Reds Minor League Baseball Blog

It’s hard to believe Bailey’s ERA could get even lower but he did just that yesterday with 7 1/3 shutout innings in a 5-0 win over the Mud Hens.  Bailey gave up just five hits with a walk and three strikeouts and he’s now 3-1 with a 1.03 ERA and a .204 batting average against.  I think the kid has worked through whatever was ailing him this spring and with the Reds struggling, it’s time to see him back with the big league club.

Drew Anderson doubled and drove in two.  Jerry Hairson, Jr. went three for five with a double while Jay Bruce went two for five with a run and an RBI.

Jay Bruce is definitely heating up and and he had a nice day at the plate in the Bats 6-4 win over Norfolk.  The rightfielder went three for three with a homerun, two RBIs and two runs.  Jerry Hairston, Jr. went two for four with a double, a homerun and three RBIs.

Matthew Maloney improved to 1-0 with a decent start.  He gave up three runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Louisville took care of the Bats 9-2 and it was the Reds top prospect, Jay Bruce, who led the way.  After a slow start to the season he went two for five with a triple, a homerun and three RBIs.  Jerry Hairston, Jr. went three for four with a double, a triple and two runs.

Justin Lehr picked up the win with an exceptional start.  He gave up just a solo homerun with five strikeouts in eight innings of work.

Don’t blame Homer Bailey.  He threw about as good of a game as you could, the hitters just didn’t get it going for him.  Bailey gave up a single run on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts in seven innings. 

The Bats picked up just four hits in this one and Ryan Hanigan had two of them.  Jolbert Cabrera doubled and Jay Bruce piled on a single to round out the other Bats hits.

I knew when the Reds signed Corey Patterson that this would probably happen.  I’m not into baseball betting, but Dusty Baker’s propensity of going with the veterans just stayed in the back of my head.  Anyway, Jay Bruce was sent down to the minors today so the folks in Louisville will enjoy his talents to start the season.  I think it’s a big mistake, but if Dusty proves me wrong, it won’t be the first time.

Baseball America was the first site to throw out their top Reds prospects list.  What’s most impressive about the list is how many major league ready players the Reds have at the top of their list.  There’s no surprise that Jay Bruce comes in at number one, even ahead of Homer Bailey.  Bruce had the monster season that saw him go from High A all the way to Triple A with success at every stop.  Bruce might start the season at Louisville, but I’d expect him not to be there for long.

Bailey comes in at number two and while he had a rough season last year, he had some flashes.  His time in Triple A was pretty effective but I’d still expect to find a spot in the rotation from day one this year.  Dusty Baker has a tendency to ride his starters (especially when the pen isn’t all that great) so I’d be worried about overuse.  Hopefully Bailey is handled correctly and he has a solid season in 2008.

Joey Votto comes in at three and while he’s not much of a prospect anymore, he’ll hopefully be the team’s starting first baseman.  The Reds have Scott Hatteberg for another year and if you remember way back with the Cubs, Dusty Baker kind of shut out Hee Sop Choi from finding solid playing time.  Hopefully Votto makes an immediate impact in the spring and forces the Reds hand to start him every day.

Johnny Cueto comes in at four and he’ll probably start in Louisville.  Still, this is a kid who is ready and I’d like to see him at least get a spot in the Reds bullpen.  2006 first round pick Drew Stubbs rounds out the top five and he’ll most likely start the season at Sarasota.  Devin Mesoraco, the team’s first round pick in 2007, checks in at number six.

Those top four guys though could provide a solid nucleus for the Reds for the next several years.  You just have to hope their both pan out and are used correctly.

Ben Jukich didn’t take the loss but he got the Reds off to a poor start in their 10-8 loss to Clearwater.  He gave up four runs on five hits and two walks and he pitched just 1 1/3 innings.  Derrick Lutz ended up taking the loss and he gave up two runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Jay Bruce had a nice day at the plate in the loss.  He went two for five with a double, a homerun, two RBIs and two runs.  Eric Eymann went three for four with a double and he scored a run.

Jay Bruce had a nice day at the plate in Sarasota’s 5-2 win over St. Lucie.  He only had one hit but it was a double and he finished the game with three RBIs.  Brandon Szymanski also had a great day and he went three for four and was a single short of hitting for the cycle with three runs scored.

Ramon Ramirez threw six shutout innings in the win.  He gave up six hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

Logan Ondrusek dropped to 4-3 on the season in the Reds 8-4 loss to Vero Beach.  He gave up six runs on eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Jay Bruce had another good gaem.  He went three for five with a double, a run and an RBI.  Brandon Szymanski hit a solo homerun in the loss.

