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Spring Training

Hit-n-Run

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Pitchers and catchers report today.
 

JohnU

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I read some articles about the (redundant) "list" of pitchers who might make this team.
Frankly, I think Price already has his rotation and his bullpen. All these guys have to do is come to camp healthy and prove they can get on the plane when camp ends.

Rotation is dependent on if Disco is able to pitch, and that's Stephenson's spot to earn.
A couple of these guys, and maybe three of the -- Finny, Disco and maybe Castillo -- won't get more than 160 innings this year. Romano and Bailey will pitch til they drop. Lorenzen might accidentally compete with Stevie for the spot if Disco can't pitch. Everybody else is either on the roster or DFA. Amir Garrett is the interesting scenario to me. Everybody else on the "list" is just on the "list." Mahle is on the list but I'd guess he starts at AAA.
Bullpen from the bottom up is set. I think Worley makes the team. Cody Reed will probably make it and we will wonder why. Arial Hernandez is intriguing. No command, great potential.

Middle infield is going to be interesting.
Gosselin might be the one we aren't sure of. Dillson H. is probably out.
 

Hit-n-Run

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read some articles about the (redundant) "list" of pitchers who might make this team.
Frankly, I think Price already has his rotation and his bullpen. All these guys have to do is come to camp healthy and prove they can get on the plane when camp ends.


I'd agree Price already has his five rotation guys set in his mind and most of the BP. It's been evident every ST he's been in charge that who are the SP to begin ST have been the ones to make the OD five. This was even true of Rookie Davis last season who would have to be considered a surprise at the time.

Bailey, Disco, and Finnegan make the options crowded and could very well not be the best three. They're listed as the top three, but realistically I think it's probable that we could see only one of them in the mix by next year's ST. Bailey's significant injury history and Disco tender elbow put a lot of uncertainty around them. Finnegan doesn't have a solid resume as of yet, but has shown signs of being a capable SP. He may still find his way to a BP role eventually.
 

JohnU

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Manship experiment didn't last long.
Cliff Pennington ... lord help us.
 

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!st Spring training game is next Friday against Cleveland
 

Hit-n-Run

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Neither Gosselin or Pennington sends chills down your spine. But Bryan Price said he's excited about having Cliff Pennington. Sounds like he's already got his man.
 

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Neither Gosselin or Pennington sends chills down your spine. But Bryan Price said he's excited about having Cliff Pennington. Sounds like he's already got his man.
I think Penny plays SS better than Goose.
 

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Well, if wearing No. 4 for Scooter annoyed Phillips, it's another thing to note that Cliff Pennington will wear it this year.
 

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Seems Like the front office want to piss Phillips off ever chance they get. Phillips was a good player for many years with the Reds, and a fan favorite. I know Phillips hasn't done a lot tp help himself. I just hate to see this.
 

Hit-n-Run

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I don't see re-assigning his number as anything more than re-assigning his number. IMO, He was a good player, but not worthy of having his number retired.

Obviously BP feels differently, but that is based on his own opinion of self worth. Hall of Fame balloting will determine whether the club retires his number. Does anyone think BP is going to be enshrined in Cooperstown?

Big Klu, Dave Concepcion, Hutch, and Pete have retired numbers without HOF inclusion. Pete isn't in for obvious reasons. A lot of Reds fans think Davey should be. Big Klu is one of the greatest hitters in franchise history and coached on the BRM staff. All were fan favorites, but if being a fan favorite is the criteria the Reds would run out of numbers.
 
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Hit-n-Run

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I read where Price has been impressed with Cody Reed early on. There's a lot to like about Cody Reed if his command improves.
 

Hit-n-Run

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Dilson Herrera sounds like he has come to ST with a willingness to learn new positions. Being out options will do that.

A bum shoulder has held him back the past couple seasons. He had surgery to alleviate an impingement. If he's healthy there's a tough decision to be made there.
 

JohnU

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Points on BP: He should not have whined about Scooter getting his number. Scooter didn't ask for it, as I recall.
It's a number. Fans liked his pizzazz. I did as well, just wished the guy would leave it at that. I don't want people to be silenced, but if you have an opinion, make it legit.

