Weekly Minor League Roundup 4/25 - 5/1

My weekly look at the Reds minor league system:

AAA

Louisville Bats

Record to Date:  12-12

Record Last Week (Mon-Sun): 2-4

Notable Pitching Lines of the week:

Steve Kelly:

4/25:  6.0 IP, ER, 2H, 6BB, 4K
5/1:   6.0 IP, ER, 6H, 1BB, 5K

Elizardo Ramirez:

4/30:  6.0 IP, ER, 6H, 0BB, 5K

Notable Hitters (YTD Stats):

William Bergolla: .337/.366/.517, 4BB, 3SB, 89 AB
Jason Romano: .302/.333/.430, 4BB, 86 AB
Dane Sardinha: .293/.323/.448, 3BB, 58 AB
Edwin Encarnacion: .286/.374/.519, 12BB, 4HR, 77 AB

Notable Pitchers (YTD Stats):

Tom Shearn: 14.2 IP, 2.45 ERA, 18/4 K/BB
Elizardo Ramirez: 31.1 IP, 3.45 ERA, 22/4 K/BB
Steve Kelly: 29.0 IP, 2.48 ERA, 22/10 K/BB
Randy Keisler: 21.0 IP, 1.71 ERA, 23/8 K/BB
Ricky Stone: 14.9 IP, 2.57 ERA, 15/3 K/BB

I'm not sure what they're teaching in Louisville, but it's not patience.  Edwin Encarnacion is the only Bat with walks numbering in the double digits.

The pitching at Louisville has been pretty solid.  Shouldn't we be seeing some of these guys fairly soon?  Specifically I mean Keisler, Stone, and Shearn.  I can't be the only one who'd rather see one of these three than Joe Valentine yet again in a crucial situation.

More under the fold:

AA

Chattanooga Lookouts

Record to Date: 11-13

Record Last Week: 5-2

Notable Pitching Lines of the Week:

Richie Gardner:

4/25: 6.0 IP, 2ER, 7H, BB, 5K
4/30: 5.0 IP, 8R, 7ER, 8H, 3BB, 3K

Ben Kozlowski:

4/28: 4.0 IP, 3ER, 5H, BB, 7K

Phil Dumatrait:

4/29: 4.0 IP, R, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 3K

Notable Hitters (YTD Stats):

Norris Hopper: .388/.446/.507, 6SB, 67 AB
Kevin Howard: .347/.405/.528, 72 AB
Chris Denorfia: .300/.358/.510, 13 EBH, 100 AB
Jesse Gutierrez: .293/.347/.500, 82 AB

Notable Pitchers (YTD Stats):

Richie Gardner: 25.0 IP, 6.84 ERA, 28/9 K/BB
Ben Kozlowski: 14.1 IP, 2.51 ERA, 17/6 K/BB
Miguel Saladin: 14.0 IP, 0.64 ERA, 15/2 K/BB
Phil Dumatrait: 8.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 9/2 K/BB

What is the deal with Richie Gardner?  You have to wonder if he's injured, but hopefully he's just got some dead arm.  His K/BB numbers are still solid, so hopefully he's just going over a bump in the road.

Norris Hopper, wow.  Who knew?  He's pretty old for the level (26) so if he keeps up this kind of pace for another month or two I imagine he'll receive a ticket to Louisville.

I'm pulling hard for Kevin Howard.  Middle infielders are tough to come by, so hopefully he makes something of himself.

High-A

Sarasota Reds

Record to Date: 8-16

Record Last Week: 2-4

Notable Pitching Lines of the Week:

Josh Hall:

4/29: 5.0 IP, 2R, ER, 5H, 2BB, 5K

Tyler Pelland:

4/30: 3.0 IP, 2ER, 4H, 2BB, 3K

Notable Hitters (YTD Stats):

Junior Ruiz: .318/.402/.388, 8SB, 12/11 BB/K, 85 AB
Joey Votto: .268/.330/.439, 3HR, 7/24 BB/K, 82 AB

Notable Pitchers (YTD Stats):

David Shafer: 11.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 16/2 K/BB

Sarasota is a mess and goes a long way towards proving that the Reds have drafted unwisely in recent years.  It's tough to look at this roster and see more than a couple of future major leaguers. Shafer seems to be a can't miss future reliever, and Ruiz might have a utility role at some point. Votto was the potential star, but something is telling me that the Reds are screwing with him.  Seven walks in 82 at bats isn't very Joey Votto like.  I just hope they're not forcing him to be more aggressive, since you'd hope the franchise would have learned from the Adam Dunn debacle.

A

Dayton Dragons

Record to Date: 7-15

Record Last Week: 3-3

Notable Pitching Lines of the Week:

Rafael Gonzalez:

4/25: 5.0 IP, 0ER, 2H, BB, 4K

Homer Bailey:

4/29: 2.0 IP, 4R, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 3K

Notable Hitters (YTD Stats):

Tonys Gutierrez: .338/.407/.429, 77 AB
Phil Gentry: .292/.366/.458, 72 AB

Notable Pitchers (YTD Stats):

Brad Morenko: 22.0 IP, 0.41 ERA, 10/7 K/BB
Rafael Gonzalez: 18.2 IP, 5.79 ERA, 15/11 K/BB
Homer Bailey: 11.1 IP, 4.76 ERA, 19/5 K/BB

The only positive thing about Dayton at the moment is Homer Bailey's 19 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched.  It's just an ugly team, and the Reds have to do better than this at the lower levels.  It all comes back to drafting intelligently, something the Reds haven't been doing lately.