Reds Press Clippings April 1, 2017

THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1967 - Joe Nuxhall retires at 37-years-old, and takes a position as a Reds radio broadcaster. Nuxhall will call games for the Reds until 2004 when he becomes a part-time broadcaster

MLB.COM 5 storylines for '17 Reds By David Adler / MLB.com | March 31st, 2017 + 0 COMMENTS

As the 2017 season begins, so does the third season of Statcast™, the state-of-the-art technology that has tracked every play in every Major League ballpark since 2015. And with two full seasons of data now collected, plus advances in applying that data, Statcast™ is better than ever. New metrics, such as Catch Probability and Probability, will provide a deeper layer of analysis and further our understanding of the game.

With that in mind, here are five Statcast™ facts to know about the Reds heading into the 2017 season.

1. Votto-matic You know is one of the best hitters in the world. He has been for years. He's so good that even after finding himself batting .213 at the end of last May, he promptly slashed .378/.482/.619 over the final four months and ended up leading the with a .424 wOBA. And, unsurprisingly, Statcast™'s new Hit Probability metric, based on a hitter's combinations of exit velocity and launch angle, ranks Votto just as highly. He does take a slight dock in his expected wOBA, which Statcast™ estimated at .413 for 2016, but guess what? It was still the best expected wOBA in the league.

Highest estimated wOBA for NL hitters, 2016 1. Votto: .413 (actual wOBA -- .424) 2. Freddie Freeman: .408 (actual wOBA -- .413) 3. Daniel Murphy: .402 (actual wOBA -- 418) 4. Matt Carpenter: .397 (actual wOBA -- .380) 5. DJ LeMahieu: .391 (actual wOBA -- .394)

2. Billy Hamilton, an like no other Hamilton uses his amazing speed in center field to make even more amazing catches. In 2016, he made nine plays that Statcast™'s Catch Probability classified as 5-star catches -- that is, they had a catch probability of 25 percent or less -- and he converted 37.5 percent of his 5-star chances, turning the unlikeliest of plays into outs at the highest rate in . And in 2015? Hamilton led the Majors in both overall 5-star catches, with 14, and 5-star catch rate, making the play on 43.8 percent of his chances.

Highest percentage of 5-star catches made, 2016 (min. 50 total chances/20 5-star chances) 1. Hamilton: 37.5 percent (9 of 24) 2. Travis Jankowski: 35.7 percent (5 of 14) 3. Kevin Kiermaier: 30 percent (3 of 10) 4. Adam Eaton: 27 percent (10 of 37) 5. Rajai Davis: 25 percent (3 of 12)

3. Hamilton, a baserunner like no other The same blazing speed that produces Hamilton's highlight-reel catches is, of course, equally impressive on the basepaths. Not only has Hamilton stolen more than 50 bases in each of the last three seasons, his Statcast-tracked times blow away the rest of baseball. Pick a baserunning metric, any baserunning metric -- chances are, Hamilton owns the Statcast™ Era record time. Heck, he once stole second base with a 6.7-foot lead. Against a left-hander. Poor Robbie Ray.

Hamilton baserunning records in Statcast™ Era (2015-16) Home to first, non-bunt: 3.61 seconds Home to second: 7.28 seconds Home to third: 10.45 seconds First to third: 5.24 seconds First to home: 8.23 seconds

4. Zack Cozart's not-exactly-rocket arm Cozart has actually graded out as an above-average shortstop by advanced defensive metrics -- in 2016, for example, his 14.6 Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games was fourth-best among shortstops. But one area that Statcast™ shows he wasn't as effective was his arm strength. In fact, of the 26 Major League shortstops that had at least 10 tracked "competitive" throws to first base -- that is, throws at or above their 90th percentile, which weeds out the easy lobs -- Cozart's average arm strength of 77.8 mph ranked dead last.

