Baseball America breaks down Cincinnati's farm system

Baseball America has their 2009 write up on the Reds prospects available. There is some very wholesome stuff here. At the same time I crack up that the publication goes and predicts a ‘2012’ lineup. I can assure yout that Francisco Cordero, Aaron Harang, and Bronson Arroyo won’t be here in 2012. Two out of those three guys might be gone by the deadline this year if the Reds are as poor as I think they’re going to be. Last year for instance, Baseball America had Josh Hamilton and Jay Bruce playing together in the Reds 2011 lineup. Never happened. Thanks for subjecting our mind to the tease, though.

Baseball America always does their homework though. If they say a guy will hit for average in the big leagues they usually do. If they say a guy has a glove he usually does. You have to put some stock into what they say. The bottom line though is that with any of these guys; as it was with Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, Chris Gruler, Homer Bailey, and any other guy tapped the top gun in the Reds’ farm system, is that its a crapshoot at best.

Seems like the only farm system where anything ever holds up is the Marlins and the Rays (of late). I don’t look for Drew Stubbs or Chris Valaika to become anything substantial. I don’t think Joey Votto will ever be a good fit for left field based on his glove, ability, or the numbers he puts up. I do think Yonder Alonso will be a good enough player to make him expendable though. I think the best player of all those listed is a guy who Baseball America doesn’t even list as having a best tool, Todd Frazier. Baseball America believes that Frazier will made Edwin Encarnacion an afterthought.

So we’ll file this away and look back on it in 5 or so years and see how Baseball America did.