Archive for Cincinnati Reds

While the corners remain the same, the Cincinnati Reds made a big change in center field with a major three-team trade with the Diamondbacks and Indians during the offseason. They gave up a fine, defensive shortstop prospect, but obtained an outstanding 20-20 outfielder to cover center and possibly opened the door a little wider for one of their most-hyped prospects down the road. There’s some interesting flexibility that the team has right now, so let’s take a quick look… Read the rest of this entry »

While most people were wrapping up their day on Tuesday, the Indians, Reds and Diamondbacks shook up the MLB world when they finalized a three-team deal with some major parts being passed around. In a nutshell, the deal looks like this:

• Cleveland Indians receive: RHP Trevor Bauer, RHP Matt Albers, and RHP Bryan Shaw from Arizona and OF Drew Stubbs from Cincinnati
• Cincinnati Reds receive: OF Shin-Soo Choo, INF Jason Donald, and cash ($3.5 mil to offset salaries) from Cleveland
• Arizona Diamondback receive: SS Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati and LHP Tony Sipp and 1B Lars Anderson from Cleveland Read the rest of this entry »

Another week, another position. If you haven’t already, then take a look at Zach Sanders’ Shortstop End of Season Rankings and we can scroll down together to find Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart, probably one of the more disappointing players this year, given the preseason hype and expectations. He was supposed to be this awesome blend of power and speed who was also capable of hitting for average, but after a season filled with a few bumps in the road, Cozart had left his owners wanting/needing more. Read the rest of this entry »

Two of the catcher situations we said we would continue to follow closely throughout the season revolved around a pair of up-and-coming backstops who, based on pure talent and upside, were expected to eventually steal away the starting job on their respective teams.  Devin Mesoraco from the Reds was being paired with incumbent backstop Ryan Hanigan while the Rockies brought in former-Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez to mentor Wilin Rosario and set him up for future success.  We might be just three weeks into the season, but according to the current game logs, neither youngster is running away with anything right now.

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Back in 2008, Edinson Volquez shone near as brightly as any young starter in the game. The 24-year-old, acquired from Texas the previous winter for Josh Hamilton, used his low-90s heat and devastating changeup to post a 3.21 ERA and 4.2 Wins Above Replacement in nearly 200 innings. Since then, however, his standing has dimmed considerably. Volquez succumbed to Tommy John surgery in 2009, got slapped with a 50-game PED suspension in 2010 and got lit up and demoted to the minors in 2011. He has been worth just 0.8 WAR over the past three years, with a 5.01 ERA in 221 frames.

It seems odd, then, to suggest that a pitcher coming off three lost seasons could be a bargain in 2012. But Volquez still has strikeout stuff and shouldn’t have near as much of a problem keeping the ball in the park next season as he did in 2011, especially with his move west to Petco as part of San Diego’s haul for Mat Latos. If Volquez can at least show passable control — particularly against lefties — he could provide a nice return on investment in the later rounds on draft day.

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By now you’ve already heard the news that the Rockies traded Chris Iannetta and his over-inflated OBP to the “can we please have Mike Napoli back, our catchers stink” Angels while signing Reds free agent Ramon Hernandez as a replacement and mentor for prospect Wilin Rosario.  If not, then wake up and check out articles here from Erik Hahmann, Jack Moore and Chris Cwik, all of whom have chimed in on the move.  But while all that is certainly big news, my fantasy radar keeps me in Cincinnati.  With the departure of Hernandez, the Reds will have a new catching tandem to watch and, more than likely, bigger possibilities on the horizon.

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With so many articles designed to help you win your fantasy league this season, it’s time we threw some out to the bottom-feeders, especially those in keeper and dynasty leagues.  While most of the competitors currently in the lower third of your league’s standings couldn’t care less about what’s going on today, it is the wise and savvy GM that continuously prepares for the future.  With so much young talent behind the dish these days, it only makes sense to see what’s out there beyond the horizon.  So here’s a look at a couple of top catching prospects that could debut with a late season call-up this year, but will likely be forced to wait in the minors until their time comes in 2012. Read the rest of this entry »