The top hitters and pitchers in the Reds’ minor-league system, with statistics through Thursday’s games.
Top five batters | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Pos. | Team | Avg. | R | H | HRs | RBIs | SBs |
Billy Hamilton | SS | Bakersfield | .321 | 53 | 75 | 1 | 18 | 69 |
Bryson Smith | OF | Bakersfield | .319 | 31 | 60 | 5 | 35 | 8 |
Donald Lutz | 1B | Bakersfield | .306 | 35 | 56 | 13 | 39 | 7 |
Ryan Wright | SS | Dayton | .305 | 25 | 65 | 1 | 27 | 11 |
Steve Selsky | OF | Dayton | .285 | 21 | 57 | 1 | 20 | 5 |
Top five pitchers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Team | ERA | W | L | S | IP | K | BB |
Tony Cingrani | Bakers./Pensa. | 1.28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 562/3 | 71 | 13 |
Chad Rogers | Bakersfield | 2.24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 681/3 | 50 | 13 |
Kyle Lotzkar | Bakers./Pensa. | 2.39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 65 | 28 |
Brett Tomko | Louisville | 3.12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 572/3 | 44 | 28 |
Justice French | Dayton/Bakers. | 3.43 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 601/3 | 46 | 21 |
You won’t find Kristopher Negron’s name among the leaders in any statistical category in the Reds’ farm system, but the 26-year-old utility player recently got the phone call every minor leaguer dreams about.
Negron was hitting .212 in 217 at-bats at Triple-A Louisville, but he got the call-up Wednesday and made his major-league debut Thursday as a pinch runner.
“I started playing baseball when I was 6 years old, and this has been a dream ever since,” said Negron, whom the Reds acquired from Boston in 2009 in a trade for Alex Gonzalez.
In addition to realizing his dream, the promotion enabled him to catch up with family. Negron’s parents, wife and grandma flew in Wednesday, and his in-laws arrived Thursday.
“We haven’t had a chance to do a whole lot because mostly I’ve been catching up on my sleep,” said Negron, who found out he was going to Cincinnati at midnight Tuesday while the Louisville Bats were playing in Syracuse.
He caught a 6 a.m. flight to Louisville, by way of Detroit, gathered a few things from the River Bats clubhouse and then drove to Cincinnati for Wednesday’s game.
“I made sure I drove the speed limit,” Negron said. “It was probably the most cautious driving I’ve ever done. I wanted to make sure I made it up here safely.”
Negron, who was born in New Jersey and lived in Japan for five years before moving to California, said he was hoping to spend a lot of time with his family — and hoping to get his first major-league at-bat — before everyone flies home today.
“I’m itching to get up to the plate,” he said prior to Friday’s game against Detroit. “Whenever it happens, I’ll be ready.”
Players of the month: Two other Reds minor leaguers received good news this week. Class A Bakersfield center fielder Bryson Smith and Class AAA left-handed pitcher Donnie Joseph were named the Reds Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for May, respectively. The 23-year-old Smith led Reds minor leaguers in batting average (.363) and on-base percentage (.439). He also tied for second in RBIs (20) and was fourth in runs (17). In 49 games, Smith ranks second in organization batting (.322) behind Billy Hamilton (.327) and third with 32 RBIs.
Joseph, 24, led the organization and tied for third in all of minor league baseball with eight saves in May. The former Dayton Dragon compiled a 2-1 record and a 1.06 ERA in 13 appearances, registering 25 strikeouts in 17 innings while allowing three walks and seven hits.
For the season he leads Reds farmhands with 12 saves and has posted a 0.93 ERA in 25 appearances and 29 innings this season. He has allowed three earned runs on 13 hits and eight walks while striking out 44.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jay.morrison@coxohio.com.
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