7/14/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Entered this nationwide keyword on our website.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Bills that's bills enter it. Now you found Cincinnati's ESPN
fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
I'll tell you what. I was just talking about this
with Austin. Friday Night Reds lose that game to the Rockies,
who came in fifty one hunder five hundred. I don't know.
I don't know. I've I've owned a cell phone since
nineteen ninety eight. My first cell phone was one of
those like things that sort of looked like your grandma's Bible,

(00:32):
and so obviously cell phones have evolved. I don't know
that I've heard my phone make more noise than it
did after Friday Night's Reds lost to the Rockies. Honest
to god, I heard from people I haven't heard from
in like two decades. There were phone numbers I did
not recognize who wanted to just dump on Austin Hayes

(00:52):
and Tony Santien and the Reds, and it is that
loss was something. So let's be honest about this. Okay.
The four and three homestand is disappointing. I'm oegar. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty. Thanks for listening. Hope you had
an awesome weekend. Hope your week is off to a
great start. We have a show preview on Twitter thanks
to Emery Federal Credit Union, which, by the way, the

(01:14):
Emery Federal Credit Union Golf outing is five weeks from today.
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become a member of Emery Federal Credit Union. In thirty minutes,
we're gonna go to Seattle and chat with one of
the pre eminent that tried, I said, pre eminent MLB
draft experts, Chris Crawford, who joins our show every year

(01:37):
this time of year to talk about the draft, which
is happening right now. That is thirty minutes away. Let's
be honest about this, okay. We said last week, Homestand,
where you're playing the Marlins and you're playing the Rockies,
you gotta win bare minimum five. They didn't. They lost
the first two. They lost on Friday. They go four

(01:57):
and three, call that what it is. Four and three
homestand against those teams is disappointing, especially given how they
lost on front. I'm not sure any way of losing
on Friday to the Rockies was gonna make people just
shrug their shoulders. There was anger that I'm not even
talking about on social media. I did not dare look

(02:18):
at Twitter late on Friday. I made my contribution. I
made my joke about Austin Hayes. Most people didn't care,
some got mad at me. Whatever, we're allowed to criticize performance,
I'm not even talking about it, and so I'm just
talking about it like my orbit in my life, including
people who aren't even really a part of my life
angry on Friday, and I get it. But but we

(02:41):
could do multiple things. We could acknowledge a four and
three homestand against the Marlins and Rockies isn't good enough,
at least relative to what we all said last week.
I don't recall last Monday anybody who said, you know,
if they just go four and three in this homestand
that's gonna be fine. So we can acknowledge that four

(03:04):
and three against these two teams very disappointing. But we
could also acknowledge they did bounce back. They found a
way to win on Saturday, a game that for much
of the afternoon I did not think they would win.
Some clutch pitching We talk all the time about clutch hitting.
We talk all the time about coming through in the
clutch with the bat. Sometimes your guy in the mound

(03:27):
has to come up in the clutch, and the Reds
did multiple times on Saturday, with a guy on third
base and nobody out, they found a way to win.
The Rockies certainly helped. I think on that ball that
Orlando Arcia booted, I think there's a pretty decent chance
Will Benson still scores. It's a mood point. They win,
they win. Yesterday, it felt at times over the last
couple of days that the Reds were gonna lose the

(03:48):
series to the Rockies, and they did not. So here
they are at the break, three over five hundred. Austin
on Sincy three to sixty today had a poll question
about the grade you would give the Reds. My grade
is the same as ESPNS C plus. Now, your level
of expectation, I think has to factor into this. So

(04:11):
the Reds in the first ninety seven games of the
season have been what I think most of us thought
they were gonna be. You know, for me, at least,
I think many share this. Perhaps you do as well.
Thought the Reds were gonna have pretty good starting pitching
this season, The Reds have had pretty good starting pitching.
Thought the Reds would be a team that offensively was
average at best. The Reds offensively this year have been

(04:33):
average at best. They haven't exceeded expectations. They haven't fallen
woefully short of expectations. They've been either great or awful.
They've not really gone on a long winning streak. Their
longest winning streak this year is five games. They haven't
gone on a season cratering losing streak. Their biggest losing
streak this year four games. They haven't gotten swept. I

(04:55):
add the plus to the sea for this reason that
they have found a way to in the race. And
again they're in the race. We could debate how long
they'll stay in it. We can either express skepticism or
hope that they will end up winning this race and
finishing in the playoffs as currently constructed. My guess is
that doesn't happen. But they have at least not torpedoed.

