Saturday Evening (re)Post(er)

#Reds sign 2nd-rder K.J. Franklin for $675k. Calif HS 3B, went 5 rds above BA rank (232), power & arm strength, Arizona St recruit #mlbdraft

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisBA) June 22, 2013

The Reds signed their 2nd round pick, sez Jim Callis. As of me typing this, I'm only seeing a tweet about it. The Reds took Franklin 67th overall (their third pick in the draft), despite him profiling in the 200s. Not surprisingly, Franklin signed under slot value - which was $832,700.

It's not clear to me why Franklin was so overdrafted, but I'm sure the Reds saw something to complement the points he gets for sign-ability and cost-cutting. Here's our post on Franklin. And here's what Thundering Turtle had to say:

Franklin brings enourmous power, but with it comes contact issues. Franklin is a hard worker with a great attitude and is willing to learn. He appears signable away from Arizona State. Franklin (6-2, 220) is thick, but not unathletic by any means and scouts think he can remain at third base, at least for now. Buckley was impressed with Franklin's athleticism. First base and corner outfield slots are other destinations. Franklin's mechanics can use some work, especially in trying to hit breaking balls. The Reds might need to be patient in developing Franklin, a high-upside selection, and because of his prodigious power he could be worth the wait. BA ranked Franklin No. 232 nationally and No. 44 in a loaded State of California.

END?

.273/.304 /.727
That's Jay Bruce's line over the last 10 games, to go with 6 HRs. Bruce is clobbering the ball and is firmly back to where he's been the past few seasons - an above-average-to-All Star level outfielder, depending on how you feel about his defense. The one thing that hasn't improved is his plate discipline. His walk rate has dropped for two seasons running and is down to a disappointing 6.4%.

FanGraphs looks at "the Burying of Devin Mesoraco"
Mesoraco's career has definitely been on a weird arc for a guy who was a "consensus top-15 prospect" before last season and kept in a Sophie's Choice over Yasmani Grandal. Since then, he's been demoted, called-up to third string behind Dione Navarro, split time almost evenly with Corky Miller for a spell and now seems locked in to about 40% of starts behind Hanigan. I think the author seriously undersells Ryan Hanigans value, while glossing over how much Mesoraco has struggled both behind and beside the plate. And catching is hard as hell. But Meso should probably be splitting time equally with Hanigan and sharing the pitching staff too - with an eye toward being the full-time starter no later than next spring.

Hall o' Famer Hal went with: "Reds hammered in the Desert" last night | Dayton Daily News
But what happened in the game?

Doug Gray provides a Pensacola Blue Wahoos 1st Half Review | redsminorleagues.com
I'll just add that I've always though "Blue Wahoo" was something a 1940s character actor would call someone.

Dayton Daily News has video capability now | www.daytondailynews.com
$7 each sounds like a lot for MLB to be paying for one baseball. Don't they get volume discounts? Don't you have mad economy of scale when you're a legal monopoly? Next step for the DDD: investigate.

Jose Valverde designated for assignment by the Tigers | HardballTalk
It's hard not to think of the Reds' bullpen situation and think "hm." And then say, "I just had a terrible idea." Reds need to shake the reliever tree, but there are even several current free agents I'd take over Valverde...

See: 2013 MLB Free Agents

The Rockies traded for Takahashi | MLBTradeRumors.com
Hm. I'm not sure this is a much better idea than getting Valverde. But they're doing stuff.

This is pretty funny, isn't it?
The one guy is celebrating by obsessively compulsively touching everyone. The other guy is trying to remember where he left his keys.

Andrew McCutchen becomes first MLB player to get custom Beats by Dre Pro headphones | Big League Stew
Beats by Fraze. Beats by Jay. BeePs by Dre. C'mon.