Sarasota lost to Fort Myers 5-3 and Daryl Thompson took the loss in a tough start.  He gave up five runs (three earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts in five innings and the loss drops him to 1-2 on the season.

Jay Bruce hit a solo homerun in the loss.  Michael DeJesus went two for three with a walk and a run.

Johnny Cueto was hit hard in Sarasota’s 5-2 loss to Brevard County.  He gave up four runs on five hits with two strikeouts in three innings.

Jay Bruce was the hitting star in the loss.  He went two for four with a run.

Daryl Thompson had a great start in the Reds 6-1 win over Daytona.  He gave up just a single run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in six innings and the win improves his record to 1-1 on the season.

Jay Bruce had a big day at the plate.  He went three for four with a double, two RBIs and a run.  Michael Griffin scored two runs and Adam Rosales drove in two in the win.

Sarasota got just enough offense to take care of Clearwater 4-3.  Michael DeJesus hit a two run homerun in the third inning to put the Reds on the board while Jay Bruce went two for four with a double and an RBI.

Kevin Gunter picked up the win with two perfect innings.  Josh Roenicke pitched a shutout ninth and he picked up his thirteenth save of the season.

This is one of those games where the box score looks like something out of a video game.  Five different Reds hit homeruns with Craig Tatum’s being a grand slam.  Jay Bruce hit homerun number nine and he drove in three and scored twice while Michael DeJesus went two for four with a homerun, three RBIs and three runs.

Logan Ondursek wasn’t great but he picked up the easy win.  He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts in five innings.

Ramon Ramirez was hit hard in the Reds 7-4 loss to Lakeland.  He gave up four runs on six hits and four walks but he struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings.  The loss drops him to 2-1 on the season.

Jay Bruce had a big game at the plate in the loss.  He went two for four with a double, a triple, two runs and two RBIs.  The two hits picked his season average up to .327 and he now has 29 runs in 38 games.

Johnny Cueto picked up the win today with six solid innings in Sarasota’s 7-2 win over Lakeland.  He gave up just one run on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts and the win pushes him to 1-1.

Michael DeJesus went three for four with two doubles and two runs.  Jay Bruce singled twice and drove in two.

Richie Gardner improved to 2-0 with another good start as Sarasota beat Clearwater 4-3.  Gardner gave up just a single run on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts in six innings of work.

Jay Bruce had another big game.  He went two for three with a double, a homerun, two RBIs and a run.  Brandon Szymanski also went yard and his was a two run shot.

Ramon Ramirez has made pitching as Sarasota look easy so far this year.  He won his first start in an impressive outing in which he gave up just a single run on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  It was the first earned run he’d given up all season and he’s struck out 13 in 13 2/3 innings.  The only concern are seven walks but so far, they haven’t come back to haunt him.

Jay Bruce hit his first homerun of the season.  It was a two run shot in the sixth that turned out to be the game winner.  Jeremiah Piepkorn went two for four with a walk, three runs and an RBI in the 6-3 win.

Craig Tatum hit the ball well in the Reds 6-3 win over Tampa.  He went two for four with a two run homer.  Jeremiah Piepkorn went three for four with two doubles and a run while Jay Bruce continued to hit well with two hits and two runs.  Bruce now has nine runs in the first ten games.

Luis Montano picked up the win with some solid relief.  He gave up three hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.

The pitching wasn’t really there tonight but the hitting did a nice job in the Reds 7-6 win over the Miracle.  Jay Bruce went three for four with a run while Michael DeJesus went two for three with a double, a run and two RBIs.  Michael Griffin hit the only homerun for the Reds.

Travis Wood picked up the win despite a lackluster start.  He gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks with a strikeout in five innings.  Thomas Lanier gave up two runs on 1 1/3 while Ramon Ramirez had a very impressive relief outing.  He threw 2 2/3 innings of no hit, shutout ball and he struck out three with one walk.

Carlos Fisher threw a gem today for Sarasota and he combined with two relievers for a shutout over Fort Myers.  He gave up just three hits and a walk with three strikeouts in seven shutout innings. 

Jay Bruce led the way in a light hitting outing for the team.  He singled, drew a walk and scored one of the two runs in the 2-0 win.

Three Reds minor leaguers made the cut in MiLB.com’s All NL Central prospect team.  Homer Bailey is the top right handed starting pitcher while Joey Votto (1b) and Jay Bruce (OF) also made the cut.  Not too shabby considering if they had done this a couple of years ago, there probably wouldn’t be any Reds on the list, or at most maybe one.