Latos safest bet for consistent success in rotation

The Reds got an important opening series win by the score of 2-0 yesterday in Chicago behind the dominant arm of Mat Latos, the workhorse stud of the Reds' deep pitching staff. All Latos has done since he arrived in Cincinnati last season is win. Latos mixed all of his pitches, including two seem
fastballs with sliders and a 95 MPH four seem fastball. Latos is at his best when he is relaxed and focused on the hill.

The 6'6 twenty-five year old hard thrower is now 12-2 on the year and well on pace to surpass his career high win mark of fourteen set last season. Latos is also 4-0 with a 1.32 ERA since the All Star Break. Latos has been widely regarded as a second half pitcher throughout his career, so don't be surprised if he ends up with fifteen to seventeen wins on the year, which would make him one of baseball's elite pitchers.

There is no doubt that if the playoffs started today, Latos would be facing the St. Louis Cardinals in the one game playoff. He is the team's most talented pitcher, and the only other considerable option for starting that game would be Bronson Arroyo due to his veteran prowess in the playoffs.

The Reds relied heavily on Johnny Cueto during last season's run to the playoffs. Without Cueto, Latos has become the most notable option for Bryan Price and Dusty Baker. Latos, unlike Cueto, brings a little bit of attitude to the hill, intimidating hitters that haven't had success off of his pitches. The Reds took a gamble by trading top prospects Yasmani Grandal and Yonder Alonso along with an established starter in Edinson Volquez to acquire the young Latos, but the trade worked out extremely well for Cincinnati with Volquez continuing to show inconsistency and Grandal unable to stay on the field because of suspension.

Latos blamed the Reds' final disappointment of the season, a playoff loss to the Giants, on himself for not pitching as well as he has when he's at his best. If Latos gets another opportunity as the primary option to start games in the playoffs, he will use last season's disappointments as fuel to turn his playoff luck around.

After last night's victory, Latos also brought his ERA down to 3.04 with eight shutout innings of baseball along with nine strikeouts. Latos also threw less than one hundred pitches in the effort, setting himself up for plenty of rest and less fatigue for his next start against Milwaukee. Latos' 154 strikeouts lead all pitchers on the Reds. His 1.24 shows a better control over his location as his evolution as a pitcher continues under the tutelage of Price.

The sky is the limit for Latos over the next few years. That is why Walt Jocketty took a chance on the trade two years ago. Latos was a streaky pitcher as a kid with the Padres. He even let his temper get the best of him sometimes, which is probably why San Diego let him go. Now, Latos is more mature in his mid-twenties and is eyeing players like Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander to rival in the coming years. His pitching stuff is that good. If Latos finishes strong in the postseason, he will begin to get the national attention he deserves.

Ludwick's rehab assignment creates anticipation for complete lineup

Ryan Ludwick is entering a rehab stint with the Dayton Dragons on Wednesday and will move up the ranks of the minors during that rehab period in order to be integrated back with the Reds in the next twenty days. Ludwick will probably be back before those twenty days are through. I would guess the Reds will take it pretty slowly, but I could see him coming back as soon as the Cardinals series from August 2-4.

Ludwick's presence alone presents the Reds with a more appealing lineup for the final two months of the season. The Reds can shift Ludwick in the fourth spot in the order when he comes back and let him gradually work the rust off of his swing. Shin-Soo Choo and Brandon Phillips would then become the first two hitters with Joey Votto remaining in the third spot. Phillips is a natural fit in the second spot in the order just as Ludwick fits in the cleanup spot. Ludwick will take some time to get back to hitting like he did late last season. In fact, he said he might not be one hundred percent for the rest of this season. I do believe Ludwick can hit about ten to fifteen home runs before the season ends because of his resiliency and experience with injuries in the past. Ludwick has been around the league for quite some time now. He fractured his hip coming up to the majors with Texas in 2002, so he knows his body well and can adjust to the ups and downs of coming back from major surgery.

Ludwick's freak injury from sliding into third base during the first game of this season threw the Reds off of their plan for the season. Chris Heisey then struggled at the plate and consequently stepped up when he came back off the DL from an injury himself. Derrick Robinson and Xavier Paul have hit well at times this season, but both can be streaky at the plate. Adding Ludwick to the plethora of left fielders available to the Reds right now will stabilize the position and add competition. Paul will probably remain on the team as a lefty bat although Robinson offers his switch hitting and dynamic speed. The Reds never steal bases under Dusty Baker as manager, however, so Robinson's speed only goes so far in Cincinnati. Ludwick and Heisey could even platoon at the left field position, giving Ludwick time to catch up and Heisey more opportunities to raise his batting average back to a respectable number. Here is what the lineup will look like in a few weeks and how it helps the Reds.