Lowest average competitive arm strength to 1B among SS in 2016 (minimum 10 throws) 1. Cozart: 77.8 mph 2. Adeiny Hechavarria: 80.3 mph 3. Marcus Semien: 80.4 mph 4. Erick Aybar: 81 mph 5. Francisco Lindor: 81.1 mph *Highest average competitive arm strength: Danny Espinosa (89.9 mph)

5. Give Adam Duvall a break Duvall was essentially a boom-or-bust hitter in his first full Major League season -- he slugged 33 home runs, but struck out 164 times and walked just 41 times, resulting in a .241 average and .297 on-base percentage. A good example is how he handled breaking pitches. On the one hand, Duvall hit .246 against curves and sliders, per Statcast™, with 58 in 167 at-bats. On the other, he homered 16 times off breaking balls, the most in the Majors.

Most home runs off breaking balls* in 2016 1. Duvall: 16 2. Trevor Story: 15 3 .(tie) Chris Carter: 13 3. (tie) Nelson Cruz: 13 5. Khris Davis: 12 *Curveballs and sliders

David Adler is a reporter for MLB.com based in New York. Follow him on Twitter at @_dadler. This story was not subject to the approval of or its clubs.

Duvall looking to build off terrific spring By Jeff Wallner / Special to MLB.com | March 31st, 2017 + 1 COMMENT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Adam Duvall wasn't sure exactly how many ticket requests he submitted for family and friends prior to Friday night's exhibition at Louisville's Slugger Field, but he knew it was a lot.

"He stole all mine," center fielder Billy Hamilton said, as Duvall laughed. "He stole everybody's ticket requests."

Duvall gave them their money's worth, going 2-for-2 with a ringing off the center-field wall. He played four innings in left field in a 1-1 tie with the Reds' -A affiliate .

He played 25 games for Triple-A Louisville in 2015 after being acquired in a trade with the . But, Friday night had a different feeling for the 28-year-old right-handed slugger.

"He's a big hit here in Louisville," said manager Bryan Price. "I expected a good reception tonight. To do some good things offensively, was a bonus."

Coming off an All-Star campaign during which he hit 33 home runs and registered 103 RBIs, Duvall is preparing to be begin the season as the Reds' regular left fielder, and hopefully build off last year's success.

"I had some success last year and I just want to get better," Duvall said. "There are certain parts of my game I want to get better and certain parts I want to maintain."

Duvall was honored at Slugger Field with his own bobblehead giveaway to 5,000 fans. He's a graduate of Louisville's Butler High School and played his junior and senior years at the University of Louisville.

"It's really cool to get to play in this stadium coming up a long way from when I was a little kid," Duvall said. "I remember being a young kid here and thinking, 'Man, the players are so big, they hit the ball so hard.' It's pretty exciting to play in front of my hometown fans."

Duvall provided one of the highlights of the spring on Wednesday when his first-inning solo homer off Indians starter Carlos Carrasco struck the left-field scoreboard.

In 20 games this spring, Duvall hit .302/.373/.679 with six homers and 15 RBIs.

"He had a terrific spring," said Price. "He hit a lot of balls hard early in the spring with not a lot to show for. We all think of him as the guy who hit 33 home runs, but he covets improvement. He's learning to battle with two strikes. He wants to get better. He's chasing greatness."

Iglesias on track

Raisel Iglesias pitched one inning with a in an exhibition game on Friday night, putting him on track for Opening Day.

Iglesias, 27, hadn't pitched since March 14 after suffering a bone bruise and injuring his hip falling in the shower.

"He was great," said Price. "The ball was jumping out of his hand. He was crisp. Couldn't have gone better."

Prior to the injuries, Iglesias allowed one earned in seven innings with three walks and five strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP. He's expected to join , Tony Cingrani, and Drew Storen in a shared closer's role, which could include multiple-inning appearances.

Despite a stint on the disabled list with a shoulder impingement, Iglesias managed to make 37 appearances last season, all but five in relief, with a 1.98 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and six saves.

Hamilton eager for season

Hamilton didn't end last season on his own terms. After missing the final 27 games with a strained left oblique, he's especially eager to get the new season underway. And, he has no plans to be more tentative in center field.

"If there's a ball out there I can catch, I'm going to go for it," Hamilton said Friday.

The shoulder injury abruptly halted a breakout offensive season for Hamilton, who hit .260/.321/.343 with 19 doubles, three triples and 58 stolen bases.

