Richie Gardner and Tyler Pelland were optioned to AAA.
Chris Kroski and Matt Maloney were sent to Minor League camp.
The Reds also claimed Jose Capellan off of the Giants, who took him from the Red Sox in the Rule V draft. He would have to stay on the 25 man roster all year as he is basically a Rule V draft pick. In 2 innings for the Giants in ST he allowed 2 HR and 6 hits while striking out 1. He has a very good minor league resume, although a short one as well. He has an average fastball (88-91 MPH) for a lefty, but his curve and change up are both potential plus pitches that are above average right now as is his control. Its a big jump from short season A ball to the majors though….
I am a little surprised that Tyler Pelland didn’t get more than 2 spring innings this year considering how well he did last year in his AAA call up late in the season.
Johnny Cueto dazzled today against the Pirates ( Photo by Al Behrman AP)
Johnny Cueto is the story from the first game against the Pirates on Friday. The 22 year old started for the first time this spring (has come in from the pen in prior outings) and showed why he is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Cueto went 3 innings, allowed just 1 hit, no walks and he struck out 4 batters.
Chris Dickerson went 1-2 with a run and an RBI.
Drew Anderson (OF) went 0-2.
Paul Janish went 0-2.
Adam Rosales went 0-2.
Ryan Hanigan went 0-3 with a run scored.
Craig Tatum went 0-1 with an RBI.
Richie Gardner allowed 5 hits and 2 walks in 0.1 innings that led to 7 earned runs. Not his best day.
Brad Salmon allowed 2 hits in 2 innings and struck out 4.
More on Johnny Cueto’s day
Here are some of the things Cueto said about his performance via C Trent:
“I feel good, I felt comfortable,” Cueto said after Friday’s performance. “I trust my stuff, I don’t do anything specific to impress anybody. I throw the way I’m used to throwing and challenge the hitters.”
When asked if he should start in the big leagues.
“Yes,” Cueto said through interpreter and catcher Javier Valentin as if he’d been asked nothing more if he wanted a bottle of water after pitching three innings and striking out four Pirate batters, while surrendering a single hit. “That’s why I’m here. I’m throwing the ball good, if I’ve got a chance to start the season in the big leagues, I’ll be happy.”
Here are quotes from other Reds about his day:
“He throws easy, he throws strikes, he mixes up his pitches well,” Baker said following the 13-8 Pirates win. “He threw the ball well, he looks nice and relaxed. He’s coming fast. He looked good.”
“Sometimes those guys have no chance — no chance at all,” Bruce said. “I asked him how he was throwing, he said, ‘maybe 98.’ I believe him. He’s ridiculous. He’s going to be good for a long, long time.”
“If you have that kind of changeup, welcome to the big leagues,” Valentin said. “Everyone says the next Pedro Martinez, and hopefully that’s what we’ve got here, the next Pedro Martinez.”
John Fay also picked up some other things from other guys:
“That kid’s got some (stuff),” Ken Griffey Jr. said. “Some other guys are going to turn it up, especially somebody wearing No. 34. Competition is a good thing.”
Homer Bailey is No. 34.
It sounds like Griffey is suggesting that Bailey is going to turn his game up a little bit.
What have you learned from Francisco Cordero and Mario Soto?
“I’m working low, strike zone low, and that’s what Mario and Cordero talk to me
about.”
Did you reach your pitch limit today?
“No. I stayed short.”
Fay notes that Cueto threw another 15 pitches in the bullpen to get his full days work in.
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 | Author: Doug Gray
Intrasquad Scrimmage
Johnny Cueto pitched an inning and recorded a groundout from Edwin Encarnacion and struck out David Ross and Chris Dickerson. Video of that is below. Jay Bruce went 1-3 with two ground outs and a single. Joey Votto had a rough day as he went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. Matt Maloney allowed a hit to Jerry Gil (stolen base and went 2-2 with a double) and an unearned run while recording a strikeout. Richie Gardner allowed a walk and had a strikeout. Alexander Smit pitched an inning, allowed a single, walk and had a strikeout. Ryan Hanigan went 1-1 with a single and a stolen base. Josh Roenicke pitched an inning and allowed a double and an unearned run to go with a hit by pitch and a strikeout. Daryl Thompson allowed 3 singles and a double (Gil lost it in the sun, likely shouldn’t have been a double). Chris Dickerson went 1-3 with a double and a stolen base. Paul Janish made several very good plays defensively at SS and drew a walk. Ramon Ramirez allowed a single and had a strikeout in an inning of work. Tyler Pelland worked a 1-2-3 inning. Sergio Valenzuela was roughed up big time as he allowed a 3 run HR and 6 runs total in 2/3rds of an inning.
Video of Johnny Cueto taken by C. Trent Rosecrans of the game
He looked pretty good there, can’t wait to see him throw some more.Prospect articles and newsJohn Fay has this up on his blog where Dusty Baker talks about possibly putting the young starters into the bullpen role.
There’s no question that Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Homer Bailey have three of the best arms in camp. They’re being prepared as starters. So, if they don’t make the rotation, do they start the year in the minors?
“Not necessarily,” Dusty Baker said. “I come from the Dodger way. With young guys, the next best thing is long relief. It’s in between starting and relieving. It’s probably the less pressure on the staff because most of the time you’re coming in when you’re behind. We did it with Dave Burba in San Francisco, and he ended up winning nine, 10 games.
“Throw up zeros, so the offense can come back. You can’t let add on or trade runs. That’s where that guy is really important. If you’re not going to come back (and win games), you’re not going to win the pennant or the wild card. You need a guy who allows you to come back.”
Nolan Ryan, Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, Don Gullett and Roy Oswalt are among the dominant starters who began their careers in the bullpen.
