News from the Minors

There have been a number of transactions in the last week, and I thought it might be worth highlighting some that caught my eye.

We all know that the Reds put Homer Bailey on the DL.  I mention that because that seems to been one of the main causes of all the activity.  First, Enerio Del Rosario was brought up from Louisville.  He had a rather bizarre debut, in which he struck out the only batter he faced, yet failed to retire a batter because the batter advanced to first on a passed ball.  Del Rosario was just a short-term call-up though, as the Reds sent him back down to make room for 26-year-old Sam LeCure who had a very successful debut last night, earning the win against the Astros.  Also at the major league level, Paul Janish was placed on the bereavement list, leading to the call-up of Drew Sutton.  Sutton hit his first major league grand slam last night.

At the AAA level, it was announced that Justin Lehr was expected to undergo Tommy John surgery.  Lehr has been a journeyman pitcher the last few years, giving the Reds a few good starts last year.  He was in the discussion for the fifth starter spot in spring training, but quickly pitched his way out of that discussion.  In a loaded Louisville rotation that includes Aroldis Chapman (who apparently hit 103 on the gun in his last start), Travis Wood, and Matt Maloney, Lehr never looked good this season.  With Lehr out and LeCure called up, Matt Klinker (25) was promoted from AA Carolina to the Bats.  Klinker has been excellent this season, striking out 53 and walking 11 in 55 1/3 innings.  His ERA of 1.63 was good for second in the Southern League.  Like LeCure, Klinker is often overlooked as a starting pitching prospect because he's a bit older now and the system has many other good pitching prospects.

At AA Carolina, Matt Fairel (22) was called up from Lynchburg.  I haven't seen Fairel given a lot of love in the scouting reports I've seen, but he's put together some nice stretches of performance the last couple of years.  He's only struck out 36 in 56 innings at Lynchburg, but he's 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA and he's walked just 13 batters.  He struck out 137 and walked 56 last year in 160 innings between Dayton and Sarasota. 

At Lynchburg, Donnie Joseph (22) was called up from Dayton.   Joseph had struck out 40 in just 23 innings while recording six saves for Dayton.  He was the Reds 3rd round selection in last year's draft.  Also, Byron Wiley was apparently released from Lynchburg, which I don't understand.  He has had a rough start to the season, but I think he has showed some promise despite being old for the leagues he's played in.  Redlegs Baseball suspects there's more to the decision than on-field performance.

There were other moves too, but those were the ones that caught my eye.