If things keep up like this much longer, I'm gonna switch the order of this thing: S-Reds hitters, then Chattanooga pitchers, then your daily Jay Bruce/Homer Bailey update. After that see what's up with Frazier, Waring and Jones, and maybe the occasional Shaun Cumberland note. Then I'll spend a half-hour doing what I call "The SweaterPants Dance" with my Wayne Krivsky cardboard cutout, and finally I'll come back to the computer and post this bad boy wearing my Farmers Only jacket.
So order your own jacket, then continue to find out what Homer, Daryl Thompson and Justin Turner did last night down on the Reds' plantations.
Bailey
Triple-A: Homer Bailey had a not-terribly-terrific start: 6 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, all earned, 6 strikeouts and 3 walks as the Bats lost to Indy 4-1. The wheels started to come off in the third inning when he gave up two solo shots, including one to the Bucs' top prospect, Andrew McCutchen. BubbaFan reported things got heated when Bailey threw behind Matt Kata and hit an Indian with a pitch, but I can't find a media account of that incident. Jay Bruce got one of the Bats' 5 hits, and Andy Green had 2. UP NEXT: Game 4 at Indy, tonight at 7. New series at home vs. Columbus, 6:15 tonight.
Thompson
Double-A: Daryl Thompson had an eye-opening start, striking out 11 and allowing 3 unearned runs as the Lookouts lost 4-0 to Carolina. He gave up only 4 hits in 7.2 innings and walked three. He came out in the eighth inning after loading the bases on an error and two walks, and Chattanooga's relievers let them all in with two outs. After five starts, Thompson's ERA is 0.57: 31.1 innings, 36 strikeouts, 4 walks (!), 20 hits. He leads the Southern League in innings and strikeouts and is second in ERA and WHIP (0.77). We should know by the end of the year whether he's the most important piece of The Trade left for us, and only Bill Bray stands in his way. UP NEXT: Game 3 vs. Carolina, 7:15 tonight.
Turner
High A: Sarasota got 14 hits and won 10-6. Justin Turner, 3 for 3; Chris Valaika, 2 for 4, home run, 5 RBIs. Drew Stubbs and Juan Francisco were both 1 for 4. Turner is now batting .408, way ahead for first in the Florida State League. He's also second in OPS despite no home runs. Valaika is fifth in OPS and first in RBIs and total bases, and Stubbs and Francisco are also up there. Alexander Smit got the win, though his numbers weren't good: 5 innings, 5 hits, 5 walks, 0 strikeouts. UP NEXT: New series at Dunedin, tonight at 7.
Low A: The Dragons rained out and will play two at Kane County today, starting at 4. Matt Klinker and Enerio Del Rosario will go for Dayton.