The Reds could make some noise This Year!

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Notebook: Reds have prospects to make noise
By Ken Rosenthal
Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX.

Updated: March 14, 2008, 11:38 AM EST

To be a surprise team, you need surprise players. The Reds might open with two in their starting rotation.

Johnny Cueto, the Reds' top pitching prospect, is the talk of Florida, and Edinson Volquez, the team's principal return for Josh Hamilton, also is drawing high praise from rival scouts and executives.

Granted, it's not even mid-March, and caution with young pitchers is especially warranted for a team that plays at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.

The Reds might consider it safer to open with more experienced starters then turn to Cueto and Volquez in the second half for the same type of lift Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales gave the Rockies last season.

Then again, maybe they won't wait at all.

Cueto, 22, throws 94 to 97 mph, and not even the Phillies' Ryan Howard could catch up to his fastball Wednesday night. His best secondary pitch — a hard, John Smoltz-type slider — also is menacing.

Volquez, 24, also throws 94 to 97, and his changeup is considered well above-average. He showed signs of maturing with the Rangers last September, and struck out eight over the final four innings against the Yankees on Monday night.

Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky, drawing on his experience with the Twins, isn't one to rush young players. Cueto and Volquez, however, possess intriguing blends of talent and fearlessness.

"You look at each case on its merits," Krivsky says. "There are always exceptions to the rule."

Volquez is more advanced than Cueto — he reached the majors in 2005 and '06 before starting at Class A last season and climbing back to Texas again. The Reds got him only because they were willing to trade Hamilton, who looks like an MVP candidate in the Cactus League.

"The only way I would have given up Josh was if I got a talented, ceiling-type major-league starter who was very close to being ready," Krivsky said. "We weren't giving up Josh Hamilton unless we got something that we considered equal value in return."

Volquez might prove worthy of that assessment, and Cueto — at 5-foot-10, 192 pounds — reminds some scouts of a young Pedro Martinez. Again, it's not even mid-March. But if Volquez and Cueto are indeed ready to contribute, the Reds could emerge as a legitimate threat in the mediocre NL Central.

Roberts, Crisp and the Cubs

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts remains a much higher priority for the Cubs than Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp. Trading for both would result in too large a payroll increase, even if the Cubs found a taker for right-hander Jason Marquis. Roberts and Crisp will earn a combined $24.8 million over the next two seasons, or $8.55 million more than Marquis.

The Cubs' minor leaguers begin playing games on Friday, and the Orioles want time to see them before reviving the Roberts talks. Crisp, meanwhile, can't be moved until he recovers from a groin injury. And frankly, he doesn't make much sense for the Cubs at all.

If Crisp is unhappy competing with Jacoby Ellsbury in Boston, he surely wouldn't be happier serving as a platoon partner for Felix Pie in Chicago. The same goes for the Orioles' Jay Payton, who could be part of an expanded deal for Roberts. Payton, 35, still views himself as an everyday player.

Of course, the Cubs could always trade Pie if they acquired Crisp, and one rival scout thinks such a move would be best for all involved.

"Pie needs to leave the organization to succeed or fail," the scout says. "The Cubs won't let him fail. They will always pull the plug. They're not willing to give him a 300- to 400-at-bat commitment.

"He's got tools. He needs to learn how to play within his tools. And the only way to do that is through major-league experience."

Manager Lou Piniella often prefers veterans, but Pie needs to get that experience with the Cubs. The Yankees committed to Melky Cabrera in center. The Red Sox are set to do the same with Jacoby Ellsbury. The Cubs would look foolish turning away from Pie, who only recently turned 23.

They should stick with Plan A — acquiring Roberts and finding a right-handed hitting complement to Pie.

And on the South Side ...

Bold talk from White Sox GM Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen is practically a rite of spring. But Joey Cora, the White Sox's normally reserved bench coach, is also bullish about the team's chances.

Williams targeted fiery, tough-minded players after the Sox's 72-90 finish last season, and Cora predicts that new center fielder Nick Swisher and shortstop Orlando Cabrera will make a huge difference.

