Minor League Discussion

[AdamDunn#44]

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/a...milb&fext=.jsp

7. Homer Bailey, RHP
Arguably the best high-school arm in the draft, Bailey has a plus fastball with a plus breaking ball. He's 100 percent after offseason knee surgery, and the Reds are hopeful he'll be a part of their tandem (eight-man, four-day) rotation in Class A Dayton (Midwest League) to start the season.

[AdamDunn#44]

[link=http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050404&content_id=412&vkey=pr_mi lb&fext=.jsp newwindow]Entire Article[/link]

Headlining the on field talent will be pitcher Homer Bailey, selected in the first round of the 2004 First-Year Draft (7th overall) by the Reds. Bailey, a product of La Grange High School (TX), took USA Today High School Player of the Year honors in 2004 while guiding his team to the Texas state championship. Bailey, who is also currently ranked as the #1 prospect in the Reds organization by Baseball America, debuted with the GCL Reds and posted a 0-1 record with a 4.36 ERA in 12.1 innings of work. Prior to his professional debut with the Reds, Bailey sported an eye-popping 41-4 high school career record, with a 0.98 ERA and 536 strikeouts in 298 innings.

Outfielder B.J. Szymanski joins the Dragons after his selection by the Reds in the second round of the 2004 First Year Player Draft and a stint thereafter in Billings. Szymanski, a native of Wichita Falls, TX, finished his 2004 pro campaign with a .259 average, with 3 home runs and 17 RBI's in 22 games while lacing together an impressive RBI streak with at least an RBI recorded in seven straight games. Szymanski played both baseball and football at Princeton University and helped lead the Tigers to an Ivy League baseball title.

[AdamDunn#44]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...504060459/1036

Kelly, 25, went 12-7 and ranked second in the Southern League with a 2.96 ERA last year. He doesn't get talked about much as a prospect, though, because he's a control pitcher whose fastball normally tops out around 88 mph. Baseball America compared him to a poor man's Jeff Suppan.

"He throws strikes with three pitches, but no one pitch pops out at you as being outstanding," Jenkins said. "He changes speed and locates, though, and so far he's been effective."

Ramirez has a higher ceiling. Acquired from Philadelphia last year as part of the Cory Lidle trade, the 22-year-old throws in the low 90s with an effortless delivery. He made seven appearances for the Phillies last year but has pitched only 20 games above the Class A level.

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The Bats' bullpen will include veterans such as Ricky Stone and Randy Keisler and up-and-comers such as Chris Booker and Daylan Childress. Todd Coffey, a hard-throwing righty who saved 20 games for Chattanooga last season, will be the closer.

[AdamDunn#44]

On Deck Baseball Prospects lists Richie Gardner as having the potential biggest prospect impact on the Reds 2005 season.

http://www.ondeckbaseball.com/

[AdamDunn#44]

Top Prospect Alert's top 75 pitching prospects

http://www.topprospectalert.com/top-75-pitchers.htm

#10 Homer Bailey (18) -- Cincinnati Reds
First Pro Season

#16 Richie Gardner (23) -- Cincinnati Reds
Potomac (High-A) 86.1IP 8-3 2.50ERA 80K
Chattanooga (AA) 70.1IP 5-2 2.56ERA 59K

#46 Thomas Pauly (23) -- Cincinnati Reds
Potomac 121.1IP 8-7 2.97ERA 171K

[AdamDunn#44]

The minor league season opens tomorrow, btw.

[redsrbetter]

You got the rosters? I can see if I can find them if you don't have them handy.

[AdamDunn#44]

Dayton and Chattanooga rosters are up on their website. Sarasota and Louisville have yet to release rosters.

[redsrbetter]

Ok thanks man

[redsrbetter]

wrong thread

[AdamDunn#44]

Here is the Louisville roster:

http://www.batsbaseball.com/roster.cfm

[redsrbetter]

Awesome dude I used that last night to update my rosters on MVP 05. Also where is Votto and M. Perez? Didn't see them on any of the rosters. (Louisville, Chatanooga, Dayton).

[AdamDunn#44]

Sarasota-high A

[AdamDunn#44]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...0407pulse.html

• Matt Belisle, rhp, Reds: It would have been easy for the Reds to have given up on Belisle after his brutal 9-11, 5.26 season at Triple-A Louisville, in which opponents hit .301. Still, he impressed club officials with his moxie and determined approach to do anything he could to improve. He needed to get more consistent with his high-80s sinker, and did so this spring to earn his first Opening Day roster spot at age 24.

