Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings June 15, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1938-Johnny Vander Meet throws his second consecutive no-hitter against the Brooklyn Robins, becoming the only pitcher in major league history to accomplish this feat. Vander Meer walks eights and strikes out seven, while producing a hit and scoring a run, leading his team to a victory, 6-0, over the Robins MLB.COM Draft is over, but process now begins for Reds Team selected 41 players, including 25 pitchers By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | June 14th, 2017 + 1 COMMENT CINCINNATI -- For a small-market club like the Reds that often avoids big spending on the free-agent market, using the MLB Draft and developing homegrown players is critical for competing. The three-day 2017 Draft ended Wednesday, and the Reds will be watching and teaching their newest crop of 41 players with hopes they can follow the path of current homegrown players like Joey Votto, Zack Cozart, Billy Hamilton and Devin Mesoraco, among others. "We hope it went really well. But it takes four or five years to find out," Reds vice president of amateur scouting Chris Buckley said. "I know this: A lot of work went into it, a lot of people put their hearts and souls into it." Cincinnati had the No. 2 overall pick for the second straight year, and used it to take the No. 1 prospect in the Draft, per MLBPipeline.com, in pitcher/shortstop Hunter Greene from Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, Calif.). Not only has Greene impressed the nation with his 102-mph fastball, he has already captivated with his poise and maturity. Buckley and his staff selected high-school players with four of the first five picks, but continued a trend of recent years by taking more collegiate players, with 23 of the 41 players coming from colleges. There were also several junior college players in an effort to balance out the ages of the new prospects. As is the case for most clubs, including Cincinnati, in every Draft, the Reds stocked up on pitching by taking 25 hurlers. That included five left-handers, most notably third-rounder Jacob Heatherly. "You always hope for more," Buckley said. "Every team says the same thing. There's just not that many of them, and not that many you project to be starters in the big leagues." Pitching is paramount in the Draft because of the high attrition rate due to arm injuries. The club also placed a premium on shortstops, taking five of them, not including two-way standout Greene. During Wednesday's Day 3 of the Draft, which covered rounds 11-40, the Reds took two players that had local ties. In the 29th round, right fielder A.J. Bumpass was taken from the University of Cincinnati. Later, in the 34th round, R.J. Barnes was taken from Sycamore High School (Montgomery, Ohio). Both players participated in the MLB Breakthrough Series showcase in the city, and Barnes was also a product of the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Cincinnati. "A very athletic kid with a chance to be a good player," Buckley said of Barnes. "He needs to play, and keep working. We were excited about that." The Draft is over, but the job is not for Buckley and the scouting department. "We have scouts going to amateur games tomorrow," Buckley said. "You start on 2018, and the ink isn't even dry on most of these contracts. It's a year-round process. We just completed three days, but you really do work 11 1/2 months on putting those three days together. I have a really good group of guys that help me sign these players." 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. Votto, Peraza homers not enough in loss to SD By Nathan Ruiz and Jay Paris / MLB.com | June 14th, 2017 + 195 COMMENTS SAN DIEGO -- Since Franchy Cordero entered the Padres' system, the organization has viewed him as an impactful hitter. He made sure the Reds see him the same way, as he paced San Diego to a sweep of Cincinnati, hitting his first three Major League homers in the first two games before driving in the go-ahead run in Wednesday's 4-2 victory. After Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen issued consecutive four-pitch walks to start the seventh, Cordero grounded a 1-1 pitch into right field, scoring Matt Szczur to give the Padres a 3-2 lead. It was the 22-year-old's fifth RBI of the series, during which he had multiple hits in each game and slashed .500/.500/1.214. "I think it was a great series," Cordero said through a team interpreter. "I think everything was going well. I think the biggest thing is just to keep working hard so that I can repeat it for the next one." The Padres added an insurance run in the frame when Hunter Renfroe hit an RBI groundout with the bases loaded. Renfroe tied the game the inning before when he crushed a two-run home run off left-hander Amir Garrett. "I made a mistake to Renfroe,'' Garrett said, "but stuff like that happens.'' The Reds jumped ahead on Jhoulys Chacin's second pitch, which Jose Peraza sent over the left-field fence for his first career leadoff homer and the Reds' first of the season. Joey Votto took Chacin deep in the fourth for his 19th home run. Besides the two long balls, Chacin was exceptional, as he often has been at Petco Park this season. The right-hander allowed only the two runs in his seven innings to improve to 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA at home as the Padres won their third straight. "Guys aren't quitting," Padres manager Andy Green said. "They're not laying down. They're going to fight." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Renfroe's rookie rockets: With his team down 2-0 and Yangervis Solarte on first, Renfroe pounded a 1-1 pitch from Garrett into Petco Park's Estrella Jalisco Landing. At 112.4 mph off the bat, it was the second-hardest home run of his career, according to Statcast™. His 14th blast also tied the Padres' record for home runs by a rookie before the All-Star break, set by Nate Colbert in 1969. His 10 career home runs at Petco Park have traveled an average projected distance of 403.5 feet, with the latest going 433 and ending an 0-for-17 stretch for Renfroe. Green said Renfroe will at times be overaggressive, adding his swing is quick enough that he doesn't need to cheat on a pitch to hit a ball well. "That's been the consistent message to him, just trust who you are," Green said. "You don't have to hit it over the scoreboard, over the TV or over Western Metal. Just the fence counts the same. Every now and again, he wants to hit it further than a human being's ever hit it." Aybar-ed from scoring: With the Reds leading 1-0 in the second and Erick Aybar on first, Padres catcher Luis Torrens laced a double to left-center. With Aybar racing around the bases as the tying run, center fielder Arismendy Alcantara tracked the ball in the gap and fired toward the infield. Second baseman Scooter Gennett, serving as the cutoff man, quickly threw home, where Tucker Barnhart waited. With Barnhart blocking his path to the plate, Aybar attempted to slide around the Reds' catcher. When he did so, he failed to touch home plate and was called out. Green challenged the call, and after a two-minute, 36-second review, it was upheld, keeping the Padres off the board. QUOTABLE "I think as the year goes on, we'd love to see a greater measure of consistency, but we understand kind of where we are in the process right now. There's going to be some young guys and some big ups and some big downs, and the more we can level off the downs, the better team we're going to be throughout the course of the season." -- Green, on the Padres' outlook after the sweep "We played some good games in these six games, but, however, we lost all six and that's not a good sign.'' -- Reds manager Bryan Price, on the Reds' 0-6 West Coast road trip, which extends their road losing streak to nine SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The Padres swept the Reds for the first time since 2014. Even so, Cincinnati hasn't claimed a season series against the Friars since 2012. San Diego is 19-9 against the Reds since then. A SAVVY SIDE OF FRANCH When Cordero attempted to bunt on the first pitch he saw from Lorenzen in the seventh, third-base coach Glenn Hoffman called him over and delivered a simple message: "Swing." Cordero was already planning on it. He showed bunt without an intent to actually give himself up for the first out of the inning. "I was just trying to bring the infield in," Cordero said. "The thought process was try to get them in a little bit more, and then, any ball that I hit would be able to get through." He proved prophetic, sending the next strike he saw from Lorenzen through the right side to drive in the game-winning run.