Last year, Todd Frazier was the consensus #2 prospect on our list, and held the number one spot until the Reds signed some no-name out of Cuba. Even though he had a decent season in Louisville in 2010, Frazier dropped 5 spots to #7 on the list. So what happened? Obviously his slow start may have had something to do with it, but his numbers evened themselves out over the season. The guys who jumped him on the list all had pretty good seasons, so that may have been a factor. However, I think the main reason for his drop is that nobody really knows what to do with him.
By all accounts, he's a nice kid and solid clubhouse presence. We've seen that he can hit, and most scouts project him to be a 20 HR bat at the big league level in the long term, but how much value does that upside have when it seems like the Reds don't have any kind of plan for him? You definitely wouldn't expect that for a former sandwich round pick. I think the Reds have accepted that there's not room in the infield for him, as Juan Francisco has seen most of the AAA time at 3B while the only infield position Frazier saw much time at in 2010 was 1B, which is blocked by an MVP (damn it's fun to say that). The slight majority of his time has been in LF, which is a position that has been a problem for the Reds in recent years, but there isn't a shortage of bodies there with Gomes, Lewis, Heisey, and Hermida theoretically ahead of him on the depth chart.
So I ask, what happens to Frazier from here? What do you need to see from him to prove that he deserves a shot in LF full-time? He's entering his age 25 season, so his prospect status is entering its twilight stages. Do the Reds decide that he's surplus and trade him at the deadline? It'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out, especially if he forces their hand a bit. Also, keep in mind that this will be virtually the first time that Frazier's had to repeat a level (assuming he starts this coming season in AAA). The only other time he was in a situation like this was in 2008 after he finished the last week of the 2007 season in Dayton, and he came out to a 1.000 OPS in 30 games to begin the year.
With that, we roll onward to the 8th prospect. Yesterday's vote was close, so I wouldn't expect anything different today. Same suspects, different case, all listed after the jump. Vote... now!
Zack Cozart, SS
John Sickels Rank: 11
2010 RR CPR Rank: 9
Age: 25
Draft/Acquisition Details: Round 2 (Pick 79), 2007, Reds
Highest Level Played: AAA (Louisville)
2010 Statistics:
Louisville (AAA): 136 G, 553 AB, 17 HR, 67 RBI, 30 SB, .255/.310/.416/.726
Juan Francisco, 3B
John Sickels Rank: 6
2010 RR CPR Rank: 6
Age: 23
Draft/Acquisition Details: Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2004
Highest Level Played: MLB (Reds)
2010 Statistics:
Louisville (AAA): 77 G, 308 AB, 18 HR, 59 RBI, 1 SB, .286/.325/.565/.890
Cincinnati (MLB): 36 G, 55 AB, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .273/.322/.382/.704
Donnie Joseph, LHP
John Sickels Rank: 8
2010 RR CPR Rank: 21
Age: 23
Draft/Acquisition Details: 3rd round (88th overall), 2009, Reds
Highest Level Played: AA (Carolina)
2010 Statistics:
Dayton (A): 19 G, 6 SV, 0.78 ERA, 23 IP, 40 K, 7 BB, 0.87 WHIP
Lynchburg (A+): 31 G, 17 SV, 2.31 ERA, 35 IP, 56 K, 16 BB, 1.11 WHIP
Carolina (AA): 7 G, 1 SV, 5.14 ERA, 7 IP, 7 K, 2 BB, 1.29 WHIP
Kyle Lotzkar, LHP
John Sickels Rank: 9
2010 RR CPR Rank: NA
Age: 21
Draft/Acquisition Details: 1st round (53rd overall), 2007, Reds
Highest Level Played: A (Dayton)
2010 Statistics:
AZL Reds (Rookie): 8 G, 6 GS, 3.33 ERA, 24 IP, 27 K, 12 BB, 1.32 WHIP
Billings (Rookie): 4 G, 4 GS, 0.45 ERA, 20 IP, 33 K, 2 BB, 0.50 WHIP
Dave Sappelt, OF
John Sickels Rank: 13
2010 RR CPR Rank: N/R
Age: 24
Draft/Acquisition Details: 9th round, Reds, 2008
Highest Level Played: AAA (Louisville)
2010 Statistics:
Lynchburg (A+): 19 G, 71 AB, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 6 SB, .282/.338/.352/.690
Carolina (AA): 89 G, 330 AB, 9 HR, 62 RBI, 15 SB, .361/.416/.548/.964
Louisville (AAA): 25 G, 108 AB, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 4 SB, .324/.365/.481/.847