Minor League Discussion

[AdamDunn#44]

Louisville won 6-4
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/a...ouaaa_ricaaa_1

EdE went 2-3...single, HR, 2 walks
Bergolla 1-5...triple

[volzok]

I am happy with the numbers Bergolla has put up so far this year. I cant wait to see what he can do at the MLB level when he is ready. Also Smitherman seems to be doing decent. I am surprised that no one would want him to be a 4th or 5th OF. I think he could be a servicable OF in the majors. But there is just no room for him with the Reds stacked OF.

[ghettochild]

i feel sorry for all the good OF we have in our minors, knowing that they will only have a chance if they get traded, with the depth we have in our OF

[AdamDunn#44]

http://www.batsbaseball.com/morenews.cfm?news_id=403

Ramirez Named IL Pitcher of the Week

April 18, 2005

The International League announced today that Louisville pitcher Elizardo Ramirez has been named the League’s first Pitcher-of-the-Week for the 2005 season. The award covers the first eleven days of the season, the period from April 7-17.

Another player making his Triple-A debut last week was Louisville pitcher ELIZARDO RAMIREZ. The 22-year-old took the hill April 9 against the Ottawa Lynx, and was brilliant, tossing seven shutout innings. Elizardo struck out five Lynx batters and allowed just four hits. The Bats bullpen finished the shutout, and Louisville won the game 9-0. Ramirez had his first Triple-A victory. He returned to the mound Thursday to square off against the Pawtucket Red Sox. Again, Ramirez gave the Bats seven scoreless innings in another outstanding effort. This time he was matched pitch-for-pitch by his Red Sox counterpart Jeremi Gonzalez, and would leave with the game still scoreless. But the Bats scraped together a run in the bottom of the eighth and held on to win 1-0. Overall Louisville is off to a 7-4 start, just 0.5 games out of first place in the IL West. Ramirez has yet to allow a run in his first 14 innings of Triple-A baseball, and not surprisingly, is leading the League in ERA after his first two starts.

Ramirez was drafted by Philadelphia in 1999 at the age of 16. Through the 2003 season he had never pitched above Class-A, but last season he suddenly jumped from Class-A Clearwater to the Philadelphia Phillies and appeared in seven games. He was eventually optioned to Double-A Reading, where he remained until being dealt to Cincinnati as part of the Cory Lidle trade last August. Ramirez finished his year in Double-A Chattanooga, where he was 1-0 with a 3.19 ERA in five starts.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Congrats. to Elizardo. Very impressive...especially for someone in the Reds system.

[AdamDunn#44]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...504180396/1036

Bats, Reds hope Coffey is good to the last out
By Brian Bennett

A two-lane road leads into Todd Coffey's small hometown of Forest City, N.C. One way in, one way out.

In the spring of 1998, most professional baseball scouts couldn't wait to take the lane out of town. Sure, this 17-year-old Coffey kid was mowing down high school batters with an 88 mph fastball. But he also weighed 305 pounds and looked as if he should be playing offensive tackle somewhere.

Cincinnati Reds scout Steve Kring kept driving back to Forest City, however. He saw something more than just a lively right arm in Coffey. He saw confidence.

That total confidence in his ability has Coffey in the fast lane toward the big leagues today. The Louisville Bats' 24-year-old closer is a rising star in the Reds' organization.

"I've always believed I had a God-given talent," he said, "and I knew in my head that I could pitch in the major leagues."

The 6-foot-5 Coffey weighs 230 now. His arm, strengthened after Tommy John surgery, can propel a baseball more than 95 mph. His biggest asset, though, is his willingness to attack hitters, one of the main reasons he projects as a big-league closer or set-up man.

"Confidence is the majority of the battle for a closer," Bats pitching coach Mack Jenkins said. "The one thing that impresses everybody about Todd is that he throws strikes and isn't intimidated at all."

Coffey always wanted to be a pitcher. He says his parents have a picture of him as a 1-year-old in diapers throwing a baseball -- "with perfect mechanics."

But his body type and gene pool suggested that football -- or maybe sumo wrestling -- would be more appropriate. Coffey's father stands 6-6, and his brother is a 7-0, 350-pound computer programmer, the Shaq of Macs. Todd ballooned to more than 300 as a high school senior, intimidating both opponents and scouts.

"Everyone was scared to death of that body," said Kring, the Reds' scouting supervisor for the South Atlantic region.

But Kring did his homework. After seeing the family, he figured that Coffey -- who stood about 6-1 at age 17 -- would get taller and maybe grow out of that baby fat. More important, he thought Coffey was one of the most mature and intense teenagers he had ever met.

Kring still had his doubts about Coffey's size, but he recommended that the Reds draft him, which they did in the 41st round.

"Other scouts said to me, 'You took that fat kid? Are you out of your mind?' " Kring said. "But you had to know his maturity, his focus and his sincerity about changing his body."

The Cincinnati brass wanted Coffey to go to junior college for two years and slim down before they signed him. When Kring walked into the Coffey household to break this news, the first words out of Todd's mouth were, "Where's my contract?"