(05:18):
They've at least not cratered. They've at least not fallen
off the map. Despite some players who we thought were
gonna have to have big seasons not having big seasons.
I think we all hope to God that Matt McClain
can be better in the proverbial second half than he
was in the first. He needs to be. He hit
second for this team. He was a guy that two
years ago he said was their best player. He hasn't

(05:41):
been even close. They have survived Matt McClain being kind
of a disappointment. They have survived not getting great production
from the corner infield spots. Jam Or Candelario was supposed
to be this team's everyday third basement. Didn't happen. Noelve
Marte has been terrific and we have to spend some
time on him today. But he didn't start the season
in the big leagues, understandably so, and he missed a

(06:01):
stretch because of injury. The CEES thing is a problem.
It's a problem for him and it's a problem for
this team. He has given the Reds almost nothing. I
said almost because he has had his moments. So that's
been a problem. It hasn't created the team. Hunter Green
has missed a ton of time. I have no remote
idea when you could reasonably guess when Hunter Green's going
to pitch again. But he's been hurt. It's been hurt

(06:24):
more than he's been healthy. The Reds have not allowed
that to torpedo their season. So I give them the
plus because they have hung in there and remained relevant
and they're at least within somewhat striking distance of the
last wild card spot despite the fact that they've had
all these different things go wrong this season. It's got

(06:44):
to get better. It's got to get better. Some of
those individual players must perform better. The construction of the
roster must be better. Hopefully the trade deadline has something
to say about that. We will see. But I guess
the question that I have is this, and the phone
lines are open at five point three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. They're setting an eighty three and a half
win pace. Now, I know we didn't all agree the

(07:07):
Reds were gonna win eighty three games, but the official
position of this show was that the Reds this season
had an eighty three win team, you know, because I
think my take was they're gonna win between seventy nine
and eighty three games. And then somebody called the show
and said that's a cop out. Pick a number, and
I said, fine, I'll go in the high end of
that eighty three eighty three and seventy nine. Now eighty

(07:29):
three and seventy nine is okay, it's not good enough.
They're not going to get to the postseason with eighty
three wins, or at least they don't think they will.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
Well.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
The pace they're setting right now at fifty and forty
seven is an eighty three and a half win pace,
so maybe they're slightly exceeding. The question is how do
they accelerate their pace. How do they go from team
that's in contention and not that far from a wildcard
spot to a team that's playing beyond Game one sixty two,

(07:59):
And how do they do it with the team is
currently constructed, with their flaws, with their assets. How do
they do it combining what they have with what they
can get at the deadline, and how do they do
this while they face what is right now the most
difficult remaining schedule in the sport. They're done playing the

(08:20):
Colorado Rockies, they're done playing the Miami Marlins. Now they
have some games against bad teams, right They still have
seven against the Pittsburgh Pirates, So you know it would
help for the Reds to play well against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But the combined winning percentage of their opponents the rest

(08:40):
of the way is five point twenty two. That's the
most difficult in the sport. They have six with the Dodgers,
including three here in late July right before the deadline.
They still have to play the Cubs seven times. They
still have to play the Brewers seven times, three more
with the Phillies here, three more with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Six against the Mets, including three in New York to

(09:00):
start the second half beginning on Friday night. So how
do they accelerate their pace over the final sixty five
games of the season when they have pretty much been
what we suspected they were going to be, And how
do they do that against the most difficult remaining schedule
in the sport and, by the way, the tougher teams

(09:24):
in the National League Central they have not played very
well against. So that's got to change. Numbers are five, one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. You could also send a tweet at Moegger
which comes your way thanks to Delta Dental. Delta Dental
is building healthy, smart, vibrant communities for all good at
Delta dentalh dot com. Busy weekend Red's win two out

(09:47):
of three, a painfully familiar outcome and script for FC
Cincinnati on Saturday night. They wait basically an hour to
get the game underway, and that didn't do anything to
damp and the enthusiasm of the crowd at the soccer
venue on the West end of Cincinnati. They score a
goal in the first minute, score another one four minutes later.

(10:09):
They are cruising against Columbus, and they still lose four
to two. Columbus takes the lead on an own goal
by Miles Robinson. That's the third time that FC Cincinnati
has lost a game to Columbus where they've led to nothing, obviously,
most notably in the Eastern Conference Final last or two
years ago. It snaps the four game winning streak. It

(10:29):
gets no easier with Lionel Messi coming to town on
a streak where he has scored multiple goals in five
consecutive games. All the nice things we have said about
FC Cincinnati in recent weeks still apply, But it is
uncanny how in some of these high profile games, including
against Miami two years ago in the US Open Cup Semis,
they're at home, crowds worked up, they're up to zip,

(10:52):
they still lose. It's happened before, it happened again on
Saturday night. We have that to discuss. Obviously, the MLB
Draft is happening. Steele Hall has a cool name. A
seventeen year old shortstop from a high school in Alabama
who is fast, rangy, awesome against the fastball, but doesn't
know how to hit a breaking pitch. That's the scouting report.

