Four Reds' prospects to play in Arizona Fall League

September 29, 8:53 PMLouisville Bats ExaminerJason Stella

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OF Chris Heisey

With the Louisville Bats' 2009 playoff run rudely cut short earlier this month by the Durham Bulls, four players who spent time with the Bats earlier this season will try their hand this autumn with the Peoria Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League. Three of the players, Chris Heisey, Logan Ondrusek, and Yonder Alonso, finished the season on the Bats' roster. The fourth, reliever Sean Watson, spent most of the year in double-A, but had a brief stint with Louisville.

1B Yonder Alonso

 The six-team Arizona Fall League is a place for minor leaguers to hone their skills for roughly 40 games, and the Saguaros' roster is comprised of players from the Reds, Braves, Indians, Astros, and Padres. For mascot aficiniados, a saguaro is a large, tree-size cactus that is found in the Arizona desert.  

RHP Logan Ondrusek

It willl be interesting to see how the 2009 Bats' players perform, as Heisey, Alonso, and Ondrusek are considered three of the Reds most intriguing prospects. Before making his triple-A debut on June 27, Heisey, an outfielder, was lighting up the Southern League in double-A with a .347 average. The righty, whom I got to interview a few months ago, continued to play well once coming to Louisville (.278-9-37 in 63 games), helping him set career-highs in hits, homers, and ribbys.

Alonso, who has been playing first base, was the Reds' first-round pick out of 'The U' in 2008, and has quickly risen through the ranks. This year, the 22-year-old left-handed bat started the year in high-A ball (Sarasota), and by the end of the season had worked his way up to Louisville, joining the Bats to make his triple-A debut in the playoffs.  

Ondrusek also started the year in Sarasota, but came to Louisville much earlier in the season, getting the call-up in late July. At all three levels, the six-foot-seven inch right-hander dominated his competition, posting a cumulative ERA of under two while notching 19 saves. The 24-year-old Ondrusek killed it for the Bats as a closer (12 of 13 in save opps, 1.74ERA) once fellow closers Robert Manuel and Josh Roenicke were dealt by the organization near the trade deadline. His numbers were a far cry from his first few years in the farm system, when he switched between starter and bullpen duty. 

The Arizona Fall League starts play on Tuesday, October 13th.

 For more info: Bats' historic season