Cincinnati Reds Minor League Report: April 21, 2015

With two weeks of the baseball season already in the books, we’re going to take a look at the Cincinnati Reds’ minor league affiliates and how their seasons have started off in our first minor league report of the year.

Records

Louisville Bats (Triple-A): 5-5, 2nd in International League West

Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A): 3-6, 5th in Southern League South

Daytona Tortugas (High-A): 7-3, 1st in Florida State League North

Dayton Dragons (Low-A): 6-6, 3rd in Midwest League Eastern

Hitters

Triple-A Louisville

Non-roster invitee Ivan De Jesus Jr. hit .400/.475/.600 in spring training and has stayed hot into the regular season. He has been the best hitter for Triple-A Louisville, hitting .452/.514/.581 in nine games with four doubles, a stolen base, and a run batted in.

Chris Dominguez has struggled overall since being sent down this week, but had a big game on Saturday, hitting a grand slam and knocking in five runs.

No. 10 prospect (per Baseball America) Yorman Rodriguez has struggled, hitting .172/.250/.310 with 10 strikeouts in 29 at-bats.

Double-A Pensacola

Kyle Waldrop turned some heads in spring training and is off to a decent start, hitting .259/.300/.519 with two home runs and six runs batted in.

No. 3 prospect Jesse Winker is off to a slow start, hitting .188/.235/.250 with two RBIs through eight games.

High-A Daytona

Phillip Ervin is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2014 season and has started off well. In nine games, Ervin is hitting .316/.381/.579 with two home runs, six RBIs, and three stolen bases.

Alex Blandino, who has made appearances on several top 10 prospect lists, has hit .233/.378/.333 with a double, a triple, two RBIs, two stolen bases, and seven walks through nine games.

Low-A Dayton

No. 9 prospect Aristides Aquino has been slow out of the gate, sitting at .233/.292/.349 with one home run, two RBIs, and 13 strikeouts through 12 games.

Pitching

Triple-A Louisville

Michael Lorenzen is 2-0 and has given up just one run through 13 innings pitched with five strikeouts.

Dylan Axelrod has also pitched well and is 1-0 with only two earned runs allowed through 13 innings.

Jon Moscot was impressive in his first start, tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts while picking up the win.

Raisel Iglesias gave up one run in five innings with three strikeouts in his first minor league appearance.

Sam LeCure has appeared in four games, giving up just one run with five strikeouts in six innings.

Double-A Pensacola

Tim Adleman has given up just one earned run in 11 innings through two starts.

Top prospect Robert Stephenson is looking to bounce back from a rough 2014 and hasn’t started off so hot. He’s 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA through two starts. He does have 16 strikeouts in 11 innings, however.

High-A Daytona

No. 5 prospect Nick Howard is in the midst of being converted into a starter and I’d say the transition is going pretty well. Howard is 2-0 and has yet to give up a run in 10 innings. His nine walks are a bit concerning, but it hasn’t hurt him so far.

Former first round draft pick and current No. 8 prospect Nick Travieso is 1-1 and has struck out 10 while giving up just three runs in 12 1/3 innings.

In his first start of the season, Amir Garrett (No. 7 prospect) gave up three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Low-A Dayton

Wyatt Strahan is 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 1.20 WHIP through two starts.

Seth Varner is also 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 12 strikeouts through two starts.

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