Cincinnati Reds Top-15 Prospects of 2011, No’s 6 – 15

ALSO SEE – Reds Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

Grades are based on a prospect’s projected value over the course of his career and how likely it is that prospect will fulfill his projected value. Various factors are accounted for including upside, red flags, actual performance, and closeness to the majors. See the 2011 Top Prospect List Primer for more information as it relates to prospect grading and philosophy.

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Hitters must have 100 or fewer Major League ABs to qualify for this list. Starting pitchers must have 50 or fewer Major League innings to qualify. Relief pitchers must have 25 or fewer Major League innings to qualify. Ages are listed as of May 1st, 2011. Levels are based on the highest level in which a prospect played in 2010. All grades are subject to change based on any new information I receive before the season starts.

Prospects 1 and 6 are available for everyone to read. All other scouting reports can be accessed by Premium Members only.

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Quick Rundown on Prospects 6 – 20

6. Yorman Rodriguez | OF | Age – 18 | Grade – B- … See his in-depth report below…

7. Kyle Lotzkar | RHP | Age – 21 | Grade – B- … Came back healthy last year and put up dominant numbers.

8. Juan Francisco | 3b/1b/LF | Age – 23 | Grade – B-/C+ … Has huge power, but he will always be limited by poor plate discipline…

9. Ismael Guillon | LHP | Age – 19 | Grade – B-/C+ … Sleeper prospect with a very good fastball/change-up combination.

10. Drew Cisco | RHP | Age – 19 | Grade – C+ … Advanced for his age with a great curveball…mechanical adjustments could lead to better velocity.

11. Ryan LaMarre | OF | Age – 22 | Grade – C+ … Intriguing combination of power and speed…will need to shorten up his swing some and improve his plate discipline.

12. Dave Sappelt | CF | Age – 24 | Grade – C+ … Potential fourth outfielder on a contending team.

13. Zack Cozart | SS | Age – 25 | Grade – C+ … Potential utility player with a very dependable glove at shortstop.

14. Todd Frazier | UTI | Age – 25 | Grade – C+ … Potential offensive-minded utility player who can play a bunch of different positions. Click here for more articles on Frazier…

15. Donnie Joseph | LHP | Age – 23 | Grade – C+ … Power-armed lefty who misses bats and generates ground balls.

16. Jonathan Correa | RHP | Age – 20 | Grade – C+ … Power-armed right who has a future in the bullpen…

17. Brad Boxberger | RHP | Age – 22 | Grade – C+ … Scuffled down the stretch last year, but he still has good stuff — just needs to throw more strikes.

18. Tucker Barnhart | C | Age – 20 | Grade – C+ … He doesn’t wow you with his tools, but he’s a disciplined hitter and an excellent catch-and-throw catcher with a quick release. His receiving skills still need work, however.

19. Junior Arias | C | Age – 20 | Grade – C+ … Could be underselling him with this ranking. Intriguing prospect with excellent tools…very athletic, but very raw. Strikeout rate is a red flag. Likely won’t stay at shortstop

20. Kyle Waldrop | OF | Age – 19 | Grade – C+ … He’s very raw and while I don’t have a great deal of information on him, I can say he’s a tremendous athlete with a great frame…a guy the Reds can dream on I suppose.

21. Ronald Torreyes | 2b | Age – 18 | Grade – C+ … He’s undersized, but he knows how to hit…very quick bat and some pop as well. He’s also a very aggressive hitter and his upside is probably limited.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order) – Chris Valaika (UTI) | J.C. Sulbaran (RHP) | Juan Silva (CF) | Henry Rodriguez (SS) | Neftali Soto (1b) | Philippe Valiquette (LHP) | Humberto Valor (SS) | Enerio Del Rosario (RHP) | Juan Duran (OF) | Danny Dorn (OF) | Cody Puckett (2b) | Justin Walker (LHP) | Mark Fleury (C) | Darryl Thompson (RHP) | Daniel Corcino (RHP) | Josh Ravin (RHP) | Matt Klinker (RHP) | Didi Gregorius (SS) | Drew Hayes (RHP) | Tanner Robles (LHP) | Devin Lohman (SS) | David Vidal (3b) | Wes Mugarian (RHP) | Samuel Diaz (SS) | Justin Freeman (RHP) | Olivel Florentino (SS)

*Mike Leake, Chris Heisey, Logan Ondrusek, Travis Wood, and Matt Maloney are no longer considered prospects based on the criteria set forth for these lists.

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Player Grades
Contact – 45 Now | 60 Future
Power – 40 | 55
Discipline – 35 | 45
Speed – 55 | 50
Defense – 50 | 55
Arm – 60 | 60
Instincts – 45 | 55
ETA – 2015
Final Grade – B-

Last Year’s Team Ranking – No. 10

Last Year’s Grade – C+

Body Type – Tall and lanky but with a lot of projection. He still looks a bit awkward, but should improve his body control as he fills out.

Scouting Report

Yorman Rodriguez is one of the higher upside players in the Reds organization. He’s considerably raw, but he’s also starting to figure things out.

He showed a lot of progress from 2009 to 2010. While he still has to improve his patience at the plate, he did a much better job of making contact last year. In roughly the same amount of at bats, he cut his strikeouts down by half. Rodriguez will still expand the strike zone at times, chasing high fastballs or breaking balls in the dirt, but his pitch recognition is improving.

His approach is improving as well. He shows a willingness to use the entire field and he’s learning now how to spoil good pitches in hopes of getting a better one. improved as well.

Rodriguez’ biggest strength is probably his ability to hit for average, where he uses his extremely quick hands to hit hard line drives to all fields. He relies a great deal on his hands to generate this hard contact, but will need to involve his lower body if his above average raw power is going to be realized.

Right now, Rodriguez takes a small step forward, gets up on the toes of his front foot, and then plants hard to open the hips. This would work better if he can keep his hands back on a more consistent basis, but too often he lets the hands get ahead of his hip rotation.

That said, he seems to have corrected a problem related to his stride. He’d take his small step forward, and get up on the toes of his lead foot, but he’d allow his front foot to come off the ground before planting, stepping in the direction of the dugout behind him rather than toward pitcher.

And while doing this, his entire body would appear to be leaning or drifting behind him as well, making him very susceptible to the outside corner. Now he’s much more straight on and direct at foot plant.

Rodriguez has above average speed, but will likely slow down as he fills out. He plays center field now, but is expected to eventually move to right field. His arm is strong and plays well at the position.

Best Case Outcome – All Star outfielder, though he’s obviously a long shot to reach this level.

More Likely Outcome – Too soon to say.

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Last Year’s Team Ranking – No. 12

Last Year’s Grade – C+

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ALSO SEE – Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

UP NEXT – Kansas City Royals Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

Other References and Resources Used for This Article – First Inning