(11:13):
Our guy Chris Crawford goes in greater detail on that
coming up in just about thirty minutes, actually just about
twenty minutes, and we could have a guy pitching tomorrow
night in the All Star Game who has appeared in
five Big league games. I don't like it, but I
the All Star Game that I want is not the
All Star Game we have, and it feels like that's

(11:34):
mostly okay with everybody. I'll explain coming up here in
just a bit. Plus, we've got the Bengals as training
camp draws closer. Joe Burrow on a list of quarterbacks,
and I think he is appropriately placed on it. There
is a big question about Joe Burrow. We have to
ask and will a bolt of common sense strike somebody
between now and next Thursday. I'm sorry, Next Wednesday, right, Yeah,

(12:00):
it's Wednesday. Wednesday is when camp begins that coming up
here in just a bit. We have a lot of groundcover.
Glad you're here with us to cover it all till
six sixteen. After three o'clock, you'll hear Terry Francona on
a milestone and we got to give credit words due
to a guy who has done something that nobody expected

(12:22):
back in March. We'll do that next on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

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Speaker 1 (13:03):
This report is sponsored by rapping Is ESPN fifteen thirty
mo Edgar, thanks for listening today. By the way, we
have the home run Derby tonight on ESPN fifteen thirty
from Atlanta. Yeah, so there you go. All Star breaks happening.
We might have a guy pitching in the All Star
Game who's appeared in five Big league games in his career,
which we have to spend some time on in a bit.

(13:25):
It would be irresponsible of us to not acknowledge that
Tito Francona had a pretty significant milestone yesterday, his two
thousandth big league win. He is now one of thirteen
managers who has won that many regular season games. In fact,
I think it's kind of cool. In the two thousand
win club are three men who manage the Reds. Chances

(13:46):
are you know, Sparky Anderson won way over two thousand games,
Dusty Baker as well. In fact, five of the top
seventeen managers in all time regular season wins managed the Reds.
Bill mckechney and Lou Panella the other two. Neither of
those guys one two thousand Tito Francona has here he
is talking about the milestone after yesterday's victory.

Speaker 6 (14:14):
I don't know if you would really believe me, but
I wanted to win today so bad to get us
like three games over five hundred, and I was so
nervous about that because we got a break now and
the guys can can regroup. I don't think I've ever
tried to delude myself. I mean, some of those names

(14:34):
up there are kind of like baseball royalty.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
I'm the I'm the.

Speaker 6 (14:41):
If there's an adjective for baseball lifer, it's me. I'm
not overly smart. I'm a second semester freshman at Arizona. Still,
I just love the game, probably too much. And I hope,
I hope I treat the players like you're supposed to,
because that's what I always.

Speaker 7 (14:59):
Tr to do.

Speaker 1 (15:00):
What's it?

Speaker 8 (15:01):
What's it mean to you?

Speaker 6 (15:02):
Knowing what those players think right now with you and
how much how much they care about you. I guarantee
you it's revert it's reciprocated. I guarantee you, because they're
not often that. I get a little choked up, and
you know it, that hit me pretty hard. It's a
good place. There's a lot of good people here, and
it's a good place. Actually, let me amend that it's

(15:23):
a great place.

Speaker 7 (15:25):
It's here.

Speaker 8 (15:26):
Any like specific memory that you're gonna pull.

Speaker 6 (15:28):
On too from this song, I don't know, it's like
five minutes. I'm so glad that we won today. That's
what I really I'm telling you, that's that's the way
I'm built. I wanted us to win so bad today.
I wanted us to win so bad yesterday. It's like,
and it's gonna happen again Friday. I'm glad our guys
get a couple of days to reach Ourge. They could
use it there. They've been playing hard and it's been hot,

(15:49):
and it'll be good for him.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yes, some quality bullpen work yesterday for two reds whatever
the Rockies. You knew he was going to deflect. It
was really cool. You could tell watching or if you're
at the ballpark yesterday, melting how excited the players were
for Tito. And that is not an insignificant milestone. And
I'm the first to admit, you know, sometimes I will
downplay the impact of a manager on a team's success

(16:12):
or lack thereof. But he's right, man. You look at
the twelve names in front of him. We're talking about Royalty.
We're talking Tony Larusen, Bobby Cox and John McGraw and
Connie Mack at the top of it, Joe Tory of
the twelve managers in front of him. All are in
the Hall of Fame, with the exception of Bruce Bochi

(16:34):
who will be and Dusty Baker, who I think will
be as well, and he'll climb the list. Here, he's
eight behind Leo Durocher, so I'd like to think they'll
win at least nine more games this season. He'll need
forty to catch Walter Alston. That would require the Reds
going forty and twenty seven the rest of the way.
I'll be honest with you, I'd be thrilled if that happened.

(16:55):
I don't know that it will, but he'll pass Walter
Alston at some point early next season at the very least,
and then we'll see if he can catch the likes
of Joe McCarthy and Bucky Harris and maybe even one
day Dusty Baker. Nonetheless, two thousand victories an awesome achievement.
Congratulations to him. Congratulations to Noelve Marte as well, because

(17:19):
I was thinking about this watching him on Saturday and
here and there as he has come off the injured
list to give this team a little bit of a lift,
at least offensively. There's a very good piece on Noelve
written by Charlie Goldsmith and his newsletter Charlie's Chalkboard. You
could not have been You could not have been more

(17:43):
in the organizational doghouse that Noelve Marte was this offseason,
and for good reason, right ped suspension cost him half
the season last year. Once he was eligible to play,
he was terrible. And it wasn't like in spring train
that he was like a last you know, the last
guy cut. He wasn't guy number twenty seven. He was

