After getting through Dayton through Louisville earlier this week, today I wanted to look at prospects to watch, but for different reasons.

1. Drew Stubbs - CF

Reason to watch - The biggest reason to keep an eye on Drew Stubbs is his health. He had offseason surgery to fix a nagging turf toe injury he has had since he started with the Reds. He came on strong over the second half of last season (.303/.394/.517). He has been tearing the cover off the ball in spring so far with the AAA guys (though he won’t start there). It will be fun to see him turn things around this year with his health.

2. Carlos Fisher - RHP

Reason to watch - Fisher (Photo: Tim Evearitt) will be taking on a new role this year. The big right hander will be moving to the bullpen, likely adding to a strong suit of the upper minors depth already there. Fisher is suited well for the bullpen and his 91-94 MPH fastball may be able to gain a little extra if he is only going to be pitching an inning at a time.

3. Neftali Soto - SS

Reason to watch - Soto burst onto the scene last year as a draft pick out of Puerto Rico in the 3rd round. He hit the ground running last year, but slowed down late with an elbow injury that caused his season to end early. He may be fighting for some playing time in Dayton with a plethora of guys in the SS/2B/3B area between Dayton and Sarasota who will all be competing for playing time. Even if he doesn’t start out with Dayton, when he starts playing he will be someone to keep an eye on.

4. Denis Phipps - OF 

Reason to watch - Tools wise, Phipps is near the top of the system. Experience wise, he is likely at the bottom. He has only played baseball for the last 4 years as he was a basketball player prior to that time. He could really be a good player if he can put his tools to use completely on a baseball field. His athleticism warrants that he makes this list as someone to really keep your eye on.

5. Josh Ravin - RHP 

Reason to watch - I can’t say for sure where he will start out, but anytime you have a 20 year old with a 99 MPH fastball he is someone to watch. Last year he had some struggles with non arm related injuries off and on and struggled with his command and consistency. He has clean mechanics though that should lead to better control this year so long as he can keep healthy.  Wherever he starts, he is definitely a guy worth keeping tabs on at least.

Changed the look of the site a little bit tonight. I added the ‘Recent Comments’ feature so we can hopefully keep up with the discussions going on. I also added the ‘Random Prospect Image’ feature that will just cycle through a bunch of pictures, just because I thought it would be fun. I also added the ‘Calendar’ function now that the season is about to start up, so that way if there is a specific day you wanted to look back on for a game review, its going to be a lot easier to track that post down.

I switched a bunch of stuff from the left sidebar to the right sidebar as well, but everything that was here, should still be here. Let me know if something doesn’t seem to be working correctly.

PS - I hate Duke even more after today.