It was not a bad debut at all for Kyle Lotzkar (LOTS-car), although he took the loss. He's No. 11 in Baseball America's Reds prospect rankings -- which puts him near the top 5 after all the call-ups. This guy is young and has a mid-90s fastball, with a plus changeup and what BA calls a "promising" curve. He was our third overall pick last year, behind Mesoraco and Frazier. More about him below.
Lotzkar
Triple-A: Luis Bolivar (who went 5 for 6 on Thursday night) went 2 for 4 with a triple, home run and 5 RBIs as Louisville blew past Pawtucket 9-7 despite collecting only 5 hits. Matt Maloney gave up 5 runs in his 6 innings, Marcus McBeth and Todd Coffey were not effective and Matt Belisle got 4 outs to claim the win. UP NEXT: Louisville at Rochester, 7 tonight.
Bolivar
Double-A: Travis Wood couldn't get out of the third inning, giving up 10 hits and 7 runs in Chattanooga's 12-4 loss that was cut short by rain. Chris Valaika was 1 for 4 with a run. UP NEXT: Anothern at West Tennessee, 8 tonight.
Low A: Kyle Lotzkar made his season debut, allowing 3 runs in 4 innings and taking the loss as Dayton fell 6-3 at South Bend. Lotzkar, an 18-year-old we drafted in the supplemental first round last year, struck out 5 and walked three, allowing 4 hits. He had a 3.10 ERA last year in 9 starts for the GCL Reds and Billings, striking out 36 in 29 innings and walking just 10 -- as a 17-year-old. Zach Cozart hit his 6th homer of the year and Devin Mesoraco went 2 for 3, and Jeff Jeffords walked in a run all by himself in his inning. UP NEXT: Dayton at South Bend, 7 tonight.
ALSO: Four SaraReds suit up for the FSL All-Star Game tonight at 7:15. And Miami and this year's first-round pick Yonder Alonso take on Georgia at 7 tonight on ESPN.