We’ve toured the country in search of the player the Reds will select with the 27th overall pick in the MLB Draft June 6, so let’s stick closer to home this time and take a look at Kent State LHP Andrew Chafin.

   John Sickels of minorleagueball.com predicts Chafin to be Cincinnati’s first-round selection. The rumor mill is hot and heavy with rumblings that the Reds are high on the Golden Flashes star.

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For the month of May, Joey Votto batted .291/.425/.408 for an OPS of .833. While not quite up to his usual standards, that's still a great month. Albert Pujols, for comparison, only batted .288/.365/.387 in that time frame. It does, however, bring an end to an almost year long streak he had. From May of 2010 to April of this year, Joey didn't have an OPS of less than 1.000 to end a month.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you guys this, but that's pretty fantastic. An OPS of 1.000 is generally an MVP level performance, and to keep it up for an entire year is no small feat. While this is nowhere near the record*, it's still quite a long streak. Pujols' career high is eight months, only two months longer than Joey's streak. He does have a bunch of five and six month streaks, however.

*As best as I can tell, the all time leader in that category is one Mr Barrold L. Bonds. You'll remember him having a few decent baseballing years earlier in the decade. From August of 2000 to April of 2006, 28 months, Barry didn't have an OPS of less than 1.071(!) to end a month. Ho hum

   Baseball America’s latest mock draft has the Reds selecting RHP Robert Stephenson with the 27th overall pick in the June 6 MLB Draft. Let’s head off to Martinez, Calif., and Alhambra High School to examine the youngster.

   Stephenson (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) is a lanky, hard-throwing University of Washington signee. He began the season in Johnny Vander Meer-like fashion, throwing back-to-back no-hitters. The gems are part of a season that has seen Stephenson go 7-2 with a 1.33 ERA. In 13 games and 64 innings, he has struck out 132, walked 23 and allowed 29 hits.

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It sure seems to the average fan that the recent drafts have begun to bring in considerably better MLB results from the pitching prospects the Reds have drafted, no?  Is that the case?  Which year did the Reds draft the most pitchers who made the majors?  Was Tom Browning the best pitcher the Reds selected the year he was drafted?  And...who had the worst WAR from all those selected the past two decades?   You be the judge! 

1981

(none) 

1982

7th rd - Bobby Witt  142W 157L (13.1 WAR)

9th rd - Tom Browning 123 W 90L (19.7 WAR)

12th rd - Rick Luecken 2W 5L (-0.4 WAR)

 

1983 

9th rd - Jeff Montgomery 46W 52L (21.0 WAR)

 

1984

1st rd - Pat Pacillo 4W 3L (-0.8 WAR)

 

1985

17th rd - Mike Roesler 1W 1L (0.2 WAR)

 

1986

1st rd - Scott Scudder 21W 34L (-2.0 WAR)

17th rd - Keith Brown 2W 2L (0.1 WAR)

27th rd - Paul Miller 1W 0L (-0.1 WAR) 

 

1987 

1st rd - Jack Armstrong 40W 65L (0.7 WAR)

14th rd - Bill Risley 15W 13L (3.1 WAR) 

15th rd - Butch Henry 33W 33L (7.5 WAR)

28th rd - Milt Hill 5W 1L (-0.5 WAR)

 

1988

3rd rd - Tyler Green 18W 25L (-0.7 WAR)

12th rd - Steve Foster 3W 3L (1.5 WAR)

13th rd - Paul Byrd 109W 96L (16.1 WAR) 

19th rd - Jerry Spradlin 17W 19L (0.1 WAR)

32nd rd - Mo Sanford 2W 4L (0.0 WAR)

60th rd - Don Wengert 14W 32L (-0.5 WAR)

 

1989

3rd rd - Ross Powell 0W 5L (-0.5 WAR)

6th rd - Tim Pugh 25W 28L (1.2 WAR)

11th rd - Trevor Hoffman 61W 75L (30.4 WAR)

43rd rd - Sean Lowe 23W 15L (-0.3 WAR)

 

1990 

8th rd - Larry Luebbers 5W 10L (-0.2 WAR)

12th rd - John Roper 8W 7L (0.1 WAR)

20th rd - Marc Vakes 12W 15L (-1.7 WAR) 

 

1991

8th rd - John Courtright 0W 0L (0 WAR)

21st rd - Kevin Jarvis 34W 49L (-5.1 WAR) 

 

1992 

6th rd - Kurt Lyons 2W 0L (0.2 WAR) 