(18:06):
sent to minor league camp weeks before spring training ended,
and you know, again understandably, so give the dude credit.
He had the opportunity because of Jamber Candelario not being
very good but also going on the injured list. By
all accounts, dude put his head down, went to work,

(18:26):
kind of rededicated himself, ate the slice of humble pie
that twenty twenty four served him, and he has come
back and he's hit the ball hard. A bunch didn't
have a great game yesterday, obviously, but you know, we
sometimes were quick to barry athletes and we're quick to
barry dudes, and you know, right now everybody's doing that
with Christian and Karnassi on strand, and it is completely

(18:47):
reasonable to wonder how many more chances that guy's gonna get?
It is completely reasonable to wonder, like, is does this
team have to go find a first basement or somebody
to fill that spot that Chris canassion Strand is held
down all season long? But I think we're sometimes a
little bit more hesitant to talk about some of the

(19:07):
cooler success stories. And you know, you and I both
know there were folks who last year one of the
Reds to give up on and move on from Noelve Marte,
which was an absurd position to take for a guy
who was not that long ago held in such high regard.
Is still Noelve Marte is twenty three years old, has

(19:27):
a lot of potential, and he's starting to realize it
and doing so after bottoming out last year and taking
a real slice of humble pie and coming back and
being better. And now can you imagine this team without him?
I frankly cannot twenty eight after three. So we got
to learn about steel Hall. We know he's seventeen, We've

(19:49):
seen the scouting reports. He's fast, he can hit a fastball.
He reclassified, which is why he's being drafted at just
the age of seventeen. There are questions about his ability
to hit the breaking ball. Let's learn about this guy
and some of the other dudes the Reds have drafted
with our guy, Chris Crawford. Next on ESPN fifteen thirty,
Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 9 (20:09):
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on that ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
This report is sponsored by.

Speaker 10 (20:46):
Darry ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's sports station.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
By the way, the MLB home run Derby coverage on
ESPN Radio starts at eight o'clock. You'll hear it on
ESPN fifteen thirty. To drafts happening, Reds took a seventeen
year old shortstop from Hewett trustful Alabama steel Hall who
has a cool name to learn more about him, along
with other guys the Reds have taken in the twenty

(21:12):
twenty five MLB draft. Is a guy who has joined
us now for years to talk about the draft, the prospects,
and other guys that very few of us have heard
of until now. Chris Crawford is with us. It's good
to have you, sir. How are you.

Speaker 3 (21:24):
I was trying to think of the first year we
did this. Was it Hunter Green? It might have been
Hunter Green?

Speaker 1 (21:29):
It was because I couldn't get enough Hunter Green content
and I found you and I said, all right, I
need And by the way, I still can't get enough
Hunter Green content. Except we never talked about his pitching.
We talk about as growing. But nonetheless, yes, it was
the Hunter Green year.

Speaker 3 (21:43):
Dam that's just I'm going to live forever, aren't they?

Speaker 8 (21:48):
God?

Speaker 1 (21:49):
I hope. So all right, Steel Hall, awesome name, seventeen
year old shortstop. What do we like about him?

Speaker 3 (21:57):
Quite a bit? And you know, I have to tell you,
this was a pick that I didn't seem really coming.
I thought that they were going to go probably the
collegiate route. But I really do like this pick. It's
worth pointing out that this is a guy who doesn't
turn eighteen until July twenty fourth, so there is a
long way to go in his development. But the intriguing

(22:18):
thing here is that he's already such a solid shortstop,
the type of guy who I know gold glove is
sometimes a phrase that we don't love saying, but it's
already a sixty grade defender with a plus arm and
super speed, like the type of guy that you see
steel thirty to forty bases. Now. The offense is still
very much a work in progress, but that's true for

(22:40):
any seventeen year old, but in particular for a guy
that you're taking with the ninth overall pick. There's some
work to be done. There's some question marks about the power.
I do think Great America Ballpark is a nice place
for that power to play up, but I think the
hit tool should be above average. He recognizes spin well,
he makes hard contact to all parts of the field.
I think he's more high floor than high ceiling, which

(23:02):
is a weird thing to say for a guy who
is just barely old enough to go to rated heart movies.
But I do think that there is some upside here. Obviously,
there's upside if you're taking someone with the ninth overall pick.
But I think the really intriguing thing here is the floor,
because he really just seems like a lock to stick
a shortstop, to be a guy who provides a ton

(23:23):
of value on the bases and makes enough hard contact
for him to be worth putting in the lineup every
single day.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
So I've gathered the same that the overwhelming sentiment last
night was surprise, not that he's a bad prospect, not
that he doesn't have a lot of upside, but a
little surprise that he was taken ninth overall. So, as
the draft is unfolding last night and the Reds are
on the clock, if it's not this guy, who would
you have taken?