1. Shin-Soo Choo-No changes here. Choo has been an expert all season long at getting on base and earning timely hits, so he will deservedly remain leading off.
2. Brandon Phillips-Phillips hits best batting second, according to GM Walt Jocketty in an AP story. "He has been all over the lineup and has been great about it, but we think his best spot in the order is second," Jocketty said earlier this year. Phillips should be applauded for his work in the cleanup spot with over seventy RBI's already, but he can focus at getting on base and moving runners over in the two hole.
3. Joey Votto-Much like Choo, Votto deserves to hit third, although batting him second right now without Ludwick in the lineup is an appealing option. Dusty Baker will never move Votto out of the third spot in the order.
4. Ryan Ludwick-The catalyst of the Reds' lineup. When he is in the lineup, he brings the Reds stability and a consistently productive group from top to bottom. When he is injured, the Reds tend to be inconsistent. Even though Cincinnati is twelve games over .500, the team can and will improve with a healthy fourth hitter.
5. Jay Bruce-Dusty Baker won't move Bruce in the order because he is one of the team's best power hitters and Baker doesn't want him in the fourth spot with back-to-back left handers. Bruce will have more opportunities for RBI's with Ludwick hitting in front of him.
6. Todd Frazier-Frazier was best last season with Ludwick excelling a couple spots ahead of him in the order. Both Frazier and Ludwick had career seasons and spectacular second halves last year, and they were two of the key reasons the Reds won the division crown.
7. Zack Cozart-Cozart is a quality player in the seventh spot in the order. The problem comes about when the Reds try to bat a shortstop who struggles to make contact second in the lineup. Cozart continues to exceed expectations with his impact fielding ability and has shown an ability to go through hitting surges. His main problem is consistency and putting together a string of productive hitting performances. That will come with more and more at bats. For now, let Cozart get through his troubles hitting seventh.
8. Devin Mesoraco-Right now, it seems that Mesoraco has surpassed Cozart as the best young player getting playing time in the Reds' batting order. Mesoraco is hitting .241 this season, a respectable mark for a catcher, and has shown some power with four homers and twenty-one RBI's in his 179 at bats. Mesoraco could see an increase in playing time with Ryan Hanigan struggling to stay healthy and get hits this season.
9. Pitcher-Mike Leake and Mat Latos are the two best hitting pitchers on the team. However, there is no Micah Owings on this Reds team hitting wise.

Potential deadline trade targets for the Reds

It's that time of year again. With only one series between the official first half of the year and the All Star break, teams are starting to distinguish themselves as buyers or sellers for potential deals at the July 31 trade deadline. The Reds have been both active and inactive in the recent past under GM Walt Jocketty, depending on the season. Last year, the Reds acquired Jonathan Broxton, who pitched well in the setup role with a 2.82 ERA. The Reds did nothing the year prior when they were two games under the .500 mark at that time in 2011.

The Reds have a few weaknesses even though the team enters play tonight eleven games over .500. They could use a boost in left field before Ryan Ludwick returns, and relief pitching is always a need for any team in contention. Below are some potential targets for the Reds as members of MLB teams' front offices begin to convene in order to get deals done.

Alex Gordon-Gordon is probably the best player on this list, and although it has taken him years of development, Gordon has become an extremely dangerous hitter in the AL. Gordon has been in the big leagues since 2007, and has hit close to or above .300 since 2011. Gordon is currently hitting .293 with nine homers and forty-eight RBI's. He also has a .360 OBP. The only knock on Gordon is his tendency to rack up the strikeouts over the course of the season. He has 140 and 139 strikeouts over the last to seasons respectively. Gordon also plays a solid left field, and would command some top level prospects on the Reds' part. Gordon is signed through 2016 and is making over $10 million until he is a free agent. A package of Ryan Ludwick along with Kyle Lotzkar and Nick Travieso could get a deal done.

Colby Rasmus-The former Cardinal now mans center field for the struggling Blue Jays. Rasmus is certainly one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, and a deal for the twenty-six year old could move Shin-Soo Choo to left, a more natural position for him. Rasmus is one of the more affordable options that could be up for trade, and certainly would command some solid prospects because of his age and ability to hit consistently. The lefty hits .250 with sixteen home runs and an OBP of .324. His power makes him an upgrade over Xavier Paul and Derrick Robinson. Rasmus also has forty-eight RBI's.

Alexei Ramirez-Ramirez has the ability to stabilize the shortstop position hitting wise in the number two spot in the order. He is signed for three more years, so the White Sox would have to take on one of the Reds' large contracts or give money to the Reds in a deal. Ramirez has always been a steady AL shortstop, never allowing his average to dip below .265 for the White Sox. His power numbers have receded dramatically over the past two years. Ramirez hit twenty-one homers his rookie year and never hit below fifteen until 2012. A deal for Ramirez could be very difficult to work out, but it might be worth it to provide a respected veteran approach to playing the shortstop position everyday.

Marlon Byrd-Byrd is one of the more underrated players in baseball. He has bounced around six teams in his eleven year career. Byrd made the All Star team in 2010 and finished that year hitting .293 with the Cubs. Byrd is off to his best start power wise in his career with the New York Mets. He is batting .266 and has clubbed thirteen homers as one of the few bright spots on the team. Byrd is making under $1 million this season on a one year contract, and wouldn't be too hard to acquire through trade. I think it would be worth making a deal because Byrd has proven to be slightly better than Xavier Paul throughout his career, not to mention in a much longer time period. Ryan LaMarre could headline a package to get a deal done.

Steve Delabar-Delabar is one of the most interesting stories out of the candidates to make this year's All Star team through final vote. Delabar has ties to the area as he is from Kentucky and briefly was on the Florence Freedom's roster. Delabar came out of nowhere to make the Blue Jays' roster this season and pitch lights out, posting a 1.58 ERA in forty innings, and leading league relievers in strikeouts with fifty-seven. Delabar is arbitration eligible until 2018 and is making under $500,000 this season. Dan Langfield and Neftali Soto might be enough for Toronto to let go of Delabar through a trade.

Jesse Crain-Crain has been around since 2004 when he broke into the league with Minnesota, but is having a career year with a .74 ERA and nineteen holds. Crain has only allowed three runs all season long, and would immediately become the Reds' second best right handed reliever behind Jonathan Broxton. 

Rich Hidy
Cincy Sports Spot