Just because Carolina's off today doesn't mean they can't have the Featured Farmhand. He's also currently the Southern League Hitter of the Week. Here's a little more about the Mudcats shortstop:
- Zachary Cozart was the Reds 2nd round pick in 2007, the 79th overall pick. I know we've rehashed lots of former 1st rounders, but the Reds have a had a lot more success in the 2nd round. Some recent highlights: Sean Watson, Travis Wood, B.J. Szymanski, Joey Votto, Ben Broussard, and Adam Dunn.
- Cozart is originally from Collierville, Tennessee, and is the most successful baseball player from there. From there, he was a standout in 3 years at Ole Miss, where he played alongside current Reds starter Matt Maloney.
- He's spent a lot of time in Dayton, as he played there his rookie season of 2007 and all of 2008. He was a merely solid hitter, hitting .280/.330/.457 with 14 HR and 49 RBI, but was known for his good defense. He's been projected as one of two players in the upper levels of the Reds system (along with Paul Janish) that are capable of playing SS at the major league level.
- He made the jump from Dayton to Carolina this offseason, and has been showing a promising bat so far. His walk rate has gone way up, and it's shown in his OBP, which is up to .373 so far. He's been able to sustain his power numbers even after moving up 2 levels, as he already has 6 HRs in AA.
And now, on to the games:
- Louisville was off last night. Columbus based RRs, listen up. The Bats are in Columbus starting tonight at 7:05, with Ramon Ramirez making the start.
- Carolina was off tonight too. They start a new series with West Tenn starting at 7:15. No starter listed, but it's Zach Stewart's turn.
- Sarasota lost to Tampa 7-3. as the pitching staff got abused by Yankee hitting. Neftali Soto was 1-for-3 with a double for the S-Reds, and Denis Phipps had three hits and drove in a run. Also starting to get back into the swing of things, Jake Kahaulelio was 2-for-5 in the leadoff spot. Up next: Jeremy Horst takes on Lakeland at 7.
- Dayton also lost 2-1 to Fort Wayne in a game where the offense couldn't get anything going. Miguel Rojas had 2 of the Dragons 5 hits on the night. Curtis Partch had a decent outing, giving up 2 runs in 7 innings. Up next: The Dragons take on Fort Wayne again at 7:05. No starter listed for the Dragons, but it's been over a week since Matt Fairel pitched. Shouldn't it be him? However, it's on Lance Janke's day, so that's a possibility too.
- Roster Moves: Yen-Wen Kuo was placed on the DL in Dayton. Kevyn Feiner was sent down from Sarasota to replace him.