Speaker 3 (23:51):
That's a good question, I will say. I think the
passing on a arm like Jamie Arnold was a little
surprising me. And I know Cincinnati has gone college arms
so often and maybe they just feel so confident they
don't need to do that right now. But that was
probably who I would have taken, a guy who probably
would have been the first overall pick in a draft

(24:14):
if it happened. Happened in February and that kind of
a mixed year. But that stuff is definitely filthy, and
I think would have played really well there. I don't
have I don't think it's a huge reach. I had
haul like thirteenth on my board overall, so it's not
like it was this massive reach. The other guy who
came to mind was Ike Irish, a catcher slash outfielder

(24:34):
who has a chance to hit for a bunch of power,
really good approach at the plate, probably more outfielder than catcher,
but a guy who I think has a solid floor
on top of that ceiling. So those are probably the
two guys that would have taken overhaul in that situation.
But this was not a reach by any stretch of
the imagination. I was just surprised that they want to

(24:55):
prep that route.

Speaker 1 (24:56):
They have a lot of short stops. It's my take
you can have too many of really anything, specifically shortstops.
Is that a fair way of looking at it?

Speaker 3 (25:06):
Absolutely, because here's what's going to happen. You have guys
like him and Sammy Steffera and a few others that
you know, the cream will rise and we will see
who exactly is that shortstop. Defensively, I do think it
will be halled, just because he has such clean actions
and such quality athleticism, And that's no insult to a

(25:26):
few of the other guys in the system, And that's
no insult to a certain shortstop that it's playing there
right now. But I just think at the end of
the day, you take those guys because it's a heck
of a lot easier to move the shortstop to a
different position than vice versa, right, like having depth at
that position. As a Seattle Mariner fan, I'm seeing this

(25:47):
more and more. They are just accumulating shortstops over and
over and over again. Well, those guys can play anywhere
outside of catcher. Really, shortstops are going to be able
to handle whatever position you put them at. So the
best player on your high school team, he's playing short
stop right there. Just aren't a whole lot of great
un lest they know the MLB draft is like coming

(26:10):
up and they are six foot five or something like that,
then they're probably not playing short stop. They want to say, hey,
look at what I can do at third base. But
you put those guys, You draft those guys that are
shortstops knowing that they're going to be able to play
in the outfield, play second base. Probably a few of
those guys can even handle first base, a corner outfield
as well, but never a bad thing. They have too

(26:30):
many shortstops.

Speaker 1 (26:32):
Pick fifty one, Round two, they take a prep pitcher
and a tall one, Aaron Watson. What can you tell
you about him?

Speaker 3 (26:38):
Yeah? I really like this pick. The Reds had a
good draft, by the way, This is one of my
favorite drafts that I think of any especially over the
first three days. The excuse me. Over the first three
rounds Day two, a lot of senior signed type of guys.
But Watson's really interesting. Because we talked about the high
floor with Hull, It's kind of the same thing with

(27:00):
as well, which is very rare for a prep pitcher.
He just has such excellent feel for pitching like it feels,
has good feel for a changeup, has good feel for
a slider. There's still some projection left at six foot five,
two hundred and five pounds. You will fill up that frame,
and I think his fastball will probably be a plus
offering when all is said and done. Not talking about

(27:20):
a future ACE, but it's very easy to project mid
rotation starter here and it wouldn't shock me even as
a guy who I think doesn't turn nineteen until January.
It wouldn't shock me if he is a I'm putting
up my quotation marks even though people can't see it.
Fast riser for a prep long somebody who could help
you in twenty twenty eight, which you know typically you're

(27:42):
talking about five years of development for a high school pitcher.
But I really like this pick because of the high
floor and the high ceiling that he offers, and you're
going to need him because he's a big kid. You
need high ceilings for six foot five people.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
I'm not going to ask you about every player, but
there is one that I want to focus on. Mason
Neville a fourth round. So this is maybe not the
most scientific way of looking at it. First of all,
I see from Oregon led the Nation and home runs,
so that's cool. Yeah, But I follow the draft. I
follow along at MLB dot com, and so he was
the one hundred and fourteenth pick. MLB dot Com ranked

(28:16):
him as the thirty fifth best kid in the draft,
thirty fifth best player of the true So I go,
w it's incredible value? Is that an unfair way of
looking at it? Is that a stupid way of looking
at it? And what do we like about Mason Neville
on top of the fact that he hits a bunch
of home runs.

Speaker 7 (28:30):
Yeah, so, first of all, back to back.

Speaker 3 (28:32):
Mason's is interesting too because they took Mason Morris with
the pick before, and he's someone I actually really like
as well. I was really surprised Neville was still around.
I didn't think he was going to go in the
first round or anything like that. But I fund he
made an awful lot of sense in that late Day two,
early day three. So I don't think he's like the
steal of steals because there are some issues here. He

(28:53):
strikes out a lot. There are considerable swing and miss
issues with that, and you know, that's not the best
for a college guy to be striking out that much,
because he's going to be facing much better stuff as
he gets into the pros. But the power's legit. The
power's legit. He's a solid athlete. He should be able
to be, at the very least a solid bench bat

(29:16):
type of guy with the type of power that makes
him a weapon. But if he can handle left handed pitching,
which is a big question mark for anybody hitting from
the left side when you're going into the professional ranks,
you can't simulate the type of left handed stuff that
you're going to see, and if he can keep the
swing and midst to a low roar, it's got a
chance to be a starting outfielder. That's really solid value.