"Just me being myself, not trying to be someone else," Hamilton said of his approach at the plate. "I'm not a power hitter. I need to come in there, relax, be myself, and hit line drives and focus on what kind of approach I need to have."

Hamilton was on the disabled list twice with a right shoulder injury in 2015, including the final week of the season.

In Friday's exhibition game, Hamilton singled to the opposite field, then scored on Joey Votto's single in the first inning.

"My main goal is to stay on the field," Hamilton said Friday. "I'm not going to tell myself not to run into those walls. That's the type of player I am."

Jeff Wallner is a contributor to MLB.com and covered the Reds on Friday. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Davis makes final tuneup, Duvall gets 2 hits By Jeff Wallner / Special to MLB.com | March 31st, 2017 + 1 COMMENT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Reds right-hander Rookie Davis made his final tuneup for his Major League debut and Adam Duvall went 2- for-2 with a double in front of his hometown fans as the and their Triple-A affiliate Louisville Bats played to a 1-1 tie Friday night at Slugger Field.

Reds right-hander Raisel Iglesias pitched one inning with a strikeout in his first action since March 14.

Aristides Aquino hit a solo in the second inning for the Bats.

Davis pitched three innings, allowing one earned run and three hits with two walks, two strikeouts and a hit batsman.

"I was fighting fastball command today," Davis said. "I would've loved to go into it really crisp. But, it just means there's more work to be done in the bullpen."

The Reds scored first on Friday.

Billy Hamilton singled to left field in the first then scored from second on Joey Votto's single to center for the game's first run.

Aquino showed his opposite-field power in the next inning when he drove a 2-2 pitch from Davis into the seats just inside the right- field foul pole to tie the score at 1-1.

Right-hander started for the Bats, going five innings and allowing one run and seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 87 pitches.

Davis will make his big-league debut against the Phillies on Thursday.

"It's been a roller-coaster, finding out that I've got the third game and I have to pitch tonight," Davis said. "I'll just stay with my preparation. It's another start. That's how I'm going forth with it. I'm trying to stay as level-headed as possible. The days leading up to it, I'll probably stay off social media a little bit just to give myself a break from it."

Even though the Reds broke camp in Arizona on Wednesday, their work to get ready for Monday's season opener against the is hardly done. Cincinnati plays its final exhibition game Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Field in Dayton, facing a Futures Team comprised of top Minor League prospects.

"These games are extremely important," manager Bryan Price said, prior to Friday's game. "We had the mandatory day off [Thursday] so there was no baseball activity. We have another day off before Opening Day; it will be a workout day [Sunday]. So, today and tomorrow are extremely important. Even if it's only a couple at-bats, it's important that these guys stay on top of what they're doing."

Jeff Walner is a contributor to MLB.com and covered the Reds on Friday. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Will Votto grow old before Reds grow up? Zach Buchanan , [email protected] 10:35 p.m. ET March 31, 2017

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – The numbers say Joey Votto will be worse in 2017. Or, perhaps more accurately, not quite as fantastic.

Yes, the Cincinnati Reds is coming off arguably the best two-year stretch he’s ever enjoyed at the plate. Yes, only a pair of injuries have interrupted what otherwise would have been an eight-year run of offensive dominance. Odds still remain he’ll get worse.

That’s the prediction of every baseball projection system, all of them dense algorithms created by intimidatingly smart statisticians. Some say only slightly worse, from great to a little less great. Others say he’ll be merely pretty good.

That’s because Votto will play this year at 33, and almost all players gradually decline as they progress through their 30s. He could certainly beat those projections – every season players do – but his prime won’t last forever.

For the Reds, that means a race against time, and it raises a question that could define Cincinnati’s rebuild. How long will Votto be one of the best players on the planet, and can the rest of the roster catch up before it’s too late?

Deal made with understanding of physical demand, talent level

Barring the unforeseen, Votto will be a Red at least through the 2023 season. On Sept. 10 of that year, he’ll turn 40. Baseball is not littered with many players who continued to perform at an elite level at so advanced an age.