21st rd - Will Brunson 1W 1L (-0.1 WAR)

23rd rd - Chad Fox 10W 12L (2.2 WAR)

28th rd - Rickey Pichett 0W 0L (-0.3 WAR)

43rd rd - Kevin Beirne 3W 3L (-0.4 WAR) 

 

1993

2nd rd - Scott Sullivan 40W 28L (4.9 WAR)

 

1994

1st rd - CJ Nitkowski 18W 32L (-2.3 WAR)

9th rd - Eddie Priest 0W 1L (-0.5 WAR)

16th rd - Kevin Grybowski 12W 8L (-0.8 WAR)

22nd rd - John Riedling 17W 13L (-0.6 WAR) 

34th rd - Paul Rigdon 8W 10L (0.5 WAR)

 

1995

2nd rd - Brett Tomko 100W 103L (7.2 WAR)

4th rd - Mark Correy 2W 7L (-1.0 WAR)

8th rd - Ray King 20W 23L (3.4 WAR) 

12th rd - Justin Atchley 0W 0L (0 WAR) 

24th rd - Jeff Sparks 0W 1L (0.5 WAR)

32nd rd - Scott McRae 0W 1L (0.1 WAR)

 

1996 

2nd rd - Buddy Carlyle 11W 12L (-2.4 WAR)

 

1997

9th rd - Scott Williamson 28W 28L (8.1 WAR) 

 

1998 

6th rd - Bobby Maditsch 6W 4L (2.3 WAR)

7th rd - Josh Hall 0W 2L (-0.8 WAR)

12th rd - John Koronka 8 W 13L (-0.8 WAR)

17th rd - BJ Ryan 21W 28L (12.2 WAR) 

40th rd - Lance Cormier 24W 28L (-2.2 WAR)

41st rd - Todd Coffey 20W 17L (2.1 WAR)

 

1999

5th rd - Mike Espositio 0W 2L (-0.1 WAR)

10th rd - Scott Dunn 1W 0L (-0.6 WAR)

21st rd - Brad Salmon 0W 1L (0.2 WAR)

29th rd - Michael Neu 0W 0L (0.3 WAR)

36th rd - Rich Hill 22W 20L (2.0 WAR)

 

2000

1st rd - Dustin Moseley 13W 17L (2.2 WAR)

2nd rd - Ryan Snare 0W 0L (-0.1 WAR)

46th rd - Chris Shroder 2W 5L (-0.2 WAR) 

 

2001 

1st rd - Jeremy Sowers 18W 30L (1.7 WAR)

 

2002

none

 

2003

1st rd - Ryan Wagner 11W 9L (-0.6 WAR)

7th rd - Carlos Guevara 1W 0L (-0.2 WAR)

18th rd - Josh Newman 0W 0L (-0.6 WAR)

 

2004  

1st rd - Homer Bailey 19W 17L (-0.1 WAR)

13th rd - Jake Arrieta 12W 8L (1.9 WAR)

 

2005

2nd rd - Travis Wood 8W 7L (1.7 WAR)

4th rd - Sam LeCure 2W 6L (0.6 WAR)

6th rd - Jeff Stevens 1W 0L (-0.7 WAR)

11th rd - Carlos Fisher 2W 4L (0.2 WAR)

13th rd - Logan Ondrusek 8W 2L (1.3 WAR)

42nd rd - Justin Axford 9W 3L (2.3 WAR)

 

2006

6th rd - Jordan Smith 3W 2L (-0.3 WAR)

10th rd - Josh Roenicke 1W 0L (-0.6 WAR)

 

2007

none

 

2008

none

 

2009

1st rd - Mike Leake 12W 6L (0.6 WAR) 

 

   Pack up and prepare for another road trip as we try to determine whom the Reds will select with the 27th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft June 6. Today’s stop is in Storrs, CT, where we’ll have a gander at Connecticut CF George Springer.

   It would be a surprise to see Springer fall all the way to No. 27, but his slow start (3-for-22) left some scouts doubting his value. Since the weather has warmed, however, Springer has heated up and figures to go in the top 15. John Sickels has Springer as high as No. 10 to San Diego. Jonathan Mayo has him as low as No. 18 to Oakland. Baseball America has him going to Florida at No. 14.

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Hey everyone, I haven't posted in a while, but just finished another Reds wallpaper so I thought I would share.  Hope you enjoy.

 

As I was watching “Reds’ Live” waiting for the game to start, I thought I’d do my part to help end this 6 game skid.  The only thing I can do to help is to make a wallpaper (not helping so much right now), so that’s what I did.