(29:37):
I think some teams kind of overthought it a little bit,
and you know, contact issues are something that will see
guys slide in drafts. There's no question about it. Flating
all the way to the fourth round and being able
to procure his services there. I thought that was a
nice piece of business.

Speaker 1 (29:52):
It was actually the Nickson Zel draft when they took
Nixon nine years ago. You made your debut in this
radio station talking about Nick sen Zel. I went and looked, Oh.

Speaker 3 (30:02):
My god, that's so long ago. And that worked out fine, right, everything,
everything worked out really well with Nixon.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
Bell right, No, And like I've always felt for him
because I remember the consensus was, you know, this isn't
a good year to have the second overall pick. The
Reds were awful obviously the year before, right, and the
prize was right Nickson Zell, and I feel like he
was just from the get go miscast and know it
didn't necessarily work out. They don't have Nick Senzel anymore.

(30:31):
Right now, give me before I let you on a
top to bottom assessment of the Reds Farm system because
I heard it described this way last week. It's sneaky good.
Do you share that? Do you share that sentiment?

Speaker 3 (30:42):
Yeah? I think it is.

Speaker 7 (30:43):
Now.

Speaker 3 (30:43):
I will say this, Chake Burns didn't get account as
a prospect pretty soon, and that is going to hurt
the system quite a bit because the names after him,
there's a pretty precipitous drop. And you know Rett Lauder
still counts as a prospect as well. So if you
take away those two, the top of the system isn't
all that great. Like I wouldn't love having South Stewart

(31:04):
or Cam Collier being my top prospect if I'm just
being one hundred percent honest with you. But if the
depth after that, it's the look Edwin Arroyo is a
guy who I still think has a chance to be
a solid player. Alfredo Duno is the guy who has
a chance to be a really good one. Adam Sirwanowski
I think is one of the more underrated pitching prospects.
Luke Coleman, who I thought to you about last year,

(31:25):
I think he's got a chance to be a very
solid one. Then there's guys like Ty Floyd and Luis
May who I know you guys have seen already, who
I think has a big future. There's some real solid depth.
The top needs work, and you know, that's one of
the interesting things I think about taking high floor guys
with those first two picks, because maybe looking at that system,

(31:46):
I would have been a little bit more interested in
high ceilings than high floor. But I do get it too,
and adding those type of players, you know, those high
floor guys to a group where I see a bunch
of quantity of major league players is pretty solid. It
definitely needs work at the top. But Jase Burns has
a chance to just be such a special pitcher.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
Yeah, we've we've liked most of what we've seen so far.
Awesome to have you on, great to hear your voice.
Can thank you enough. Appreciate the time.

Speaker 3 (32:14):
Man, anytime. Man, you know you can call me at
times other than July, just so you know, like I'm
willing to talk to you at different times.

Speaker 1 (32:20):
Well, if the Reds, if the Reds go in the
tank here and then end up being sellers and they
you know, trade, I don't know who they'll trade away.
But end up acquiring a bunch of prospects. Then it's
requirement for me to call you. So let's I hope
that's not what they do, but you know it could happen.
It's it's happened before.

Speaker 3 (32:38):
Well now I'm hoping I don't talk to you until July.

Speaker 1 (32:41):
You're the best appreciated man.

Speaker 3 (32:43):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (32:45):
One of my all time favorite people to chat with
Chris Crawford for years has been he does a radio
in Seattle, Kjar on top of uh he does a
lot of draft work for a lot of different outlets
and has for years and is awesome and appreciate his insight.
It's fun to talk with people who have watched these
guys play. It's fourteen away from four o'clock five to one,

(33:06):
three seven, four nine, fifteen thirty is our phone number.
I want either Shamar Stewart or the people who run
by the Bengals to be hit by a bolt. I
will explain that incredible sports Take.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (33:27):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center.

Speaker 5 (33:30):
The UC Health Brain Tumor Center finds answers for some
dot com. Still got that accident on southbound seventy five
between Paddock and Norwood Lateral. That one off on the
right shoulder westbound US twenty two. Another accident at Stillwater
Drive and west Chester Road closed down for a broken

(33:53):
water main between Beckett Road and Meridian Way. I'm at
ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 1 (33:58):
This rebar four. This is ESPN fifteen thirty. My name
is Moegar. More baseball coming up in the four o'clock
an hour. Some more red stuff to get to as well,
and we got to talk about the All Star Game.
Is gonna have a dude in it who's pitched in

(34:19):
five games. Plus some area guys are being drafted as well.
We announced this last week. Bengals training camp starts in
nine days on the twenty third, and we are we
are going to be doing the Tonian Mode training Cam
show as training Cam happens. So the practices this year
are gonna be in the morning. Tony and I are

