The Pensacola Blue Wahoos became the new AA affiliate of the Reds in 2012, which was also their inaugural year. The Blue Wahoos finished the season at 68-70 on the season as they went 34-35 in both halves.
Things got off to the right start as the Blue Wahoos won their first game 3-1 at home against Montgomery and four of their first five games and moved to 7-4 on the month before a four game losing streak. They ended the month at 11-14 overall as they scored 108 runs and allowed 113.
May continued where April ended as Pensacola started off the month 4-5 through 9 games that ended with a 3 game losing streak before finishing the month with 14 wins and 14 losses as they never had a winning streak of more than two games. The offense scored 99 runs on the month while the pitching staff and defense allowed 106 runs. They finished the month with a season record of 25-28.
June got off to a rough start as the squad lost 4 games in the first three days of the month. They would rebound well as they went 9-2 over the next 11 games which helped lead the team to the first winning month in the teams history as they finished June with a 15-12 record. Offensively they scored just 93 runs, which was a season low. The pitching and defense gave up a season low 85 runs. The first half ended in the month with Daniel Corcino, JC Sulbaran, Donnie Joseph, Henry Rodriguez, Joel Guzman, Josh Fellhauer, Didi Gregorius and Ryan LaMarre being named to the All Star team. Ryan LaMarre started and led off as he went 0-3. Didi Gregorius started at shortstop and went 1-4 with an RBI. Josh Fellhauer came on as a sub and went 0-1 with a walk and a steal. JC Sulbaran was the only pitcher to appear in the game where he threw a shutout inning with a strikeout.
The team was sitting at 40-39 as the calendar flipped to July, where they would keep their head above water as they pushed to a 54-52 overall record with a 14 win and 13 loss month. The offense rebounded with 103 runs scored while the pitching and defense gave up a season high 121 runs, though 40 of those runs came in just two games, a 20-4 loss to start the month and a 20-3 loss on the 8th.
August and September saw the Blue Wahoos outside of a playoff spot, but with a strong finish they may have had a chance. They were unable to do that though as they went 14-18 down the stretch to finish 68-70. The offense scored 126 runs while the pitching and defense allowed 117 runs over that time frame.
Top Position Prospect
Didi Gregorius was an easy pick (with Billy Hamilton being ineligible since he was the top prospect on the Bakersfield squad) here. The 22 year old shortstop hit .278/.344/.373 while showing off some strong tools on the defensive side of the ball and some solid ones on the offensive side of things. While the park in Pensacola saps power from lefties, Gregorius moved up to AAA and showed some of the power potential he had been teasing for a while.
Honorable Mention: Ryan LaMarre, David Vidal and Bryson Smith.
Top Pitching Prospect
Another easy choice here (especially with Tony Cingrani being ineligible since he was the Bakersfield top pitcher) as Daniel Corcino is arguably the top pitcher in the Reds farm system. He finished second in the league with a 3.01 ERA in 143.1 innings with 65 walks and 126 strikeouts. He showed off above-average stuff, though his command did seem to be in need or work. That isn’t unexpected for a 21 year old though, particularly in AA.
Honorable Mention: Kyle Lotzkar
Hopefully Corcino gets a full year in AAA next year and makes strides in his command/control. It is much nicer to have a finished product come up to the bigs than hoping a young guy can learn on the job.
Doug, how many are ailing but not on the DL? I know Chapman and Cozart.
Frazier hasn’t played lately. Is he hurt also?
Frazier played on Thursday and took an 0fer at the plate. That still doesn’t answer Alan’s question of if he was hurt prior to that, but at least Frazier was healthy enough to play yesterday.
I think Dusty thinks Frazier is a bench player.
This. If Rolen, Votto and Ludwick are healthy, Frazier is on the bench for Dusty.
Just looks tired to me.
I really enjoyed this team this year. well coached and really great place to play
Didi reminds me a lot of Pokey Reese in both his build and defensive flair. Here’s what Pokey did as a 21 year old in a full AA season:
.269/.336/.407
12 HRs, 23 doubles
75/43 K/BB
That was as good as it got for Pokey in the minors. He got ~380 ABs each of the next 2 seasons at AAA, and ‘hit’ ~.237/.300obp. He went on to OPS .659 over 7 major league seasons. Remarkably, he’s still only 39….he was out of the bigs by 31.
IMO, Didi will hit for a better average, but in every other respect, it looks like we have the same guy on our hands.
One very ‘huge’ difference; Gregorius bats left-handed. A rare, rare thing for a SS with his glove. Also, Reese was not a bad player, and probably should have still found a job for a few more seasons (I wonder if he had an injury history). Think about it: If we can get 2 gold-gloves out of Gregorius, then WOW!!