Johnny Cueto has been pitching pretty well since coming off of the DL (so has his injury buddy Homer Bailey), and he is on the mound today, so I thought it fitting to make a Cueto wallpaper.  Having him back and healthy is a big boost to this club, and he has done his part thus far.  Now if he can just get some run support, we will be good.  Maybe this is helping, because it is now tied 3-3….. hopefully after I publish this a lead will follow.

 

See it HERE

When the Reds lost to the Phillies 10-3 on Monday -- it would have been the worst game of the season had they not just lost 12-4 to the Indians -- Jay Bruce provided at least some hope for fans, going 3 for 4 with a three-run home run. It seems like he's been hedging a lot of our misery lately, and that's because he has. By my count he's the hottest full-time player in the league over the past month or so, or the second half of the season already played.

Allowing for just a little bit of selective endpointing, Bruce is doing this since the Reds' April 27 win over Milwaukee:

Batting .337, .406 on-base, .709 slugging percentage, 1.116 OPS. Nine home runs, 20 RBIs in 22 games started. A sustainable .328 BABIP. 

Among the league's leaders in the MVP categories, no one really comes close to this production over that span. Check this:

Since April 27	GS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	RBI
Jay  Bruce	22	.337	.406	.709	1.116	9	20
Lance Berkman	20	.293	.470	.586	1.056	5	19
Matt Holliday	24	.311	.380	.511	.891	4	20
Joey Votto	23	.282	.396	.447	.843	2	16
Prince Fielder	25	.226	.327	.505	.832	7	14
Matt Kemp	24	.244	.333	.465	.798	6	15
Ryan Braun	25	.240	.318	.438	.755	3	16

 

The caveats: 

1) As I said, there's some selective endpointing. The results wouldn't look the same if I went back to, say, April 18. Bruce has an OPS of .647 in games before April 27.

2) This isn't a comprehensive list of the players hitting the best since April 27. It's more a look at the best players for the whole season up to now, then examining how they've done so far. There might be one or two regulars who are hitting better than Bruce over the last month, but I haven't found one yet.

3) Jay Bruce has had similar streaks in his career, and he's unlikely to keep up such a hot pace.

4) Even if he does, and the Reds keep sucking, he will not be an MVP candidate.

5) I'm not using very exotic stats, just familiar ones. In WAR, for instance, Bruce is currently just 20th in the league over the whole season, and I don't know how to check over just the last month. Votto leads the NL in WAR.

6) This list does not include Albert Pujols, because he sucks right now.

Still, it's pretty amazing to me that, stacked up against the best hitters perennially in the National League, Bruce tops them in almost every category. Lance Berkman's .470 on-base percentage is the only number higher than Bruce's in ANYTHING. He'll probably go 0 for 4 in his next five games, but still, I found this stuff worth noting.

Prior to this past weekend I have passed through St Louis twice in my lifetime (on a trip to and from Kansas City). I have spent a grand total of zero minutes off the freeway in the city limits. After this past weekend’s trip to the Gateway City I am proud to report that number has not increased at all. Like Dallas, if you ever get the chance to go to St Looey, take it from me, pass it on by!

My first thoughts upon entering the metroplex was that STL has a less impressive skyline than CIN. They also have even uglier bridges crossing their dirty brown river than CIN. 2-0 Cincy right off the bat. Almost immediately we came upon Busch Ballpark/Field/Stadium/Whatevertheycallit. It sits within 10 feet of the double-decker interstate. Weird. tHan and I both agreed that Busch must be the closest ballpark to an interstate in the USA. In my minds eye I thought GABP was most likely the closest NL ballpark to a freeway. Nay, friend, NAY! The Cards were in KC so there was no opportunity to see a ballgame.  

After seeing the mighty Mississippi, the Gateway Arch, the STL skyline and Busch Stadium within the first three minutes of our time in the Show Me state we decided it was prudent to get down to brass tacks and see why Missouri wasn’t nicknamed the Taste Me state by hitting up a brewery tour. Anheiser-Busch? Nah, they’re no longer an American company…so we decided to give the Schlafley Brewery a shot at the title. It’s the third biggest brewery in Missouri and probably the only one situated in a residential neighborhood. Plus, there was a Church’s Fried Chicken on the same block and we know that’s never a good sign. I’d give the Schlafley brewery tour a 6/10 on the big board rating scale. Nothing special about the tour itself but major bonus points for the amount of free ale and lager given to the tourees. My assessment is that most of the product is fair to middling but if you have the chance to pick up a sixer of the Coffee Stout I would highly recommend doing so. It’s the only brewery I know that utilizes Missour River water for their product!