(34:40):
going to be on from ten to noon every day. Now,
We're still gonna do our normal shows, like Tony's just
gonna stay there and do Sincy three to sixty till
three and then I'm gonna leave and come here and
excuse me our show from three to six. But the
Tonyan Mode Training Camp show. We are really excited about it.
We're nine days away. Cannot wait. It's gonna be uh
says something I've always wanted to do. We've broadcast. I've

(35:02):
broadcast at least from training Camp before. Tony did it
a few times last year. A number of years ago,
I did the show from the Bengals broadcast booth while
they were practicing inside, which was fun. But to get
a chance to go down there and do you know,
multiple shows while they're practicing is is going to be
a lot of fun. And I certainly pray to God

(35:24):
they're good shows. Six away from four o'clock, nine days away.
So we're still on. We're still on Schamar Stewart and
Trey Hendrickson. Watch. There doesn't seem to be any movement
as it relates to the two. Lord knows, we've gotten
a lot of content out of Trey Hendrickson, and understandably
so the Shamar Stewart thing as well. I keep hoping

(35:49):
and I saw Albert Breer Sports Illustrated with like ten
things we're going to be paying attention to his training
camp starts, and one of the ten were Bengals contract situations,
and obviously Trey Hendrickson. The other Shamar Stewart, and he
referred to the Schamar Stuart contract impass as a staring
contest where it really does feel like he and his

(36:12):
side are dug in. Dug in. I ain't signing a
deal that has the guarantee voids with the language that's
going to allow the Bengals to avoid the guarantees, and
the Bengals are dug in on this. Hey, this is
what we're doing. We'll see what the outcome here is.

(36:33):
I just this is probably asking a little bit too much.
You know, we've talked before on this show, the Trey
Hendrickson thing here. I just want both sides to be reasonable.
And I think if both sides are being reasonable, there's
lots of negotiating room, and there's room to come to
an agreement on a deal that'll keep Trey in a

(36:53):
Bengals uniform beyond twenty twenty five. But I think you
have to ask both sides to be reasonable. I think
when it comes to Shamar Stewart and the Bengals, you're
just I'm hoping for one. And I think if you're
a Bengals fan, you agree with this. You just want
one side to be hit with a bolt of common sense.
I could not care less, Like, this isn't taking sides.

(37:14):
I could not care less who the bolt hits, if
it's the Bengals or Shamar Stewart. We all just want
the dude to play for the team this year. We
all just want this guy to be ready to play
well for the team this year. And by the way,
I think last week was the first time that I
saw and I think it was Adam Schefter through out there,
like here's the calendar for Shamar Stuart. Here's how it

(37:37):
would work if he chooses to not play for the
Bengals and re enter the draft, which I think would
have possibly disastrous consequences for him and would obviously be
less than desirable from a Bengals perspective. Let's assume that
that is still off the table. Can a bolt of
common sense hit one of the two? If it hits Schamar,

(38:00):
makes him go, you know what, this is not how
I want to start my NFL career, being against the
eight ball, missing more practice time, developing maybe a reputation
that I don't want starting the relationship with the team
that I'm going to be working for that controls my
rights for at least now getting off to a rocky

(38:20):
start with them, Like, is this really how I want
to start my professional career? Is this really how I
want to start life as an NFL player? And at
the bolts of common sense? And sometimes in life that's
what you need, Right a bolt of common sense hits you.
I don't care if it hits him or if it
hits the Bengals and they go, all right, is this

(38:42):
really worth it? Is? This is the contract language so
important to us that it's really worth possibly starting training
camp without our first round pick in a year where
it feels like there's a very good chance we're going
to start training camp without the NFL's reigning sack leader.

(39:03):
Is this really how we want to start this season
where our coaches maybe on the hot seat, where there's
pressure on the franchise to win that is perhaps unequaled
in Bengals history? Is this really how we want to
launch the season? Training camp starts and our coach has
to answer more questions about a guy who's not here.

(39:25):
It is it should be totally irrelevant to you which
side is hit by the bolt of common sense. But
it would be cool if the bolt of common sense
would hit at least one of the two. Chamar. Is
this really how you want to start things? Troy, Katie,
Mike whoever? Is this really what you want going into

(39:45):
a year that is insanely critical? It's coming up on
four o'clock on Moeger. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports station.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
Ow your chance to win one thousand dollars.

Speaker 1 (39:57):
I've entered this nationwide keyward on our website.

Speaker 7 (40:00):
Cash.

Speaker 1 (40:01):
That's cash enter it now? What's up? Four oh four?
This is an ESPN fifteen thirty Tarren, help me? I
understand this. Teddy Bridgewater think Teddy Bridgewater like I am.
I think it's well established. You chances, aren't you know
this by now? I am a ardent, die hard, hardcore

(40:24):
UC football fan. Teddy Bridgewater danced all over the Bearcats
one of the most biggest gut punch losses. I can
remember UC's last game as a football Big East member,
Teddy Bridgewater just just sticking it to him again. I
went home that night and didn't sleep, and I remember
laying there going like I'm too old to weld to

(40:44):
be like losing sleep because of college football games. And
yet I just I have a soft spot in my
heart for Teddy Bridgewater. I loved watching him at Louisville
when he wasn't playing against UC. He has always struck
me as a very easy guy to root for. Went
to that horrific leg injury and training camp a number
of years ago. So he's coaching high school football and

(41:05):
he obviously has considerable resources that other coaches don't. But
he's he's like, help buy his kids meals and give
them uber rides and that's it. And he's being suspended for.