Also, I predict a much better line from Gregorius going forward offensively. If he can manage a .260/.320/.400 going forward, he will be a staple at SS for the Reds going forward. I think he should be on the Reds’ roster come next season, even if it is just as a back-up and/or part-time platoon player with Cozart.
My other comparison of the day—HRod reminds me of Carlos Baerga. Both are short guys who run funny and have similar swing paths from the left side. Carlos OPS’d .758 in the minors with a 2/1 K/BB ratio. HRod has OPS’d .781 so far with the same 2/1 K/BB ratio. Baerga was in the majors to stay by 21, but he was likely rushed given how bad Cleveland was back then).
HRod isn’t far behind and he’s making a strong case to take Cairo’s role next year as a backup option at first, second, and third.
Baerga is a comp I have seen with HRod for a few years now. From the left side they look very similar at the plate.
As far as HRod is concerned, I would take the next Baerga any day. I remember him being quite the player for a few years.
In regards to positional players, I felt HRod and Fellhauer had years worthy of mention at Pensacola.
They did have strong years with Pensacola. HRod only had 144 trips to the plate with them though, so he wasn’t eligible for an honorable mention. Fellhauer should have been an honorable mention if I also listed Smith. I think both guys could wind up as 4/5 outfielders.
I was disappointed Fellhauer didn’t get more at bats against lefties. I mentioned a month or so ago I was surprised by the number of double switches Riggelam made, for a minor league team. Maybe the same was true with his situational starts propensity.He thought he was still in Washington (bet he wished he was).
dougwhat are the reds trying to do with mesoraco i dont think they are treating him very well
Don’t have a clue. I really haven’t understood their handling of him since about the end of the first week of the season. I don’t think it is what is best for him or even for the organization.
It is time to give Hanigan a little love. Lets face it Ryan is better. Experience and not development is what goes on at the Big Leagues, especially in a Pennant Race.
Mesoraco is being treated the same way any player would that’s hitting .212 and playing poor defense. In a pennant race would you remove one of the best and most consistent players on the team? If so you would be making decisions very long.
Hopefully Devin goes and plays Winter Ball and eventually develops to provide quality play.
The Reds have an 11 game lead. Ryan Hanigan is not 11 wins better than any catcher in the Majors.
My point was that Mesoraco wouldn’t be hitting .212 if he were put on a better playing schedule. My plan would have been 60-40 for Mesoraco this year and to alternate pitchers and catchers rather than limit each guy to “their guys”. What the Reds have done with a top prospect in the game this year isn’t something you see often, regardless of performance.
Doug, you are speculating on what he would have hit and you convientently leave out his lack of defense and his handling of staff. Hanigan has been a huge reason for the reds success this year.My advice to Mez would be work on your Defense and make the most of your opportunities. Being a good prospect guarantees you nothing.
I don’t believe that he is all that bad defensively, thus the difference would be minimal. The catchers would all be getting the same scouting reports, so they should be calling a similar game.
When teams are looking to make a postseason run you go with your best players. The majors is not the place to learn. Hanigan is clearly better than Meso this year. Meso’s playing time should have been reduced long before he was sent to the minors.
I agree Stock. I am as big a fan of Mesoraco as anyone, but when you get a chance, you have to produce, whether it is 2 days a week or 7. Now on the other end of the spectrum, Frazier has produced and will likely be sitting for Rolen(who hasn’t produced over the season). I definitely don’t agree with that.
I am with MK on this one. Hanigan may not have made the difference in 11 games but he has been pretty important. It is hard to dispute Hanigan hasn’t been superior offensively, defensively and in game calling. I could see the argument that Hanigan is one of our three most valuable players this year. He is without a doubt in the top five.
As for the Reds treatment of Meso, it happens all the time. If a team is fighting for a playoff spot a prospect produces or he sits. The list below provide examples. The one on the list who is sitting but hit is Frazier.
2012 Pastornicky
2012 Meso
2012 Frazier
2011 Brandon Belt
2011 Dominic Brown
2009 Brett Gardner
2009 Dexter Fowler
2009 Mat Gamel
2008 Travis Snider
2008 Brandon Wood
2007 Andy LaRoche
2007 Andy Marte
2007 Ian Stewart
2007 Jason Kubel
2007 LastingMilledge
2007 KendryMorales
valdez 199 cairo 177 stubbs 218 rolen 242 cozart 243 awsome batting averages
Olie, Reds a a game from clinching and 32 games over 500 what is your point???
It is very impressive that the Reds have been able to overcome such poor performances from very key players. It speaks volumes of the advantage the Reds have from the #3,4, and 5 starters on most teams and about the amazing performance out of the bullpen. Offensively (with the possible exception of Ludwick and Frazier) you cannot really point to anyone and say they well exceeded expectations.
The mediocrity of the NL Central might also have something to do with their record.