Yonder Alonso had a good time knocking in runs during
the Arizona Fall League (photo from straitpinkie.com).
Six Cincinnati Reds' farmhands wrapped up their time in the 2009 Arizona Fall League today, with performances being mixed amongst the sextet of prospects. Four of the players spent time in a Bats' uniform this season, while the other two were recent draft picks who were seeing their first action as members of the Reds' system. All played for the Peoria Saguaros, who finished 14-18 in the six-team league.
Outfielder Chris Heisey and first baseman Yonder Alonso both put up some solid numbers at the dish over the 32-game season, with Heisey hitting .297 in 24 games with five homers and 14 RBIs. The 24-year-old right hander's five round trippers were tied for fourth best in the league, continuing his improvement from the 2009 season at the plate. Between AA and AAA this past year, Heisey set career highs in most batting statistics, netting 22 homers and 162 hits in 134 games.
Alonso, who was the Reds' first-round pick in 2008, ranked sixth in the league with 23 ribbys. In 86 at-bats, Alonso blasted a pair of homers, but was mostly a singles guy, with 17 of his 23 hits of the one bag variety. In 2009, Alonso breezed through the Reds' lower levels, starting the year in low-A ball and moving all the way to make his Bats' debut when Louisville started their playoff series. The southpaw, who has been rated the team's #1 prospect by redsminorleagues.com, may be spending the 2010 season in Louisville, splitting time between first base and DH.
Logan Ondrusek and Sean Watson, two relief pitchers who saw time with the Bats in 2009, were roughed up in Arizona coming out of the pen. Both posted ERAs over eight in a combined 19 appearances. Ondrusek was a beast this past season for the Bats, becoming a reliable closer down the stretch (1.47, 12 saves) after spending the first half of the year at double-A . Watson played in just four games with the Bats, as he spent the bulk of the season in Carolina (4-4, 4.48).
Cincinnati's 2009 first-round draft pick, Mike Leake, looked good in his first pro action, putting up a 1.72 ERA in a little over 15 innings. Leake is a 22-year-old right-hander who played his college ball at Arizona State, twice winning Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year honors.
Fellow 2009 draft Brad Boxberger got a rougher initiation to pro ball, appearing in five games and getting hit with an ERA over 11. Despite the rocky start, Boxberger, a former USC Trojan, is rated by Baseball America as the team's ninth-best prospect, probably because of a fastball that has been registered in the mid-90s.
Reds' prospects playing the Dominican Winter League
Comments
Great article on our prospects in the AFL! I wouldn't worry about the ERAs though. The AFL is notorious for being the most hitter-friendly league in the nation. The real danger in the AFL to pitchers is overuse, and I don't think that happened with any of our pitchers. I would expect to see 3 of the 4 pitchers here in Louisville in 2010, and I believe that they will pitch well. We might not see Boxberger for some time, but he should be fine as well.
That's interesting about the AFL being hitter-friendly, I was unaware. I definitely think you will see Ondrusek in Louisville, as he was lights out in 2009 once he was promoted from Carolina. Watson may get some time here as well, especially the way relievers seem to be shuffled between levels.
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