Cincinnati Reds' Billy Hamilton at First in the Seventh Inning of a Baseball Game, Sunday, Aug
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Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings August 29, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1997-The Reds play the Twins for the first time during the regular season, and win, 5-3, at the Metrodome MLB.COM Inbox: What is Scooter's future with Reds? Beat reporter Mark Sheldon answers Cincinnati fans' questions By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | August 28th, 2017 + 81 COMMENTS While the Reds take an off-day in the midst of their homestand, let's dive into some of your questions about the team in this edition of the Inbox. Do you think the Reds will keep Scooter Gennett with the kind of year that he is having so far? -- James, Burch, Ky. I believe they will, especially since Gennett has two more years of club control while he's eligible for arbitration. He's only 27, and besides having a breakout year at the plate, Gennett has also become a key part of the clubhouse. However, I won't say that Gennett is a stone-cold lock to stay. Gennett's market is at its peak, and general manager Dick Williams isn't afraid to exploit that value (see the Dan Straily trade to the Marlins in January). The Reds could also have a bit of a second- base bind with Dilson Herrera, who is out the rest of the year due to right shoulder surgery. They haven't had Herrera fully healthy since last year's trade with the Mets for Jay Bruce, and he will be coming to Spring Training out of options. Now that Billy Hamilton has several years under his belt and has shown to be not much of a hitter, do the Reds trade him now while he is worth a decent return? -- Carl I., Dallas, Texas Using your rationale, how could the Reds get a decent return for Hamilton if he's shown to be not much of a hitter? His sub-.300 on- base percentage remains troubling, but he still has stolen 50 or more bases each of the past four years and is one of the best center fielders in the game defensively. That's why Hamilton is likely to stick around. Why keep Jose Peraza? His defense is so poor, no matter where he plays. -- David H., Boise, Idaho Because Peraza is only 23 years old and still has room to grow. He came to the Reds from the Dodgers as a more offense-first, glove-second kind of player. But remember that Eugenio Suarez arrived from the Tigers as a young player with the same reputation a few years ago, and he worked himself into a strong defensive player at third base. Like Suarez, Peraza has an excellent work ethic and wants to get better. Which of the young pitchers we have seen, besides Luis Castillo, do you think will turn the corner and become legit Major Leaguer? -- Dan, Noblesville, Ind. Despite the rough year for many of the young starting-pitcher prospects in 2017, it's too early to give up on any of them. But the two that I've seen who have stood out this season -- besides Castillo -- are Sal Romano and Amir Garrett. When they're good, they're very tough to hit, and they both have multiple pitches in their bag of tricks. Romano has had back-to-back superb starts, and while Garrett has been struggling in Triple-A, I haven't forgotten what he did in April. Now he needs to find that again. Robert Stephenson -- fresh from his 11-strikeout game in 5 2/3 innings on Friday -- is also showing signs of clicking. Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from 2001-05. Follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Reds reinstate Turner, option Wallach By Matt Kelly / MLB.com | August 28th, 2017 + 2 COMMENTS The Reds reinstated catcher Stuart Turner from the paternity list Monday, while also optioning fellow backstop Chad Wallach to Triple-A Louisville. Turner, 25, missed the past three games for the Reds for the birth of his child. He'll return to back up Tucker Barnhart while Devin Mesoraco continues to recover from a left foot injury. Turner has hit .164 in 28 games this season for Cincinnati, contributing one home run and five RBIs. Matt Kelly is a reporter for MLB.com based in New York. Follow him on Twitter at @mattkellyMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Reds top pick Greene stellar in pitching debut Cincy's No. 2 prospect hits triple digits in scoreless inning By Daniel Kramer / MLB.com | August 28th, 2017 + 13 COMMENTS Heralded as one of the game's top two-way Draft prospects in recent memory, Reds No. 2 prospect Hunter Greene had only shown what he could do with the bat until Sunday. The No. 2 overall pick in this year's Draft, Greene made his much-anticipated pitching debut with the club's Rookie-level affiliate on Sunday, tossing 15 pitches, nearly all fastballs sitting in the upper-90s and touching triple-digits. It was his first live action since being shut down in April ahead of the oncoming Draft. "He was 99 and 100 [mph]," Mustangs pitching coach Seth Etherton told MiLB.com. "That's what I had on our gun here. He averaged 100 in terms of all his fastballs. He had a max of 20 pitches. We're going to slowly build him up. He'll pitch again in five days, and I think the pitch count will go up incrementally from there. We're just going to break him in slowly, he's been doing a great job and getting accustomed to pro-ball lifestyle." Greene, touted for impressive command for an 18-year-old, completed just one inning, but he made the high-profile impression most had envisioned. After giving up a leadoff single, the right-handed flamethrower, ranked No. 21 on the Top 100 Prospects list, induced a fielder's choice to No. 8 Brewers prospect Tristen Lutz, picked him off at first, then punched out 17th-ranked KJ Harrison looking. "He just turned 18 and there's a lot of room for growth and strength," Etherton told MiLB.com. "That'll come with time. He threw one breaking ball that he kind of left up, but he really doesn't need to use it now. We'll see what happens in the next start, maybe he'll start mixing in some other pitches. "He was dominant," Etherton said. "I think all [of the pitches] were at the knees. His ability to repeat his delivery and direction downhill, it was very impressive for a young man of his age. He's very poised very competitive and he's fun to watch." Having already donned the cover of Sports Illustrated with the hype and marketability as one of the more eccentric Draft prospects this year, Greene had been widely recognized as one of the top talents among the 2017 crop. He likely would've been a first-round pick for his bat alone -- he's 7-for-30 with two doubles and a triple in rookie ball -- though he was selected for his pitching ability, and was given a record $7.23 million in an above-pick value bonus by the Reds upon signing. At Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., Greene went 3-0 with a 3.75 ERA this spring. He hit 101-102 mph in some showcases, and mixes in two breaking balls. Scouts are reportedly apprehensive about the spin he generates on his slider but believe it will at least be average at the MLB level. Greene didn't use his changeup often in high school, but he has the ability to go to it when needed. Daniel Kramer is a reporter for MLB.com based in Denver. Follow him on Twitter at @DKramer_. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Reds will have to get creative to address holes this winter Zach Buchanan, [email protected] Published 4:24 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2017 | Updated 4:41 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2017 The Cincinnati Reds currently have a payroll of about $95 million, which is a bit higher than normal for a rebuilding team. They could need to go even higher next year if they’d like to address some significant holes this winter. If the last three years have taught the Reds anything, it’s that they need reliable starting pitching. There’s still a month to go in the 2017 season, but it’s hard to find any pitcher currently in the organization who can be counted on to pitch 200 quality innings next season. Homer Bailey’s injury history is too expansive, and both Brandon Finnegan and Anthony DeSclafani will be coming off lost seasons because of their own health issues. Beyond them are a bunch of rookies and prospects who by their very definition lack any track record of sustained major-league success. Because of that – and because the position player core seems ready to compete now – the Reds plan to add some starting pitching in the offseason. They would like to acquire a pitcher of a higher caliber than Scott Feldman, who between his base salary and performance bonuses made $4 million this year before requiring knee surgery last week.