CINCINNATI — Each month the Cincinnati Reds release a minor league report looking at the performances of how the future Reds are performing throughout the minor league system. Here’s the report for July:
Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month: Andy Fisher
Reds Minor League Player of the Month: Narciso Crook
Louisville Bats
July Record: 15-12
Top Hitter: Narciso Crook
Top Pitcher: R.J. Alaniz
The Bats won 10 of its final 14 games in the month of July to end the month on a high note. And the wins were emphatic, with the Bats winning five of six games over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the first-place AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees. Over the final 14 games of the month, Louisville outscored its opponents 83-51.
Narciso Crook had a July to remember, appearing in 26 games for the Bats, hitting .344 (33-for-96) with 7 HR, 18 RBI, 7 doubles, 4 triples. Aristides Aquino backed up his red-hot June with another strong July, hitting .277 (28-for-101) with 10 home runs and 18 RBI. Aquino represented the team in El Paso at the 2019 Triple-A All-Star Game before taking his hot streak to the Majors.
R.J. Alaniz out of the bullpen was incredibly reliable, pitching 10.0 innings in nine games, allowing no runs on eight hits, striking out eight batters.
Highlights include:
7/4: Lucas Sims and Eric Stout combined for a 14 strikeout, 2-hitter over Columbus in a 7-0 win.
7/12: The Bats win in Alex Wood’s rehab start, winning 7-6 over Toledo.
7/28: Narciso Crook homers twice to push Louisville to a sweep of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
7/31: Tied at 7 entering the 11th, the Bats cap July with Chadwick Tromp’s 11th inning grand slam to win in Columbus.
Chattanooga Lookouts
July Record: 7-21
Top Hitter: Calten Daal
Top Pitcher: Ty Boyles
Chattanooga struggled in July, losing at one point 14 games in a row in the middle part of the month. Calten Daal, the native of Curaçao, had a .289 batting average (22-for-76) with a .628 OPS in July. He drove in 7 RBI in 24 games. Jose Siri added 6 HR and 15 RBI in 28 games.
Ty Boyles pitched a 1.38 ERA in 13.0 innings across 9 appearances in July. He allowed just 2 runs all month. Packy Naughton won two games as a starter, including a shutout win on July 1 at Jacksonville. The Lookouts won three of the first four games of the month before starting on its skid.
Highlights include:
7/1: Packy Naughton allows just two hits over 6.2 innings, while striking out seven batters, in a 5-0 shutout win in Jacksonville.
7/4: Chattanooga scores 4 runs over the first duo of innings in a 5-2 win over Jackson.
7/22: Alex Wood rehabs as the Lookouts defeat Birmingham, 3-2.
Daytona Tortugas
July Record: 14-14
Top Hitter: Lorenzo Cedrola
Top Pitcher: Wendolyn Bautista
The Tortugas went .500 during the month of July, ending the month well within contention of the 2nd half crown of the Florida State League North division. The team took two of three at home against Tampa to begin July before losing a month-high four straight games. Just nine of the team’s 28 games were in Daytona Beach at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The team spent consecutive Saturdays sweeping Lakeland in doubleheaders due to Friday rainouts.
Lorenzo Cedrola hit .293 in 24 games (22-for-75) and drove in 9 RBI. Wendolyn Bautista was sharp, enough to earn a call up to AA Chattanooga.
Bautista in five starts went 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA. He pitched 31.0 innings, allowing 9 earned runs on 20 hits. He struck out 34 opposing batters and opponent’s batting average was .182. 1 batters.
Highlights include:
7/3: After falling behind in top of the 9th, Daytona scores two runs in the bottom of the 9th with an Alejo Lopez single followed by a Stuart Fairchild sacrifice fly to win 5-4 and walk-off over Tampa.
7/13: Daytona sweeps Lakeland in a doubleheader, 6-1 and 2-1, at home.
7/20: Daytona sweeps Lakeland, again, this time away from home 4-2 and 4-1 over the Flying Tigers.
7/28: Daytona scores a pair of runs in the 11th inning to take down Florida in extras.
Dayton Dragons
July Record: 14-14
Top Hitter: Pabel Manzanero
Top Pitcher: Andy Fisher
After putting together a dominant month of June to end the first half on a high note, the Dragons went .500 in the month of July. The team lost Connor Bennett due to promotion to Daytona, a pitcher who pitched 10 1/3 innings in nine games, allowing no runs on four hits in June. However, the team had a surprise pitcher step up when the bullpen needed a strong pitcher.
Andy Fisher earned Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month honors, one month after he went undrafted out of Illinois in the June 2019 MLB Amateur Draft. Albeit it in three games, he pitched 12.0 innings after being promoted from Greeneville, allowing no earned runs on three hits, striking out 12.
Pabel Manzanero continued his strong form from the beginning of the season, and hit .310 in 21 games with the Dragons. He earned a promotion to Daytona on June 25, but not before he drove in 3 HR and 13 RBI for Dayton (26-for-84) with an OPS of .845.
2019 1st-round pick Nick Lodolo made two starts with the Dragons in July. He pitched 7 innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs, while striking out nine. His ERA stood at 2.57 with Dayton.
Highlights include:
7/8: Dayton stuns South Bend, scoring four runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to walk-off over the Cubs and win 5-4.
7/15: Dayton defeats Beloit, 9-1, to complete a three-game sweep in which Dayton outscored its opposition 20-7.
