Farmers Only: It's so Hard to Say Goodbye to the Soft J

While the Reds were busy sweeping the Cardinals this weekend, the big news down on the farm was the trade of Paul Janish to the Braves for 27 year old RHP Todd Redmond. This move makes a lot of sense for the Reds, as the lack of starting pitching depth in Louisville was a major concern after the loss of Jeff Francis, and before this move, the Reds were a blistered finger or pulled muscle away from running out Chad Reineke or throwing Pedro Villarreal to the wolves. Let's face it, the Reds have been very lucky so far this season with starting pitching health (knock on ALL the wood), and depth is never a bad thing.

Redmond posts a solid MiLB resume, with a 3.57 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 193 career starts. In any other organization, he probably would have already got a shot in the majors. But Ted Turner's buffalo and starting pitcher farm in Fort Peck, Montana has kept the Braves flush with solid pitching prospects since I was in short pants. The 6'3" righty is more of a control guy than a stuff guy with a low 90's fastball, a plus changeup and a decent curve in his arsenal.

The weekend's action after the jump.

• Louisville won all three of their weekend games against the Gwinnett Braves, incomprehensibly scoring a month's worth of runs in three days. The Bats mercy rule'd the Braves on Friday, winning 22-1. Didi Gregorius went 3-6 with a double, and Chris Valaika honked a grand salami. On Saturday Dioner Navarro led the Bats to a 10-8 victory with a yet another grand slam. His was a 2-out walkoff granny, making it all that much sweeter. Sunday's game was a tight one, with the Bats squeaking out a 3-2 win. Pedro Villarreal managed to allow only 1 run despite allowing 10 baserunners and JJ Hoover got a two inning save. Up Next: The Bats take a trip to Scrabblesville to face the Clippers at 7:05pm ET.
• Pensacola swept a Friday double header, winning 2-1 in the early game where Tony Cingrani threw a complete game (7 IP) shutout and Billy Hamilton went 1-4 with 2 SB. It was a team effort in the second game, as no Wahoo had more than one hit in the 6-1 victory. Pensacola lost on Saturday 6-1, but Billy Quix managed his 5th stolen base in as many games in AA. Billy Hamilton once again stole the show on Sunday, hitting an inside the park home run in the Wahoos' 6-2 win. Hamilton was clocked at an absolutely insane 13.8 seconds from home to home. Lil' Cueto struck out 6 while allowing 1 run in 6.1 IP and got the win. Up Next: JC Sulbaran takes on the Jacksonville Suns tonight at 8pm ET.
• Bakersfield took 2 of 3 this weekend. The Blaze played longball on Friday, beating the Stockton Ports 9-0 thanks to wangers honked by Travis Mattair, Steve Selsky and Danny Vicioso. Bako beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 5-3 on Saturday thanks to a 2-run Donald Lutz knockwurst in the 8th inning. Daniel Renken got knocked around on Sunday giving up 6 runs in 7 IP in a 7-5 loss. Up Next: Tim Crabbe makes his first start after being sent down from Pensacola against the Quakes at 10:45pm ET.
• Dayton had a rough weekend, losing 2 of 3. Friday's game was over before it began as Jacob Jingleheimer Johnson gave up 6 ER on 6 hits in 1 IP and the Dragons lost 8-1. Our man Yorman is still hitting well after his demotion, OPS'ing 500 points higher in Dayton than he did in Bakersfield. He went 2-4 with a double, 2 RBIs and only 1 K in Saturday's 7-6 victory over the Burlington Bees. Despite getting 9 hits on Sunday, Dayton lost a 3-2 heartbreaker in 10 innings. Nick O'Shea had the only extra-base hit in the game for the Dragons with a rally killer in the 9th inning. Up Next: Rowdy Rad Quezada rassles the Bees at 7:30pm ET.
• Billings went 2-3 this weekend, winning 22-6 on Friday against the Orem Owlz (yes, they really do spell Owlz with a 'Z'), losing 7-4 on Saturday to Grand Junction, and winning 9-3 yesterday. More importantly, Bob Steve had his best professional start to date striking out 9 batters with no walks in 5 IP, and picked up his first win. Tip of the cap, young man. Up Next: The Mustangs continue their series against the Rockies at 9:05pm ET.
• The AZL Reds lost 5-4 in 11 innings on Saturday, and were rained out on Sunday. They battle the Indians tonight at 9:00pm ET.