The evening ended with brisket and ribs, the first RR BBQ tour stop outside the Greater Cincinnati Area! Thumbs up to mass quantity of meat the restaurant served its patron. Thumbs down for the slaw. Thumbs sideways for the cucumber flavored pickle.

 

The following day began with a trip to Six Flags St Louis (formerly known as Six Flags Over Mid-America…which is a stupid name for an amusement park). Here are the reviews for the rides:

RIVER KING MINE TRAIN – skipped it, because Mine Ride rollercoasters are also stupid…especially when they have "train" in the name.

SCREAMIN EAGLE – built in 1976, opened as the world’s highest and fastest roller coasters. Roller coasters must have sucked before the 80’s, this one was meh and beat the snot out of you. It had less than a thirty second wait.

NINJA – built in 1989, it is short and unsweet. The highlight was the smell of orange chicken from the Chinese restaurant located under the ride. It had literally no wait whatsoever to ride.

BATMAN – built in 1995. A short 10 minute wait. This was the first ride we rode and it set the bar high for Six Flags. Its an inverted coaster and the most comfortable ride of the day. Only ride we rode twice.

MR FREEZE – built in 1998, one of those premier launch rollercoasters. Pretty, pretty good ….especially the coming to a stop in midair, freefall backwards sensation. About a 20 minute wait, our longest of the day.

THE BOSS – built in 2000, kind of a mini Beast. Actually it reminds me more of a smaller version of the Gemini at Cedar Point. Not bad, and a very short five minute wait.

AMERICAN THUNDER – built in 2008 and oddly situated in kiddie land. A midsized wooden rollercoaster. No wait whatsoever. This coaster exceeded my expectations more than any other ride in the park. Great bang for the buck.

LOG FLUME – skipped it. All log flumes suck. People who like getting splashed with tepid amusement park water are gross.

XCALIBER – built 2003. originally it looked like a sideways Viking fury swing ride, I don’t think I can really explain this ride. But it made Westie almost lose her lunch which is always awesome!

 

After leaving the park we went to the heavily recommended Imo’s Pizza, home of the Provel Cheese pizza and cracker crust. Provel cheese is a mixture of provolone, cheddar and swiss. We ordered 2 salads, 30 toasted raviols and two large but insanely thin one topping pizzas to feed four people who spent 5 hours walking in an amusement park. We left with two boxes full of super thin pizza and about a dozen T Ravs. Imo’s was a pleasant surprise and all four of us give two thumbs up to the Za. Its not up there in the Pizano’s (of CHI) stratosphere but I must admit it was much better than anticipated. I do not recommend leaving boxes of Imo’s in your sport utility for a half hour while perusing the contents of your local liquor store, however. Not good times. I think 60 degrees is the cutoff mark for comfortably re-entering your car after leaving Imo’s in there for one half hour.

Freshly stocked with a plethora of high end beers, Cachaca, and cherry vodka we headed to the hotel to prepare for the evening’s entertainment, the grand opening of the Central Park amphitheatre in Chesterfield MO. Headliner? My main man Edwin McCain! Granted, Ed may not be as hip as the bands ‘nukkah likes and supports but he’s definitely more my speed. Very witty, super nice (we got to meet him backstage) and one helluva damn good singer. I think tHan and Mrs tHan were significantly surprised at how good the man is live on stage, especially from their 2nd row vantage point. I was more surprised that I was able to bring a cooler full of mango caipirinhas to the park!!! The only downer to the evening was tHan’s choice to end the evening smoking an entire cigar and knocking off a glass of Woodford on the rocks. SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE, indeed!

All in all we found west STL a nice enough place to spend a weekend. I hope to spend some time in the actual city limits next visit, with a focus on attending a Reds game at Busch and taking a ride to the top of the Arch!!!

   We’ve browsed numerous college campuses in search of the Reds first pick, No. 27 overall, in the MLB Draft June 6. Now let’s turn our attention to the high school ranks and have a look at Brandon Nimmo, an OF from Cheyenne (Wyo.) East HS. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo predicts Cincinnati to select Nimmo.

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   Let’s remain on the infield as our quest to discover who the Reds will select with the 27th overall pick in the MLB Draft June 6 continues with a visit to Chapel Hill, N.C., where we’ll examine North Carolina SS Levi Michael.

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