The Reds, of course, don’t expect 40-year-old Votto to perform like the 32-year-old version. The older version will be making more money – Votto’s salary kicks up from $22 million to $25 million starting in 2018 – but that’s the reality of how the baseball economy works.

“When you sign long-term deals, you expect to get more production than you’re paying in the early years, and less production than you’re paying a lot of times in the final few years,” said Reds general manager Dick Williams.

The Reds didn’t just close their eyes and wish for the best when they signed Votto to his 10-year, $225 million extension before the 2012 season. Like any team about to commit nearly a quarter-billion dollars to a single asset, they tried to predict the future.

They consulted their proprietary aging curves, algorithms that compare the history of player performances at different ages. The results aren’t sure bets, but they suggest Votto possesses a skillset that ages well. He walks a lot, doesn’t strike too much and has never relied on hitting home runs to do damage.

“We certainly think that the effect (of aging) is going to be felt a lot more dramatically if you are a player that relies on power, if you have high strikeout totals,” Williams said. “Those guys do not age well. Joey doesn’t fall into those categories.”

Votto’s also a first baseman, meaning he’s avoiding the wear and tear that comes with playing more demanding defensive positions. On top of that, he stays in great physical shape and doesn’t carry around a gargantuan frame.

That all bodes well for Votto’s aging process. But how long he’ll forestall his decline phase is nearly impossible to determine. To run an accurate aging curve, you need a sizeable list of historically comparable players. But therein lies the rub.

There aren’t many players like Joey Votto.

In Votto’s case, past player comparisons hard to pin down

That’s the problem Jeff Zimmerman sees from the outset. Zimmerman writes for Fangraphs.com, and deals with aging curves extensively.

For a more conventional player like shortstop Zack Cozart, performance over time can be projected with more certainty. Votto’s a bit of a unicorn.

“It is an issue,” Zimmerman said. “There’s no way around that.”

Votto has a career average better than .300, an on-base percentage above .400 and a above .500.

Over the last four decades, only nine other players could say the same through age 32. None of them are perfect matches for the Reds first baseman.

Chipper Jones, Bobby Abreu and Manny Ramirez played more difficult defensive positions, and thus asked more of their bodies. Ramirez and Jason Giambi’s aging processes can’t be trusted due to the use of performance enhancing drugs.

That leaves five players with whom to compare Votto, hardly a trustworthy sample size. Frank Thomas and were true power hitters, and in their primes carried bigger and heavier frames than Votto. , Todd Helton and Lance Berkman are better fits in terms of stature and plate discipline. But like Pujols and Thomas, all three relied more on the home run than Votto.

After turning 33, none of the five managed to produce at an elite level for very long. Votto could be different, simply because he is different.

“It’s with these – I don’t want to say freaks – but they’re great players,” Zimmerman said. “The greatest players are the hardest ones because there’s no one else to compare them to.”

Votto provides the wins, but will need others to step up

Fangraphs calculates a version of wins above replacement, an all-encompassing stat that aims to determine how valuable a player is compared to the average substitute from Triple-A. Since his MVP season in 2010, Votto has been worth an average of 6.4 wins to the Reds.

That’s a sizable chunk of the total a team needs to make the playoffs. In 2016, the average playoff team had a WAR of about 45. The World Series champion nearly hit 60.

The 2013 Reds, the last Cincinnati team to make the playoffs, produced 41 WAR. Last year the Reds produced a WAR of 15, and had the second-worst record in the majors.

“A replacement-level team is going to do 52 wins, or whatever the number is. It changes the more data we get,” Williams said. “If you can generate 35 wins above that, you’re an 87-win team. Is that enough to be a wild card team one year? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.”

The last two years, Votto has produced a lot of value for a team not really trying to win. Williams maintains that rebuilding around Votto was the only course available to the Reds, but it essentially forces the organization to waste a few of their cornerstone’s best years while the process plays out.

The Reds are optimistic that he’ll continue to be the superstar he’s been for the better part of a decade. If he keeps putting up 6-win seasons into his late 30s, they’ll be in good shape. If he’s closer to a 2.5-win player – still valuable, but not an MVP candidate – it’s a tougher gap to close.