7/20: Cameron Warren’s solo home run is the only run in a 1-0 shutout win in Kane County. Andy Fisher and Connor Curlis combine for 14 strikeouts and just one hit in 9.0 innings of work.
Billings Rookie Reds
July Record: 16-13
Top Hitter: Eric Yang
Top Pitcher: Omar Conoropo
After a rough 4-11 start to the season, the Mustangs put together a strong July to end the first half on a high note, as well as start of the second half of the Pioneer League season strong. Billings began the month on a three game winning streak, and ended it on a four game winning streak. In between, the team never lost more than three consecutive games. 12 of the 29 games for the Mustangs featured a Billings offense which scored five or more runs.
James Free hit .321 in 16 games for the Mustangs, TJ Hopkins hit .329 in 20 games, and the duo combined for 22 RBI. But no one had as strong of a month as Eric Yang. In 19 games, Yang hit .417 (25-for-60) with 18 RBI. He tallied 10 runs, five doubles, and five walks. He drove in a season-high 4 RBI on 7/26 at Missoula.
On the mound, in seven starts, Omar Conoropo went a perfect 3-0. In 27.1 innings he allowed 14 earned runs while striking out 23 batters. Nick Lodolo made 4 starts, pitching 9.0 innings while allowing three earned runs on nine hits.
Billings ended the month in 1st place in the second half standings, ending 4-1 in five games which counted in the second half standings.
Highlights include:
7/6: Billings scores two runs in the 1st inning, and holds on to win 2-1 in Missoula.
7/23: At home against Great Falls, neither team scored through 8 innings until TJ Hopkins’ walk-off single scores Quin Cotton to cap a 1-0 Mustangs win.
7/30: Billings ties the game in the 9th inning, and then wins in extras to stun Great Falls.
Greeneville Reds
July Record: 12-16
Top Hitter: Cameron Warren
Top Pitcher: Tyler Garbee
The G-Reds dropped six of the opening seven games in July. Yet, the team bounced back. A four-game winning streak which saw Greeneville outscore opponents 31-8 in the middle of the month saw the Reds get back on track. Later in the month, the Reds would win five of seven contests.
Cameron Warren, 22nd round pick in the 2019 June draft, earned a quick promotion up to Double A with his 10 games of hitting .333. He hit 13-for-39 with a home run and 11 RBI to make a quick strong impression. Justin Gomez additionally hit .286 in eight games while Blake Trahan spent a rehab assignment with the Reds, adding four hits over four games.
Tyler Garbee held opponents to a .238 batting average across seven games and 28.2 innings pitched. He allowed 11 runs over that span.
Highlights include:
7/12: Greeneville defeats Danville 10-0 on the road. Juan Abril and Tyler Garbee combine for the shutout as six different Reds drive in runs.
7/20: Tyler Callihan drives in 4 RBI in a 9-2 win at Princeton.
7/30: Four different G-Reds homer in a back-and-forth 8-7 win at Bristol. Garrett Wolforth reached on an error in the 9th to score the go-ahead run.
Dominican Summer League Reds
July Record: 18-7
Top Hitter: Darlin Guzman
Top Pitcher: Jose Franco
The DSL Reds finished an impressive July by ending 6 games ahead of second place in the DSL Baseball City Division. Darlin Guzman hit an impressive .390 in the month of July by going 23-for-59 with a home run, 15 RBI, nine doubles, two triples, and two walks. He hit .346 in June.
Jose Acosta hit an equally impressive .387 in the month of July (29-for-75), accounting for two HR, 13 RBI, and 14 walks. Acosta did so after hitting .417 in June.
Jose Franco was the squad’s top pitcher, encompassing a 1.38 ERA in 26.0 innings (four earned runs) across six games. He was 2-0 in those games.
Highlights include:
7/1: Scoreless entering extra innings, Luis Cabrera’s sac fly scored Juan Batista to give the Reds a walk-off 1-0 win over the DSL D-backs1.
7/17: The Reds crush the DSL Blue Jays, 21-9. Seven different Reds drive in runs, and Thomas Lora hits three doubles.
7/18: The Reds back up the 21 run outburst from the previous day by defeating the DSL Blue Jays again. This time by an 11-2 score.
Arizona League Reds
July Record: 10-14
Top Hitter: Wendell Marreno
Top Pitcher: Spencer Stockton
The AZL Reds finished the month on a four-game winning streak to start strong in the Arizona League’s second half, ending the month 3-3 in the second half. The team saw several top organizational stars perform on rehab assignments throughout the month, including Scott Schebler and Rob Refsnyder.
Wendell Marreno hit .308 in July, accounting for two HR, 12 RBI, and nine walks. Sebastian Almonte hit .296 in 14 games, accounting for seven RBI and five doubles.
Spencer Stockton accounted for a 3.05 ERA and 2-1 record over 20.2 innings pitched, allowing seven earned runs while striking out 27 batters. Jacques Pucheu had a 3.42 ERA in seven outings, striking out 25 batters and scattering 22 hits in 23.2 innings.
Highlights include:
7/2: The Reds shutout AZL Brewers Gold, 8-0, while holding its opponent to just two hits.
7/21: Down by an early 6-2 deficit, the Reds score five times in the 7th inning to take the decisive 8-6 lead over AZL Athletics Green.
7/29: The Reds win a wild one over AZL Dodgers Lasorda, 15-10. The team scored six runs in the 6th inning and four runs in the 8th.