Cincinnati Reds’ farm hands get their shot at Tim Tebow in Arizona Fall League
The Cincinnati Reds may not be in the playoffs this year, but their farmhands get a shot at something special.
The Cincinnati Reds’ farmhands had a chance to see Tim Tebow first hand in the Arizona Fall League. The Reds work with the Peoria Javelinas. The team also has prospects from the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners.
These teams are a good match-up with the Reds because the Reds want to see their batters respond and most of the other prospects are pitchers. Of course, the Orioles, Padres, and Mariners are three of the teams interested in trading for Reds’ shortstop Zack Cozart.
Unlike most years where prospects are players most people have yet to hear of, observing Tebow dominates this year’s AFL. There has already been debate about whether or not he deserves to be there. The fact of the matter is that he is there and the fans love it.
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The Reds have an almost entirely no-name band of prospects playing in Arizona this fall. The one exclusion to that is the top prospect that came back from the Miami Marlins in the Mat Latos deal, Chad Wallach. As a son of former MLB third baseman Tim Wallach, Chad knows what it’s like to be in the spotlight.
In their first chance to show Tebow about baseball, the Peoria Javelinas finished the job.
None of the Reds’ pitchers made an appearance in the game, but the pitchers that did held Tebow to an 0-for-3 day with two strikeouts. Tebow did have a walk and a run scored. That didn’t help the Scottsdale Scorpions enough.
Three of the Cincinnati Reds’ four position players started the game and contributed to the victory. Offensive-minded second baseman Brandon Dixon played first and batted clean-up. He didn’t produce power, but he produce three hits and 2 RBIs.
The aforementioned Wallach was the DH and did not represent himself or the Reds well. He was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, looking more like Tebow than his father. Wallach received a hit by pitch, but that is not the same as a walk.
Defensive shortstop Zach Vincej went 2-for-4 with solo home run. He also led the team with five total bases. Vincej made sure Tebow didn’t make his name against the Javelinas.
Next: Reds get look at the future in the Arizona Fall League
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It’s really not such a big deal to play Tebow when he is having trouble hitting and playing DH. He’s a big star in Florida and Denver, but the rest of the world only remembers him as a football player. The Reds’ farmhands made sure it stayed that way for one more day.