[AdamDunn#44]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...0407pulse.html

Reds' Gruler, Dumatrait Return To Mound

SARASOTA, Fla.--The Reds continue to draft and acquire high school pitchers, despite a long record of injuries. This season, the organization hopes a pair of young arms may finally break through.

Last season, righthander Chris Gruler and lefthander Phil Dumatrait were part of a group of high-level pitching prospects missing significant playing time. That group included 1999 first-round pick Ty Howington, who had shoulder surgery in May, and righthander Bobby Basham, out with shoulder problems. Gruler was limited to two innings at Rookie-level Billings due to shoulder surgery in April 2003, while Dumatrait missed all of last season after having Tommy John surgery in April to repair a torn ligament in his left elbow.

Gruler and Dumatrait are almost ready to contribute again. Both pitchers were opening eyes this spring and will spend at least the first part of the season in Florida to continue to refine their mechanics and rebuild their confidence. Farm director Tim Naehring said by the time the weather warms in the rest of the country, they'll be ready to move.

Minor league pitching coordinator Vern Ruhle said the hard work Gruler and Dumatrait put into their rehab programs has paid off.

"(Dumatrait) has come a long way with his arm strength," Ruhle said. "He doesn't seem to have any stiffness or soreness in any way. The spin on his breaking pitches is solid."

Naehring said the organization plans to keep Dumatrait, 23, with high Class A Sarasota, where he will have easy access to the Reds' trainers at its spring-training facility. Eventually, the Red Sox' 2000 first-round pick will move to "his appropriate level."

Gruler, 21, was just as driven as Dumatrait during the offseason.

"He is on a mission and is dedicated to doing everything he's asked to do," said Ruhle. "Mentally and physically, he's turned a corner. He has a lively fastball and the spin on his breaking ball is coming along. His arm action is much better and he seems to be freed up from whatever was holding him back."

Naehring said Gruler should report to low Class A Dayton after the first ten weeks of the season. By that time, Naehring said he hopes the third overall pick in the 2002 draft will be pitching without the nagging doubt about another possible injury.

It hasn't been easy for Gruler. He said he lost all muscle memory and had to find his arm angle again. He also had to rediscover the natural instincts that allowed him to react to game situations without thinking. After all, he has pitched only 78 innings in three pro seasons.

"When you're out of baseball for as long as I was, you lose your mental edge," he said. "And one day you think everything is fine, the next day you feel like you need an MRI."

Dumatrait felt the same way after his surgery.

"When I first played catch everything felt fine, but in the back of my mind I was worried about getting hurt again," Dumatrait said. "But by the time I was playing long toss, those fears were gone."

"Any time these athletes go through these types of injuries, part of their challenge is on the mental side," Naehring said. "You have to monitor what they're doing physically and get innings under their belt. A lot of it comes with pitching and gaining confidence."

Naehring, who was often injured in his own truncated big league career, has become an expert on getting injured pitchers through rehab and back on the mound, throwing with confidence.

"We've turned over lot of stones to figure out what has been going on," he said. "We have monitored everything with our strength and conditioning program. We're trying to minimize the amount of time the pitchers are throwing in games in a fatigue-type mode."

Not all the injuries are exclusive to the Reds. Naehring said several acquisitions, including Dumatrait, who was acquired from the Red Sox with lefthander Tyler Pelland in the Scott Williamson deal in July 2003, have gone down with injuries after being developed in another system.

Ruhle, who had a 13-year big league pitching career, offers a fresh set of eyes and new ideas to help stem the tide of injuries. This his first season as pitching coordinator, after serving as pitching coach at Rookie-level Billings last season.

"I'm old school," he said. "I believe you start with the legs and work up. You get your body under control and then you get your pitches under control. Nolan Ryan was a tremendously hard worker, and he spent a lot of time building leg strength."

Ruhle said greater leg strength enhances recovery time after each start and allows pitchers to stay consistently down in the strike zone. Stronger legs, he said, also takes stress off shoulders and elbows. Fewer arm surgeries should result. But Ruhle's philosophy is just one part of the organization's efforts to keep its young pitchers healthy.

"Under (general manager) Dan O'Brien, we've implemented tandems at the lower levels to get these guys in as many games as possible," said Naehring. "They're under strict pitch counts. We'll try to schedule some extra days off and skip turns during the season. We're trying to do a lot of different things to minimize the fatigue with all our arms."