Stunned, Kring went outside to call his bosses. When he went back in, Coffey took him to his bedroom, which was decorated wall to wall with pictures of major league pitchers. He pulled out a shoe box full of college scholarship offers, the latest of which promised a four-year ride to nearby Western Carolina.

Coffey then dropped the box and kicked it. He turned to Kring and said, "Now, let's go sign that contract."

"That's what kind of confidence he had," Kring said.

The Reds finally relented, offering Coffey a $1,000 bonus, plus some money for school and incentives.

"The least amount I'd ever signed a kid for," Kring said.

After barely seeing game action in his first pro season, Coffey went to work changing his physique. His routine could be described as the "Chicken Run" diet. He ran three times a day for 20 minutes each and ate nothing but poultry products: eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken for lunch and dinner.

When he reported to spring training in 1999, he was down to 212 pounds. Players and coaches asked him if he was new to the organization. His roommate from the previous year didn't even recognize him.

But during the 1999 season, he injured his right elbow and had to have Tommy John surgery. He didn't pitch again for a year and a half. When he finally returned, he discovered that the time off and strengthening exercises had added power to his throws. He eventually dialed his fastball up to more than 95 mph.

He really announced himself as a prospect last year. Having never pitched above Single-A before 2004, he registered 24 saves between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville with a 64-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Coffey is quick to point out that two of those walks were intentional, "so it was really only four walks. I should have an asterisk."

He once told Kring that he didn't want to go to college because he planned to be in the majors by age 24. Should the Reds call him up in September or earlier, he'll reach that goal.

But his extreme confidence also might hold him back. Coffey loves to challenge hitters with his fastball, which is harder to get away with at the higher levels. He found that out during big-league spring training, when he got hammered a few times by throwing too many fastballs.

The Reds want him to develop his secondary pitches: a split-finger, slider and changeup. So far Coffey seems a little resistant to the idea.

"I'm still going to throw fastballs more than anything else," he said. "To me, that's the best pitch in the game. You've got to go in there fearless."

That's Todd Coffey for you. One way in, one way out.

[redsrbetter]

Fearless is the key and hopefully he can be dominant as well. A good bullpen with Wagner and Coffey in it. Congrats to both Lizard and Coffey!

[AdamDunn#44]

Rob Stratton tore his his achilles and could be out for the year. Sad. He was having a breakout year.

[redsrbetter]

No way! Dude this really sucks. No chance of him playing this year with the Reds either. This makes a lot of things look different. A possible trade could have been in the works with Pena knowing Stratton could take over. But that has to be spoiled news now. Man this is heartbreaking!

[AdamDunn#44]

Long article. The link is below. I just posted the parts about the Reds.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASAp...=.jsp&c_id=cin

The tandem and the Reds seem to be a match made in heaven. They've had numerous injuries to pitching prospects over the years, including first-round picks Ty Howington and Chris Gruler. Last year's first-round pick, Homer Bailey, is in Dayton now and the Reds hope the tandem will help keep him healthy and allow him to develop to his fullest potential.

"It's serving its purpose, and we're reaching our goals," said Dayton pitching coach Larry Pierson. "The whole idea is to get pitchers on the mound, out there frequently and to allow them the opportunity to develop their second and third pitches, to teach them how to pitch."

It's particularly effective in teaching the benefits of efficiency. When you've got only 75 pitches or so, if you want to last fairly deep into games, you better throw strikes and pitch to contact.

"Old timers say throw strikes," Naehring said. "The new lingo is pitch to contact. Basically, it's the same thing.

*****************

Naehring brings up Calvin Metlock, an example of a guy who benefited greatly from the tandem, not just in teaching him efficiency and pitchability, but for providing him an opportunity in the first place.

"He may or may not have been one of the starting five in Dayton last year," Naehring said. "But because we were using eight guys, he took the ball and ran with it."

Metlock went 8-3 with a 2.57 ERA for Dayton last year, striking out 111 and walking just 21 in 94 2/3 innings before getting promoted to Potomac, then the Reds' Class A Advanced affiliate.

"And he's throwing well in [Class A Advanced Sarasota] now," Naehring added. "You can see guys get better."

[AdamDunn#44]

So far tonight:

Bergolla is 2-2

Votto 1-2

Dumatrait 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

[CincyRedsFan30]

Dumatrait looked good... at least at that point.

[AdamDunn#44]

Louisville tied 1-1 in the 10th

Chattanooga
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/a...mcaax_cngaax_1

Kevin Howard 3-4...double, HR, single
Gutierrez 1-4...HR

Bubba Nelson 1-2-3 9th


Sarasota
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/a...arafx_tbyafx_1

Votto...3-4

Dumatrait 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Guevara/Pelland hammered


Dayton
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/a...twafx_dayafx_1

Janish...2-3 walk

[CincyRedsFan30]

Bubba/Dumatrait= good news. Votto too.

[AdamDunn#44]

Louisville lose 2-1 in 11 innings

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/a...ouaaa_ricaaa_1

Childress 2 shutout innings

EdE 1-4...single, walk
Bergolla...2-5