Reds Up/Reds Down: Spring Training Week 1

The first week of spring training games are in the books. The Reds are 5-2 and have shown the normal flashes and inconsistencies that come along with spring ball. There have been some good tidbits about the first week however that may show Reds fans some promising signs.

Reds Up

Devin Mesoraco – The young catcher has started the spring reinforcing the idea that last year was no fluke for him. He is hitting .667 and hit a monster blast in the Reds 7-6 win Wednesday over the White Sox that Dusty Baker said was “hit a mile and a half”. Hopefully the hot hand will continue as this does nothing but ease my worries about the future of the catching position with the Reds.

Dave Sappelt – While the OF might not have gotten a fair amount of love when discussing the Reds prospects (save for Steve who is fairly high on him), he is also making noise in the spring games. Sappelt has seen a great deal of time in the early lineups playing CF and is definitely showcasing his polish at the plate hitting .500 thus far. He may be working himself into the picture for a roster spot, just sayin’.

Increased TV Coverage – I am very pleased with the increased TV coverage of the spring training games this year. With FSN broadcasting a number of games and MLB Network doing excellent work, fans can see more of spring training than ever with 7 more games being broadcast. I know I won’t be able to make it to Goodyear any time soon, so it’s good to be able to see the progression of the team during spring training from home.

Reds Down

Relievers – The Reds relief corps (namely Jose Arredondo, Francisco Cordero, and Carlos Fisher) has not been sharp at all in the spring to now. Some key players that are being counted on in the bullpen this season have been rocked thus far and hopefully things can get turned around. It is early on obviously but if the trend continues things might be a bit mysterious for the Reds from a bullpen standpoint.

Edinson Volquez‘s Visa – Edinson Volquez has been held out of spring training games thus far due to a problem acquiring a work visa to replace his current travel visa from the Dominican Republic. Volquez is unable to perform in front of paying customers until the problem is solved and it has definitely disrupted the opening day starter’s spring. He is currently heading back to the Dominican Republic to officially get the new visa allowing him to finally pitch in ST games. Volquez will hopefully be pitching again by the coming week and should see around 4 starts the rest of ST. This all just tells me that even the government cannot stop the Reds.

There’s a few of the goings on for the Reds early in spring so far. Be back next week.