For his part, Votto is bullish on the organization’s rebuilding process. He looks at the talent the Reds have accumulated in the majors and minors and sees the seeds of a winning team in the next few seasons. With three of the top 38 picks in the 2017 draft, the Reds will only line their coffers further. But when it comes to predicting his own future, Votto’s much more hesitant.

“I would like to play well. There’s a lot of factors,” Votto said. “The factors that are out of my control are more important than the ones I can control. We’ll see.”

Game report: Reds 1, Futures 1 C. Trent Rosecrans , [email protected] Published 10:00 p.m. ET March 31, 2017 | Updated 12 hours ago

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The future is now for Reds rookie Rookie Davis.

Davis started for the Reds in Friday’s Futures Game at the Reds’ Triple-A park in Louisville and is now looking at his big-league debut in the face. He’ll start Thursday against the Phillies in the Reds’ third game of the season.

But first was Friday’s exhibition in Louisville against the Reds’ top prospects. Davis pitched three innings and gave up a run in the 1-1 tie between the Reds and the Future Reds.

Davis allowed a run on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. He struck out two. The only damage came on ’s opposite-field home run in the second.

“It's been a roller-coaster, finding out I had the third game and then having to pitch tonight," Davis said. "Now that my focus is off this game, just stay with my preparation between starts during the week, now it's just another start.

"That's how I'm going forth with it. It's an exciting time, I'm sure on game day, it'll be pretty exciting, but I'm trying to stay as level- headed as possible. The days leading up to it, I'll probably stay off social media just to give myself a break from it. It's another game, another start. This one is just better lighting and in a big-league uniform."

Tyler Mahle started for the Futures team, wearing Louisville Bats uniform tops with Reds hats, allowing just one run on seven hits with a walk and a hit batter in five innings. He struck out three.

Mahle allowed hits to the first four batters he faced, including a RBI single by Joey Votto. But he was able to get out of the inning without further damage.

THE ARMS

After Davis, the Reds followed with six of their bullpen arms – Michael Lorenzen, Raisel Iglesias, Drew Storen, Blake Wood, Barrett Astin and Robert Stephenson. Those six allowed just one hit, a single by top prospect Nick Senzell in the fifth off Storen. The relievers didn’t walk a batter.

The appearance was the first by Iglesias since March 14. He’d been dealing with a contusion in his elbow after falling in a shower earlier this spring.

“He was great. The ball was jumping out of his hand, he was attacking the zone,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “He was crisp. It couldn't have gone any better.”

THE BATS

The Futures’ lone run came on Aquino’s opposite field home run off of Davis to lead off the second inning. Aquino had 23 home runs last season in high- Daytona.

“He caught the ball deep – he had two strikes, he'd had two fastballs thrown by him and he caught that fastball deep and stayed on it and shot it out of right field," Price said. "It's not really power potential, he has power. To be able to drive the ball out of the ballpark to right field is a good thing to see because a lot of times young players try to get to their power by pulling the ball and he was able to drive the ball to right field."

THE REST

A crowd of 10,882 showed up at Louisville Slugger Field to see former and future Bats. The biggest draw, though, was hometown boy Adam Duvall. The Bats gave out bobbleheads of the Louisville native and former Louisville Cardinal. He didn’t disappoint, going 2 for 2 with a double.

UP NEXT

The Reds will face the same group of their prospects Saturday in Dayton, with left-hander starting for the Reds and right-hander pitching for the Dragons. The game will be broadcast live on WLW 700-AM at 1:35 p.m.

Aristides Aquino: How 'The Punisher' got polished Zach Buchanan , [email protected] Published 9:06 p.m. ET March 31, 2017 | Updated 13 hours ago

Aristides Aquino likes to call himself The Punisher.

The 22-year-old outfielder swears the label is not self-affixed. Its origins date back to 2013, when Aquino was a 19-year-old in rookie ball. He liked to hit the ball hard. Or, as a teammate told him, he punished it.