"We're going to be better than everyone thinks — you can quote me," Cora says. "Those two guys bring some attitude to the ballclub. They're not going to let anything slip. It seems like everyone is going to hate us. We're going to play very, very hard."

To picture the White Sox contending, one need only imagine the Tigers' bullpen issues festering and the Indians' bullpen regressing from its near-peak performance last season. Both the Tigers and Indians also have rotation concerns, but let's not get carried away: The White Sox's pitching isn't necessarily in better shape.

Their bullpen remains an open question, even after — or maybe especially after — Williams' combined $30 million investment in Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink. And for the rotation to succeed, the White Sox need Jose Contreras to revive and both John Danks and Gavin Floyd to perform to Williams' expectations.

If all that happens, the Sox's confidence will prove justified.

Another prospect in Milwaukee

The Brewers, who will face difficult choices when deciding which of their young players to keep long term, will not lack for options if they keep churning out prospects such as shortstop Alcides Escobar.

One scout is so taken with Escobar, he says the Brewers should trade second baseman Rickie Weeks and move shortstop J.J. Hardy to second — a notion the team eventually might consider, but not yet.

Escobar, a native of Venezuela, has yet to play above Class AA. He is a terrific defender, and the Brewers' statistical analysis suggests that his offensive performance is similar to what Edgar Renteria's was at the same age.

Around the Horn

* Oh, to be 28 years old and left-handed: Seven teams expressed immediate interest in left-hander Horacio Ramirez after he was released by the Mariners, according to the pitcher's agent, Steve Canter. Ramirez can begin negotiating with teams after he clears waivers at 1 p.m. ET on Friday. "I think he's going to have a pretty good opportunity to win a job somewhere," Canter says.

* Infielder Cody Ransom is making a strong bid to be the Yankees' 25th man. Wilson Betemit no longer can play shortstop, so the Yankees' second utility man needs to be proficient at the position. Ransom, 32, is showing power, and scouts like his arm and range. "He's going to be in the mix," one scout says. "He's going to make it tough for them, force their hand a little bit."

* The Rays ideally want to replace Rocco Baldelli with a switch-hitter who could provide strong late-inning defense in right field and back up B.J. Upton in center. The Angels' Reggie Willits fits that description, but is said to be unavailable. Free agent Kenny Lofton and the Brewers' Gabe Gross are among the left-handed hitting possibilities. The Blue Jays' Reed Johnson, a right-handed hitter, also might fit, but many clubs view him as an injury risk. The Mets like Johnson, but would prefer an outfielder with more power.

* The Braves continue to look for a veteran bat off the bench, preferably left-handed, but they don't want to make such a move if it costs them Scott Thorman, who is out of options. Thorman, 26, could be claimed by a team that covets his power, and that team might find it easier to pass him through waivers in a month or so. The Braves could keep Thorman as well as a veteran addition if they carried one less utility infielder and used Thorman in the outfield. Mark Sweeney signed with the Dodgers over the Braves in part because he sensed that the Braves' loyalty to Thorman eventually might cost him his spot.

* One Blue Jays official described the season-ending loss of right-hander Casey Janssen as "a gut shot," but right-hander Brandon League looks like he might fill a significant bullpen role. League, who pitched in only 14 games due to shoulder and oblique problems last season, is throwing 92 to 94 mph — not as hard as he did in 2006, but hard enough for the Jays to envision a possible League-Jeremy Accardo-B.J. Ryan combination in the late innings.

* The Phillies, like many clubs, are looking for at least one reliever who would be better than what they have in the middle innings. Their payroll, however, is at its limit, so they probably will not do anything more dramatic than a waiver claim or minor trade. The Diamondbacks are one team with a possible bullpen surplus. Brandon Medders and Dustin Nippert are out of options.

* Finally, here's wishing the best for ESPN analyst Rick Sutcliffe, who has been diagnosed with a treatable and curable form of colon cancer. "Sut" is a beloved figure in the game — during his 19-year career, he was a rock for his teammates and a go-to guy for reporters. He has always been there for others. So many people will want to be there for him.

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