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Well, hello there. Baseball is over and we're all really sad about it. However, if you are really paying attention, you'd know that the Arizona Fall League is totes exciting and happening right now. Actually, I haven't really followed it much at all. I guess Nick Travieso is slicing up eyeballs and Phil Ervin is crushing it right now. I think they were both named to the All Star teams they have out there or something.
Whatever, let's get to the real news.
If you haven't heard, Baseball America has released their Top 10 prospects for the Cincinnati Reds.
1. Robert Stephenson, RHP
2. Cody Reed, LHP
3. Amir Garrett, LHP
4. Tyler Stephenson, C
5. Jesse Winker, LF
6. Alex Blandino, SS/2B
7. Nick Travieso, SP
8. Keury Mella, RHP
9. Sal Romano, RHP
10. Tyler Mahle, RHP
Honestly, I think this is a pretty exciting list. I think there are some surprises, and you can base an opinion on this anyway you'd like. I didn't think we'd see Jesse Winker fall this far, especially having a high school draft pick being put over him. To me, this speaks of two things. One, the quality of the arms in the Reds' organization. Stephenson had a very impressive year and Cody Reed greatly impressed since the trade to Cincy. Amir Garrett only continues to climb up the rankings.
Personally, I'd like to see Winker still at #2 with the pitchers falling behind him. His K/BB ratios were still really good and he began to hit for better power near the end. Travieso was rewarded for a strong year, and it's nice to see the youngsters in Romano and Mahle get some respect. Again, if you don't know much about Mahle, look up his BB-Ref page. He's been dominate ever since the Reds drafted him.
Don't read the comments. They're dumb.
Outside of the BA Top 10 announcement, we also had Minor League Free Agents announced. There are some names you may recognize, and I'll link to Dougie Dirt's article to give him the page clickies. It's the best I can do since I read it there first.
Here are the names:
| 1B | Marquez Smith |
| 2B | Hernan Iribarren |
| 3B | Sammy Diaz |
| C | Yovan Gonzalez |
| INF | Irving Falu |
| INF | Jermaine Curtis |
| INF | Ray Chang |
| INF | Wendell Soto |
| OF | Brennan Boesch |
| OF | Chris Dominguez |
| OF | Juan Silva |
| OF | Junior Felix Arias |
| LHP | Junior Morillo |
| LHP | Parick Schuster |
| RHP | Collin Balester |
| RHP | Jacob Johnson |
| RHP | Jose Cisnero |
| RHP | Jose De La Torre |
| RHP | Miguel Celestino |
| RHP | Sam LeCure |
There are quite a few names in there we had a good time with. I'm especially gonna miss Jermaine Lee Curtis. The players you may recognize are Marquez Smith, Brennan Boesch, Chris Dominguez, Juan Silva, Junio Felix Arias, Collin Balester, and Sam LeCure. The Reds have every opportunity to bring these players back, but that means they also have every opportunity to leave. Junior Arias used to be a top prospect, but he's struggled with injuries and plate discipline. This also means that Sam LeCure will be looking for somewhere else to play. I'd say there is a good chance he goes to another club. The Reds probably know all they need to know about Sammy, and I don't it doesn't sound like they're really interested in his 85 MPH fastball.
The biggest travesty is the letting Juan Silva walk. He was the best prospect the Reds ever had.