The problem was he didn’t do it very often. Aquino might have possessed an intriguing collection of physical tools, but he didn’t know how to use them. He swung for the fences; most of the time he missed. His first four years in the minors, his home run rate was a meager 2.5 percent.

Last year, Aquino met Gookie Dawkins, then the hitting coach for High-A Daytona . Punisher, meet Polisher.

“That’s the first thing he told me last year: ‘I’m The Punisher. I hit anything. I hit everything,’ ” Dawkins said. “I was like, ‘I like the fact that you call yourself The Punisher, but I don’t want you to hit everything. I want you to hit your pitch.’ ”

Aquino is one of the most exciting prospects playing against the big-leaguers in this weekend's exhibitions. He's 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. He has a laser arm in the outfield and natural home run power at the plate. It's just a question of putting all the parts together.

If he does cash on on that potential, spending 2016 with Dawkins could be the reason why. Because up until last year, Aquino didn't really know how to hit.

He sat on offspeed pitches and wasn’t ready for fastballs. He tried to hit a home run on every swing. His swing could be a thing of beauty, but it also featured a high leg kick that was completely unnecessary given his powerful stature. It messed with his timing, and he didn’t need the extra power it created.

“I was on him every single day about minimizing the leg kick and slowing his rhythm down,” Dawkins said. “I explained to him, if you watch anybody that played this game of baseball, nobody’s going to be able to hit with your foot in the air. The higher you put it up, the longer it’s going to take to get back down.”

For the first two months of the 2016 season, Dawkins set about sanding down Aquino’s rough edges. Most of the work to be done was mental. Dawkins explained how insignificant 25 home runs are when it takes 500 at-bats to hit them. He challenged Aquino to strikeout fewer than 10 times a week, and made him run back and forth between the foul poles when he fanned too often.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, Dawkins told the right-handed hitting Aquino to hit grounders to second base, one of the most impotent result any hitter can have while still making contact. Aquino gave him a funny look, but did it anyway.

“Those groundballs ended up being triples and home runs to right-center,” Dawkins said.

Those changes took about two months to sink in, and Aquino took his lumps while they did. In his first 50 games of the season with Daytona, he hit a middling .256/.322/.421.

In June, things took off. He finished the final three months of the minor-league season hitting .284 with a .915 OPS. He hit 17 home runs in that span, and had a whopping 10 triples. He had 23 homers and a .273/.327/.519 line for the entire year, and was named the organization’s Minor-League Player of the Year.

He’ll start the year with Double-A Pensacola, and may have the most upside of any Reds prospect in the high minors. ranked him seventh among Reds prospects. Aquino wants to finish the year in the majors, although there are plenty of strides to be made for that to happen.

He’ll still have Dawkins, who was promoted a level this offseason, to help him along the way. The Double-A level tends to be filled with nasty pitching prospects with nearly big-league quality stuff ever year, so it’ll test Aquino’s dedication to his newfound approach.

“Double-A’s probably the toughest level for most players,” said Reds general manager Dick Williams. “That’s really a separator. Until he gets there and succeeds, I think it would be premature to say he’s got it all figured out. But I’m looking forward to him getting there.”

DAYTON DAILY NEWS This is how the Reds want to reach fans in southwest and beyond Marcus Hartman - Staff Writer 3:51 p.m Friday, March 31, 2017

While the Cincinnati Reds try to fight their way back to respectability on the field, members of their marketing team have a different sort of challenge.

How do they continue to drum up interest in the club in an ever-evolving media landscape with more potential competition eyeballs and dollars than ever before?

Senior vice president of business operations Karen Forgus explained that is war being waged on two fronts.

One is fairly obvious: Selling tickets. The more butts they can get into seats on a nightly basis, the better it is for the club’s bottom line.

The other is less tangible and yet in all likelihood more important.

Since Bob Castellini bought the team in 2007, the club’s mantra is: Even if they can’t get you to Cincinnati often, the Reds want to make sure you feel like part of the team.

“We don’t focus on driving commerce. We don’t focus on selling stuff. We focus on connecting,” Forgus said in January at the start of the annual Reds caravan, an example of how the club realizes it must not merely expect fans to come to it in this day and age.

