The Arizona Fall League rosters have been released and the Cincinnati Reds will be sending six players to join the Peoria Javelinas in October for the six weeks of play.
On the pitcher front the team will be sending right handed pitchers Barrett Astin and Evan Mitchell. The organization is also sending position players Brandon Dixon, Zach Vincej and Chad Wallach.
The Arizona Fall League serves many different purposes. The Reds have been a team that has generally sent players to the league who fall into two categories: Players who missed time during the season with injury and need to make up for lost innings or at-bats, and the second group has typically been guys who the organization needs to make a decision on when it comes to adding them to the 40-man roster later in the offseason to either protect them from the Rule 5 draft or expose them to potentially being selected by another team.
Looking at the crew that the Reds are sending this year it’s pretty clear that this group falls into the latter category. Daniel Wright is already on the 40-man roster, but the other give players are all in need of being protected this winter or they will be eligible to be drafted by another organization.
Barrett Astin has been dominant for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos this season. He’s posted a 2.29 ERA in 102.1 innings pitched this season, walking just 25 batters and striking out 95. The 24-year-old right hander has pitched mostly out of the bullpen, but has made 11 spot starts throughout the season.
Evan Mitchell has split time in both Daytona and Pensacola this year, though most of his time has come with the Blue Wahoos in Double-A. His ERA with Penacola is 2.95, but he’s struggled at times, too, as he’s walked 15 batters and struck out just 23 in the Southern League.
Brandon Dixon will be making his second trip to the Arizona Fall League. He played there last season and hit .295/.318/.508 before joining the Reds organization later in the offseason. With Double-A Pensacola this year the infielder (though he’s played some outfield this year) has hit .260/.315/.431 with 37 extra-base hits. He’s struggled to find consistently this season, posted an OPS under .570 in three months, then OPS’ing 1.124 in May and currently .925 in August.
Infielder Zach Vincej is having his best season since his first year for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He’s currently hitting .271/.320/.374 with a career high 24 doubles. He’s been very sure handed in the field, making just four errors all season long.
Chad Wallach will be making a trip to Arizona for the third straight season. He will be hoping to improve upon the previous two trips where he’s posted a combined .427 OPS. This season, spent entirely in Double-A Pensacola he has hit .235/.367/.402 in 221 plate appearances. Unlike the rest of the guys he did miss a decent amount of time with injury, missing six weeks with a broken left hand.
Updated September 15
The team has filled their additional two spots by adding outfielder Brian O’Grady and left handed reliever Nick Routt to the roster. Daniel Wright was designated for assignment and the Angels picked him up on waivers, which created an additional spot on the roster.