at 1B.
Todd Frazier
If Alonso had a slow start to the season, Frazier stalled out completely. His average was below .200 as recently as a couple of weeks ago, but he's been red-hot as well. Over his last 10 games he has hit .343/.385/.714 to raise his OPS to an impressive .894. Most importantly, he would fill a huge need on the club as someone who could start at 3B as well as fill in at LF, RF, or 1B. Ben Badler, of Baseball America, said this on twitter last night:
Todd Frazier raised his OPS to .894 with two HRs today. Scout told me he's playing avg. D at 3B. #Reds MLB 3B with sub-.600 OPS. Worth a look.
I couldn't agree more.
Jose Arredondo
No one in the Reds bullpen has been struggling, per se, but it is to the point where they have to find a spot for Arredondo. He has throw 6 IP in Louisville, striking out 7 and, most importantly, only walking 1. Combine that with his AA numbers and he has 13.2 IP, 18 K, 5 BB, only 7 hits, no homers, and almost twice as many groundouts as fly outs. Since Carlos Fisher was demoted to make room for Johnny Cueto there is no obvious candidate for Arredondo to replace, but at some point they are going to have to find a spot for him.
Ryan LaMarre
I personally had high hopes for LaMarre this season. You could cite the Michigan bias, but at least I was supported by Baseball America, who listed him as the Reds #11 prospect coming in to the year. So it isn't just his .697 OPS that is disappointing, it's the fact that he's doing that in Bakersfield, where I'm pretty sure my grandma could slug .500. He has actually been better of late, OPSing .817 over his last 10 games, so hopefully we can look back on this in a month and laugh.
Zack Cozart
With Paul Janish hobbling and Edgar Renteria being unable to catch or throw the ball, it seems that there might be a window of opportunity at shortstop on the Reds. Unfortunately, no one will look at The Coz's numbers and feel anything but nausea. This is slightly unfair, as he has been killing the ball lately (1.083 OPS in his last 10 games) but that hot streak has only raised his line on the year to .259/.296/.388. What is odd is that he is striking out significantly less than in years past (13% this season compared to 19% in 2010) but the results still aren't impressive. Hopefully he can continue the hot streak and put himself back into the shortstop conversation.
Kris Negron
It is only fitting that we should mention the other guy who might get a shot at shortstop. Unfortunately, his numbers are worse than Cozart's. Like, a LOT worse. His line so far is .195/.263/.356. For a guy who doesn't play the position as well, I'd say he has as much chance of a call up as I do of convincing Mrs. 'Creds to let me hang out in the MLB FanCave all summer.
Now, on to the weekend's action!
- Louisville lost 4-0 on Friday. Jose Arredondo and Joseph Krebs each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Jeremy Hermida doubled, but no one else did anything else other than single once. Saturday they rebounded, winning 3-1. Jose Arredondo threw another scoreless inning in relief. Zack Cozart was 3-5, Devin Mesoraco was 2-3 with 2 walks, and Todd Frazier doubled and walked. Sunday the team won 8-0. Matt Maloney threw 7 shutout innings, and also went 3-3 with a double. Todd Frazier went off, hitting 2 homers and doubling. Zack Cozart was 2-4 with a double, and Yonder Alonso was 2-4 with 2 doubles. Up Next: Dontrelle Willis toes the rubber at 7:05.
- Carolina won on Friday, 8-5. Nick Christiani pitched another scoreless inning of relief. Quentin Berry was 2-4 with a double and Jake Kahaulelio was 2-3 with a homer and a walk. Saturday they lost, 7-1. Dallas Buck gave up 5 runs in just 3 IP. Brad Boxberger struck out the side in a scoreless inning of relief. Mike Costanzo, Cody Puckett, and Felix Perez each doubled. Sunday the team was off. Up Next: The team plays at 8:05. Starter TBA.
- Bakersfield lost on Friday 17-7. (Will they ever play a 2-1 game?!?) Josh Fellhauer was 3-5 with a double, and Eric Campbell, Stephen Hunt, and Andrew Means each had 2 hits. On Saturday, the team won 6-5. Eric Campbell homered twice, and Henry Rodriguez and Ryan LaMarre each homered once. Sunday the team lost, 7-3. Andrew Means and Stephen Hunt each doubled, and Ryan LaMarre was 1-3 with a walk and stole his 9th and 10th bases of the year. Bakersfield is off Monday.
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Dayton lost Friday, 6-4. Daniel Tuttle had another rough outing, giving up 4 runs in just 4.1 IP. Jefry Sierra had 2 hits, including a triple, and David Vidal hit his first homer of the year. Saturday the team lost again, 6-4. Tanner Robles had another rough start, giving up 5 runs in 2.2 IP. Yorman Rodriguez was 2-4 with a triple, and David Vidal and Tucker Barnhart each homered. Billy Hamilton was 1-3 with a walk and his 22nd stolen base. Sunday the Dragons were shut out 8-0. Juan Duran and Dominic D'Anna were each 2-4 with a double. Billy Hamilton was 1-3 with another walk. Up Next: Josh Smith tries to keep his strong season going. First pitch is at 6:35.