“We believe if you get more subliminal, subconscious, you connect with them, you get to know them and they get to know you and you hang out with them, eventually they’ll buy a hat or come to a game or something else. So that’s really what it is. We really just go with a connection mindset.”

The Dayton market is part of this effort in its own way.

“Particularly with the Dragons because the story arc of our players, by intention, are a Dayton Dragon through (Triple-A) Louisville to us basically, so we see that as really critical to us,” she said.

As far as attracting Gem City fans to Cincinnati, Forgus said the team is realistic.

“Dayton is one of those areas, the fanbase is already pretty indoctrinated to come to the ball park once, maybe twice a summer,” she said. “The odds of getting the Dayton folks to come down more than once or twice, we’ve got to be winning. They will absolutely be the first ones at the gate, and they love their Dragons. So they’ve got the games on TV, and they’re following the Dragons and they just don’t feel the need to go down there.”

That is not a unique problem for the Reds, who are in one of the smallest television markets in major league baseball but have one of the largest areas in which the league allows them to sell tickets.

The latter goes north to Columbus and Lima while also stretching into Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia and even Tennessee.

That’s right: “Reds Country,” established back in the days of owner Powell Crosley Jr. thanks in no small part to the power of WLW’s 38-state-strong signal, is still a big part of the team’s identity.

But now Forgus says they have a new way of cultivating interest from within the region and beyond, tradition Crosley radios for iPhones.

While the radio network is still the third largest in MLB, the team also aims to get to fans through their mobile devices, be it with highlights, custom news alerts, individual player updates or other methods they are still developing.

“The Reds’ view of any fandom starts with what’s in your hand,” she said, gesturing to a phone. “If you have a compelling team and some stars, then people are not as geographically tied. They will have a core loyal fandom tied to generations and geography, which will be their team, but they kind of follow the shiny penny, which is interesting.

“So that being said, the Reds kind of market both ways. We market to the truth of today, (but) with the truth of baseball being generational, we kind of have this footprint geographically.

“People who go back to the heritage feeling when the Reds were their team or their grandparents’ team, so that is part of our lore and our truth. So for us to abandon that would be silly.”

5 things to know about today’s Reds Futures Game Jay Morrison - Staff Writer 10:42 a.m. Friday, March 31, 2017

The Cincinnati Reds will be in Dayton on Saturday to take on the organization’s top minor leaguers in the Futures Game at Fifth Third Field at 1:35 p.m.

Gates will open at 11:30 a.m. to give fans a chance to watch Reds batting practice.

Here are five things to know about the Futures Game:

Return engagement

This will be the second time the Reds Future Game is held in Dayton. The first, in 2009, was the first of its kind in MLB and received national media attention.

The Reds defeated the Futures team 9-6. Three of the runs for the youngsters came on a mammoth home run by prospect that landed on the roof of the concessions building in left field.

Other future Reds who played in the game were Drew Stubbs, Chris Heisey, Zack Cozart, Devin Mesoraco and Juan Francisco.

First four

The Futures roster will include four first-round draft picks, including , whom the Reds selected second overall out of the University of Tennessee last June.

The other first-round picks are catcher (11th, 2015), shortstop (29th, 2014) and outfielder Phillip Ervin (27th, 2013).

Top 10

The Futures roster is loaded with the top 10 position prospects in the Reds organization.

In addition to Senzel, the team’s No. 1 overall prospect, fans will get a glimpse of outfielder (No. 5), outfielder (No. 6), outfielder Aristides Aquino (No. 7), Stephenson (No. 10), catcher Chris Okey (No. 14), outfielder T.J. Friedl (No. 15), second baseman Shed Long (No. 16), Ervin (No. 18) and shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez (No. 22).

Familiar face

The starting for the Reds will be rookie Amir Garrett, who starred for the Dragons from 2013-15, when he won 17 games with a 3.45 ERA.

A 22nd-round draft pick in 2011, Garrett is 3-1 with a 4.22 ERA this spring. He’s struck out 14 and walked six and is scheduled to be a member of the rotation.

Dragon reunion

There will be 19 former Dragons on the 28-man Futures roster.

