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FanGraphs is in the midst of updating their rankings of the top prospects in each MLB franchise’s farm, per usual, and on Tuesday they dropped their update on the current state of the Cincinnati Reds system. Unsurprisingly, Nick Senzel held onto the top overall spot, his injury-riddled 2018 doing nothing to usurp his status as one of the absolute premier prospects in all of baseball.
Perhaps what stood out most, though, was Taylor Trammell jumping into the #2 spot in the system, earning a coveted 60 Future Value rating that’s in-line with Senzel. Trammell had quite the up and down 2018 season - his first half being stellar and including a Futures Game MVP Award while his second half featuring a bit of a dip - but that paired with what scouts observed from him in Arizona Fall League play has him as one of the top rising prospects in the game today.
The beauty of FanGraphs is that there isn’t just a list of names, there are scouting reports on each and every one of the 40+ players profiled, so check it out.
In other news, it now appears that the New York Mets might actually hold on to flamethower Noah Syndergaard, as The McPaper’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier in the day.
The #Mets say they expect Noah Syndergaard to stay with the team. They'd have to get pieces back to fill holes in their lineup in 2019 to even consider a trade. They will not trade him strictly for prospects.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 4, 2018
The odds that the Reds were actually going to land Syndergaard were always long, and would’ve required a massive, costly prospect package, of course. That said, the Reds are also just one of many, many teams on the hunt for good starting pitching this winter - either via trade or via free agency - and one of the bigger, more potent names that fits that bill being taken off the market makes it that much tougher for all teams trying to ‘get the pitching’ to actually, y’know, get the pitching. Dammit, Mets.
‘round these parts, we’re all keenly aware that a) Joey Votto didn’t bonk dingers in 2018 like he usually does and that b) Joey Votto was still really, really good on the whole in 2018. Well, Nick Dika took a closer look at some of the numbers behind Votto’s 2018 season over at RotoGraphs, suggesting that in many ways he was rather unlucky last year. That’s the positive spin, with the obvious acknowledgement that he certainly isn’t getting any younger, though there is still ample reason for optimism that he’ll be a more thumpy hitter in 2019 than what we saw this past season.
Over at The Enquirer, John Fay took a closer look at options for centerfield going forward now that Billy Hamilton has been non-tendered.
Over at MLB.com, Mark Sheldon took a closer look at options for centerfield going forward now that Billy Hamilton has been non-tendered.
Over at Red Reporter, I wrote in this particular sentence that I really want to see Andrew McCutchen on the Reds in a four-man OF rotation with Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker, and Scott Schebler for 2019, with Senzel taking over 2B full time from Scooter Gennett beginning in 2020. There it is. I just wrote it.
Jon Morosi also chipped in with some Redsy news at MLB.com, this time that the Reds are likely out on the overpriced Patrick Corbin, instead setting their eyes on a pair of Cleveland hurlers in Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer. Hmm. In a way, I’m actually so bowled over by the Reds continuing to actually, y’know, be connected with trying to land some of the best pitchers in all of baseball that the concept of it actually being the right idea has begun to elude me. Corey Kluber is amazing. He’d be a phenomenal upgrade. He’d require an absolute haul, and that concerns me. But Corey Kluber is amazing, and he’d be a phenomenal upgrade, one that would require a haul so absolutely grandiose that it concerns me. Meanwhile, if the Reds big move this offseason is trading for Trevor Bauer, rip both my hands off and smack me with them.
Finally, our blog friends at Redleg Nation are in the midst of a big ol’ transition, with blog founder Chad Dotson stepping aside and Doug Gray taking the reins. Congrats to Chad on a great, great run, and I’m certainly happy to hear that he still plans on contributing from time to time going forward. Also, I’m excited to see how Doug continues moving RN forward, as they’ve been providing quality, exploratory pieces on the Reds for a damn long time now, and have somehow managed to do so with a minuscule level of snark that I find almost impossible to fathom (clearly). That’s quite the admirable accomplishment.