By the end of the decade, 2 more guys not named Pennington will wear that number, maybe even this year.
I think, as we have discussed, BP will make the Reds H of F because, well ... Adam Dunn.

Points on Cody Reed: His stuff is top notch. His mechanics sucked. That is usually fixable depending on the pitcher's physical dimensions. Randy Johnson was able to throw sidearm. Cody Reed ain't Randy anybody. But what a find if he can be a starter.

Points on Dillson: Can the guy hit? We got enough gloves. Can he run bases, bunt, whack a few doubles...?
Here's a guy who has been promised as a big-league player. We as Reds fans, are waiting for such men to materialize and I'm optimistic so far that this is a .500 team if they can put the right 9 guys out there.
 

Hit-n-Run

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I think Cody Reed has had trouble consistently repeating his mechanics with consistent tempo. That's more of a focus issue than anything else.

Dilson Herrera's strength is supposed to be his bat. I don't think we're going to find out if he can hit based on ST results. Most 4-A players can kill ST pitching. He needed to get MLB AB's before he ran out of options.
 

Hit-n-Run

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The club has several nonroster ST invitees with varying MLB pitching experience. Most are bums, but a couple guys might be worth a look.

Joe Mantiply had a pretty good MiLB career and is only 26 years old.

Kevin Quackenbush wasn't very good last year, but was better his first 3 seasons.

The Reds like to sign guys hoping they rebound from a poor season. They usually continue the trend in the wrong direction.
 

JohnU

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With pitching, it would seem that the names we recognize are the dozen or so who will make the club.
Worley is an outside shot. I don't know if guys like Mella are ahead of Quack or not. The De Paula numbers are interesting. Oblique strain ...
Crockett would be on my guess list, maybe Astin.
I think the Reds could actually trade some pitching but I have no idea what they'd want in return. Infield depth seems easier to find than I had imagined.
 

Redsfan1507

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I know it's spring, but I find optimism about the Reds pitching a real stretch. I hope I'm terribly wrong.

Other than Bailey, who will unfortunately pitch as long as he's getting paid and able to walk to the mound, I'd say there are ZERO locks to both make AND stick in the starting rotation, based on what they've done so far. Castillo WAS VERY impressive, but it was a very short sample...that said, damned near every other pitcher competing for the rotation has been equally and oppositely UN-impressive in equally short samples, and longer ones, too.

The biggest problem is although most of these guys can throw mid 90's, or better...they couldn't find the plate with GPS, even with their BEST pitch. Forget a 2nd or 3rd. It's hard for me to feel good about their issues "only" being mechanics, when the comments are in reference to the "top prospects" in the organization that have made it all the way to MLB opportunities. Pretty much sums up the Reds ability to "develop" anything but a pending DFA. I'm still waiting on the proof.

Bailey and Desclafani have to prove they are both healthy and still capable of even their previous inconsistent results. Finnegan still needs to prove he shouldn't be in the bullpen. Castillo might be the next Cueto...or not, we just don't know yet. He and Iglesias are the only 2 Reds pitchers that would draw any kind of trade interest returning MLB value, IMO, and that wouldn't help the Reds. Every other "possible SP" all still have to prove they even belong in MLB. Other than Iglesias, I don't have much confidence in the bullpen either- a real problem when no one in the rotation is likely to go more than 5-6 innings in any game they start.

I actually think the Reds offensive prospects look substantially better than the pitching. Senzel might be up by July. IMO, he may be the best hitter the Reds have signed since Votto, although they may have similar difficulty finding a defensive spot un-occupied by a current hitter. Sorry, I don't see Senzel playing SS, and I'm hoping they don't waste his time distracting his bat trying to play him out of position, where they need a hitter. The only thing worse than bad pitching, is bad middle infield defense behind it

I do not expect Scooter to repeat his Roy Hobbs impersonation, but I see little competition for daily 2b PT from anyone else. The OF might do better with a platoon, especially if it results in Schebler playing less RF for the Reds. He made Jay Bruce look like Roberto Clemente.
 
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