Six of the players on the Futures team are expected to remain in Dayton to play for the Dragons this season. They include catchers Cassidy Brown and Stephenson, infielder Brantley Bell, Jose Siri, Trammell and Friedl.

The Reds roster features 17 former Dragons, including Joey Votto, Billy Hamilton, Tucker Barnhardt, Michael Lorenzen, Wandy Peralta, Robert Stephenson, Cozart and Garrett.

TRANSACTIONS 03/31/17 OF Tirso Ornelas assigned to . RHP Diomar Lopez assigned to San Diego Padres. LF Andrew Calica assigned to . RHP Henry Martinez assigned to Cleveland Indians. signed free agent 1B Ryan Ripken to a minor league contract. 2B Jacob Wilson assigned to St. Louis Cardinals. OF Jose Azocar assigned to . RHP Ben Meyer assigned to . RHP Marcus Crescentini assigned to Miami Marlins. sent Clint Robinson outright to Syracuse Chiefs. Philadelphia Phillies designated LF for assignment. Philadelphia Phillies selected the contract of 1B from Lehigh Valley IronPigs. RHP roster status changed by . optioned Chris Taylor to . Los Angeles Dodgers optioned Julio Urias to Oklahoma City Dodgers. Los Angeles Dodgers optioned Trayce Thompson to Oklahoma City Dodgers. optioned Pat Valaika to Albuquerque Isotopes. Colorado Rockies optioned Jordan Patterson to Albuquerque Isotopes. sent Kevin Chapman outright to Gwinnett Braves. LHP Steve Hathaway roster status changed by . RHP Jake Barrett roster status changed by Arizona Diamondbacks. optioned Chad Green to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. LHP Ryan O'Rourke roster status changed by . SS Ehire Adrianza roster status changed by Minnesota Twins. optioned James Hoyt to Fresno Grizzlies. Detroit Tigers sent outright to . RF J.D. Martinez roster status changed by Detroit Tigers. sent Giovanni Soto outright to . Chicago White Sox sent Rymer Liriano outright to Charlotte Knights. SS Shawn O'Malley roster status changed by . LHP Drew Smyly roster status changed by Seattle Mariners. RHP Tony Zych roster status changed by Seattle Mariners. RHP Rob Whalen roster status changed by Seattle Mariners. RHP Shae Simmons roster status changed by Seattle Mariners. RHP Steve Cishek roster status changed by Seattle Mariners. Seattle Mariners optioned Tuffy Gosewisch to . Seattle Mariners optioned Ben Gamel to Tacoma Rainiers. Seattle Mariners recalled Ariel Miranda from Tacoma Rainiers. Detroit Tigers signed free agent C Bryan Holaday to a minor league contract. RHP Joe Galindo assigned to San Diego Padres. SS Cole Tucker assigned to . SS Cole Tucker assigned to Pittsburgh Pirates. San Diego Padres designated RHP Cesar Vargas for assignment. San Diego Padres claimed Jake Esch off waivers from Miami Marlins. RHP Luke Leftwich assigned to Philadelphia Phillies. sent outright to Pawtucket Red Sox. RHP Jake Kelzer assigned to Philadelphia Phillies. RF Angel Perez assigned to . C David Rodriguez assigned to Tampa Bay Rays. RHP Edwin Fierro assigned to Tampa Bay Rays. Arizona Diamondbacks optioned Oscar Hernandez to Jackson Generals. 3B Nelson Molina assigned to Minnesota Twins. 2B Luis Arraez assigned to Minnesota Twins. New York Yankees optioned Kyle Higashioka to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. New York Yankees optioned Ben Heller to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Pittsburgh Pirates optioned A.J. Schugel to Indianapolis Indians. Arizona Diamondbacks selected the contract of J.J. Hoover from Reno Aces.

04/01/17 Arizona Diamondbacks optioned Silvino Bracho to Reno Aces. San Francisco Giants optioned to . San Francisco Giants optioned Albert Suarez to Sacramento River Cats. San Francisco Giants optioned Kelby Tomlinson to Sacramento River Cats.