“A lot of young guys start out in long relief,” Baker said. “If a guy’s not going to start, that’s the next best thing.”
This will make for interesting decisions at the end. The Reds owe Mike Stanton and Todd Coffey a lot of money. They’re going to have to pay them regardless of whether they’re on the team or not. Sounds like Baker would like to go with 11 or 12 best arms.
“He not only has good breaking stuff, he has deception and late movement on his fastball,” Baker said. “He has control and he is not afraid to throw the ball inside on right-handers, which is one of the toughest things to teach a left-handed pitcher. A lot of them don’t like to try that because the ball tends to creep back over the heart of the plate.
“Most of the left-handers I didn’t like facing were guys who could throw their fastballs inside,” Baker added.
Baker didn’t put Maloney into the same category as Jerry Koosman and Frank Tanana, “Left-handers who were nasty on everybody,” but said Maloney appears to be trying to do what they did.
Matt Maloney throws during the intrasquad game (Photo: Jeff Swinger)
Pained and discouraged by the long, slow slog that is shoulder surgery rehab, pitcher Richie Gardner once considered chucking his big league dream, packing his bag and going home to California.
What stopped him? His wife, Heather.
“My wife is what kept me going,” Gardner said. “I wanted to quit. Well, I didn’t want to quit, but at times it got so rough that I felt like, ‘Why am I doing this?’ She was on me and told me to give it two years. If it’s not back after two years, I could shut it down. It took about a year and a half.”
“It was terrible. It really was,” Gardner said. “It’s probably the worst thing a player can go through.”
In 2004, Gardner won the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award as the Reds’ Minor League Player of the Year as he led the farm system with a 2.53 ERA. In 2005, USA Today named Gardner the Reds’ best pitching prospect.
The surgery forced Gardner to start over. In 2006, he was with the Gulf Coast League and Class A Sarasota and made nine starts. Last year, he got back on track.
“I couldn’t even throw from the windup last Spring Training,” Gardner said. “When the season started, [Sarasota pitching coach] Tom Brown helped me. He kind of got my motion and rhythm back. Everything was good from there.”
“It’s a remarkable story,” Reds Minor League director Terry Reynolds said. “A year ago, he was stuck in rehab wondering if he could pitch again. His attitude was great. He knows how to pitch. I don’t know if he’s back to where he was, but he’s close. He’s kind of right back on schedule.”
The Reds added Gardner to their 40-man roster in November, which brought him to big league camp this spring.
“It’s a great reward for the work he put in,” Reynolds said.
The right-handed Gardner said his velocity is back up to the high 80s and 90 mph.
“It’s exciting. I can’t say that I can’t sleep because I’m tired,” Gardner said. “But I’m excited every time I wake up. Two years ago and last year, I was basically on the rack. I had no idea if I was going to play well again like I was capable of.
“My arm strength is different. I don’t get as tired. I feel like I can extend better. It’s just easier to pitch.”
I really hope Gardner gets his chance in the majors. He is a great story and from everything I have read, a real good guy.
Lets assume that right now (and its not really that big of an assumption) that Harang, Arroyo and Belisle are three-fifths of the Reds starting rotation for at least 2008. Matt Belisle is under control through the 2010 season before he is eligible for Free Agency. Both Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo have contracts through 2010 with options on each for 2011. There is also Edinson Volquez who looks to be a solid bet to also join the rotation but is less locked in than Belisle. Volquez, who was one of the players (and the main player) received for Josh Hamilton, is under contract through 2011. The wild card though is Jeremy Affeldt. He is only under contract for 2008, but is shooting for the rotation after being a bullpen arm for the past few years.
For as much as I like Belisle as a back of the rotation guy (unless he takes Aaron Harang type steps forward) he is going to have to hold off a bunch of strong candidates over the next few years. First there is the cream of the crop in Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto who both will be Reds property for 6 years from at least this season. After that there is a group that could include Matt Maloney, Richie Gardner, Sam Lecure, Travis Wood and Carlos Fisher who all could develop into middle to back of the rotation type starters if not better. Wood has the highest upside of anyone in that group, but is also the furthest away as he is likely to begin the season in Sarasota while the rest of the group has a shot to begin in Louisville, although Chattanooga could be a destination for Lecure or Fisher.
The Bullpen
Last season the Reds bullpen was nearly a full run worse than just the Major League average bullpen. Lets assume that the 2008 Bullpen will at least break with Cordero, Weathers and Jared Burton. That leaves up 4 spots in the bullpen for a group full of guys between veterans and prospects. The veterans that could make the bullpen would include Todd Coffey, Mike Stanton, Gary Majewski, Bill Bray and Jeremy Affeldt (if he doesn’t break camp as a part of the rotation, he is likely in the bullpen, leaving just 3 open spots). There is also a group of prospects that will be in spring training with possibilities of leaving Sarasota on a plane back to Cincinnati. Guys such as Jon Coutlangus, Brad Salmon and Marcus McBeth have big league experience, while Tyler Pelland (pictured above), Ramon Ramirez, Sergio Valenzuela and Josh Roenicke all lack the big league experience but may have the stuff and ability to help out.
David Weathers is in his final year of his contract, while Cordero is signed through 2011 with an optional 5th year. Jared Burton is under control through 2012. Those two are the only true options right now, while guys like Coffey, Majewski and Bray will need to prove that they are good enough to be on the roster. The bullpen looks quite unstable moving forward, but it seems that the talent is close even for this year and that doesn’t include guys such as Sean Watson or Pedro Viola who aren’t coming to Spring Training with the Reds this year but have good stuff and project to be valuable to a bullpen one day.
Pained and discouraged by the long, slow slog that is shoulder surgery rehab, pitcher Richie Gardner once considered chucking his big league dream, packing his bag and going home to California.
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