Spring Training

[JohnU]

Price is essentially saying it's a 4-man outfield so I assume Scooter will get a few swings in left field.
Duvall is locked into LF and Winker will spell him.
Not sure if the issues with Duvall getting worn down are resolved.
Schebler will get some CF time. Hamilton isn't going to change.

 

[Redsfan1507]

You may be right about Scooter getting some OF time, unless Senzel moves someone else to the OF- maybe Suarez ? Schebler and Winker both hit lefty, and DuVall is a righty. Tough to platoon 2 lefties, unless Dusty makes the lineup. DuVall hits righties better than either hits lefties. Hell, DuVall hits righties too, more often than Schebler. Hamilton can't hit either well, but he's on base more than Schebler, which is an embarrassing statement. Schebler did hit 30 HR though....but Scooter Gennett almost did too, so there's that,. So, I don't see the 4 man OF as a platoon, I see Duvall playing most of the time, and as long as he hits close to .240-.250 Hamilton does the same. I see Winker and Schebler splitting more time than the righties, unless one shows they deserve more time. Scheb is the worst defender of the group, if that makes a difference. DuVall would get worn down less if he cut about 100 strikeouts out of his diet.

 

[JohnU]

Senzel won't see any MLB time till mid-summer, I think.
My guess is Dillson will make the team if he can.
Winker, Schebler, Hamilton Duvall ...
Votto, Scoots, Peraza, Suarez, Penny or Goose, Dilly
Barntucker, Mesoraco ... is probably the 12

If Senzel is ready by June, you can jettison Penny or Goose.

Phil Ervin and Jose Siri are the first callups, I'd guess, after Hamilton smashes into a fence.

 

[eburg5000]

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.

I don't think his number is worthy to be retired either, but putting it on the shelf for a few years might have been better. Because he was a fan favorite. I also don't think we will ever see Phillips back in Cincinnati as a coach or in any other capacity for the Reds.

I'm just saying that I thought the whole thing could have been handled differently.

 

[Ickey Shuffle]

I just want to see Hunter Greene soon. I'm so pumped to see him play.

 

[JohnU]

I just want to see Hunter Greene soon. I'm so pumped to see him play.

All I hear is that he's the real deal. Obviously he has to learn how to play a long season, at least one of 140 games. That will probably take a couple of years. Once he gets to Pensacola, we can start watching for that.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

From everything I read and hear the Reds have no intention of moving Suarez off of third. The club appears to be seriously considering whether Nick Senzel is athletic enough to play shortstop. I think that experiment will carry into the season beginning at AAA for Senzel. A full MLB service year is 172 days and I'd assume the Reds will play the extra year of team control game.

I think some of what we're seeing with Senzel is driven by uncertainty surrounding whether Jose Peraza can handle playing SS everyday.

Scooter could play a little OF if needed, but he only played a couple games out there after winning the everyday gig at second. There's not a lot of defensive versatility on the projected roster. An injury to one of the outfielders and Phil Ervin is the next man up.

Jose Siri isn't a serious option yet, he's never played above A ball. Siri will most likely begin at high A and we'll see how quickly he progresses from there. He's at least a season and a half from being ready.

 

[eburg5000]

I thought maybe Senzel might be to big to play SS, but 6.1 205 that's not bad. We know from playing 3rd he has quick hands, but is he good at moving latterly. I guess only time will tell.

If nothing else it should wake up Peraza

I never thought Suarez should be moved back to SS. His defense at 3rd as good as the Reds can get and afford.

 

[JohnU]

The issue with Peraza is that he comes with a nice box of tools, but he's never going to be really outstanding at any of them. His baserunning will keep him on the roster and if he can get on base at anything resembling .340 ... you can convert him to CF. Hamilton's future seems connected to the owner's imagination right now. That's probably not a good sign moving forward but Castellini did also once say he didn't want Bruce traded.

Senzel, if he can hit, will find a spot. For the moment, I'd say he's going to play 2B. We will see when the International League gets started. Spring games will doubtless give him more ABs, though maybe not useful.

Scooter probably knew he'd need to be versatile and I'd guess he's the sort who will work on that. His value is a bit higher now than a year ago to GMs who believe players get better each year. I think he will play LF a lot this spring. If you can hack it in Goodyear, it's a cakewalk after that.

The adage about having too much talent applies here on one level -- mainly, we have fairly low expectations and high hopes that young players do all develop into the BRM or something like it. This team isn't very good by those standards but it's not terrible either. This is really all up to the pitching.

The secret to me is how the batting order comes together. This is a pretty diverse lineup, meaning not everybody is going to slump at the same time. But that said, the leadoff guy and the No. 7 guy are not particularly strong if we go on last year. I don't do lineups well but I'm thinking Peraza has a chance to win that LO job.

Naturally there are platoons. Scooter couldn't hit me, since I am a lefty. When he comes out, who's on first? Er ... second? And Mesoraco in the order is a different hitter than Tuckerbarn.

Lots of fun this time of year. It's probably not that complicated.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I'm curious to see where they play Dilson Herrera this spring. He's played some SS and 3rd in the minors, but never the OF. Most middle IF are athletic enough to play the OF. It'd be a nice addition to his resume and would improve his chances of making the club. Would be nice to have another RH hitting OF option on the club.

 

[JohnU]

I'm curious to see where they play Dilson Herrera this spring. He's played some SS and 3rd in the minors, but never the OF. Most middle IF are athletic enough to play the OF. It'd be a nice addition to his resume and would improve his chances of making the club. Would be nice to have another RH hitting OF option on the club.

I suppose it depends on if the Reds need his bat that much. It's not like they can't find outfielders.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Duvall, Schebler, and Hamilton are all below averge hitting outfielders. Duvall and BH are solid defenders, but Schebler and Winker are not. Winker looks like he can hit, but he's slow, can't throw, and is the weakest defensive player on the Reds roster. I'd say the Reds have a lot of trouble developing MLB average outfielders.

 

[JohnU]

I am a little higher on Schebler than the rest of you are. I've been real wrong before on outfielders, such as Stubbs. No expectations on Duvall but I think he's good enough. Hamilton probably will tell us he's worked on bunting this winter but he's not likely to back that up. Winker's defense ... I haven't seen enough to quantify it. He can improve on his routes. Mostly I think he's a nice platoon if he gets 15 ABs a week.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I like Scott Schebler, but more as a platoon/4th OF. I say the same thing about all four of the Reds current outfielders. I think mixing and matching the group would yield more production.

If I was going to grade which one is the best overall outfielder I'd say Adam Duvall with an asterisk. The asterisk being his diabetes which I think is the culprit in his second half swoons. You combine Duvall's 2016-17 1st half numbers and it'd be silver slugger type production. If his diabetes is the problem there may not be a solution.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I like what I saw from Jesse Winker at the plate last season, but was disappointed with his athleticism. His production could potentially be similiar to Sean Casey, but so is his athleticism.

 

[JohnU]

Cincy has relied on hitting and defense to counterbalance that monstrosity of a pitching staff.
Too bad the hitting has been almost as bad.
So they rely on defense and baserunning.
Except the only baserunner can't get on base.
So they rely on defense.
Not sure where this is going.

They need to try something else to improve attendance........... such as ...............

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Cody Reed off to a rocky start. Ariel Hernandez matched him.

Bad news for Jose Siri. He suffered a ligament injury to his thumb crashing into the wall Friday.

Rosella Herrera is a 25 year old UT guy signed as a minor league FA. He's homered in back to back games to begin ST. He'll probably have to continue that pace to make the club. But you never know, we may see him later in the season.

 

[JohnU]

Having a guy named Rosella on the Rojos is a nice thought.
Man, a ligament in the thumb ... he's out for the season.
Cody Reed may go down in history joining a long list of pitchers who had all the tools but forgot where the key to the tool box was stashed (probably inside the tool box, if that translates).

 

[JohnU]

Rosell's bio shows him an infielder by birth, an outfielder of late.
That's kind of a nice mix for a Triple-A team with so much roster turnover.

 

[JohnU]

Just looking over the spring camp, this guy pops up.
Look at his OBP ... not too shabby ... and his SB totals.
5-9 165 ... not much muscle there.

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