Speaker 11 (41:16):
That, yes, as well as other I guess health recovery benefits.

Speaker 1 (41:21):
So like for health recovery stuff, Like he's not buying
them cars, no, right, he's not. He's not buying their parents,
not buying that his kids parents new homes.

Speaker 3 (41:31):
No.

Speaker 1 (41:32):
So like my kid needs a ride, I'll fund the ride,
Or my kids need food, I'll buy the food. And
he's being suspended because of that, yes.

Speaker 11 (41:40):
And the thing is he it seems like he provided
a link where the families can provide support to the teams,
and I guess they didn't get enough money.

Speaker 1 (41:48):
So he covered the rest of them. Yeah, he kind
of put it out there. Hey, look we're raising money.
We could use you know, funds for you know x
y z uh. He got they got some people to donate.
Wasn't maybe as much money as they were looking for.
So basically Teddy filled the difference, right, Yes, and he's
being suspended because of that. Yes, Okay, this is stupid, stupid.

(42:13):
So here you have a guy who doesn't need to
do this, who does it. He is This is my understanding.
You can tell me if I'm wrong. He is the
head coach, but he's not paid, right, doesn't get a dime.
He's coaching and his school that he won won the
state title? Am I correcting that? Correct? So he's you know,
got a good program, he's a good coach. He's doing this.

(42:35):
He's not making money. It feels like he's doing this
because he wants to make a difference. He's trying to
help out. He's funding things that need to happen, like
his kids need to eat, and he'll get suspended because
of that. Yes, got it? Idiotic? Idiotic as far as
I'm concerned, Absolutely idiotic. I asked this before. So the

(42:56):
Reds took a high school shortstop in the first round
of the draft seventeen years old. So this is maybe
not the best way to look at it, and you're
probably not gonna like this, but this is how I
looked at it last night. I have never watched steel
Hall play baseball. I did read the Keith Law scouting report.

(43:18):
Keith Law from the Athletic who has watched steel Hall
play baseball, who talks glowingly about his speed, his defense,
his bat speed, and his ability to hit a fastball,
but that he has a steep learning curve as you
might expect to learn how to hit a breaking pitch.
We will see. So I know a lot of folks

(43:39):
went this route. Hey, they already have enough shortstops, number one?
Can you have too many shortstops? By the way, arguably
the biggest blunder in the history of the Reds draft
came in nineteen ninety five. That season, they had Barry Larkin,
who was the NLMVP. They also could have drafted Derek Jeter.

(44:03):
They didn't. They took Chad Mottola instead. I don't know
about you. I still would have taken Derek Jeter even
though the Reds had a shortstop. But I know in
the system there are other highly regarded shortstop prospects. Can
you have enough? Can you have enough players at that position?
There are not many guys who get moved to shortstop

(44:23):
from other positions. It feels like there's a fair amount
of guys who we at least talk about moving from
shortstop to other positions. Ellie del la Cruz is one
of them. I think some do it lazily. You know,
they talk like, oh, just move him to the outfield,
and it's like, nah, like put him in the outfield
after he's had a chance to practice it. Also, it

(44:43):
kind of matters where does Ellie want to play? You know,
if you're into the hole like gotta keep Ellie, gotta
sign Ellie, well, chances are then you don't want to
force him to play a position that he doesn't want to.
But like, even he who plays the position is an
all star and at times really well, even he's not
so firmly established that there aren't people wondering, you know,

(45:06):
should he play another position. I don't know how you
could ever argue that they have too many shortstops perhaps
the most important position on the field, I think, without question,
the most important position in the infield, and we're gonna

(45:27):
balk and having too many of those guys. Also, if
you have a lot of good shortstops, not only can
you move them to other positions and have that transition
take place more easily than moving a guy from another
position to shortstop, but if you have a lot of shortstops,
you probably have some guys that other teams will give

(45:48):
you a lot in exchange for. I badly am I
am begging for this to be a problem for the
Reds to have too many shortstops. Oh man, Well, I
tell you, I gotta figure out what to do with
all these shortstops, the ultimate and first world problems. Oh no,

(46:12):
I think of all the issues the Reds have had
over the years, all the different things you could criticize
them for. If if, oh man, they have too many
shortstops ends up on the list, that means all the
other stuff has been fixed. That it's all the other
stuff they're historically not good at, completely rectified. Man, they

(46:34):
got too many shortstops. Oh and by the way, and
I guess this is how I first looked at it
last night. Okay, so they drafted a kid who's seventeen,
So it's it's gonna be a while, right, Like, this
isn't and this isn't Chase Burns, This isn't a guy
who's going to be in the big leagues a year
from now. He's gonna go to the complex and then
you know, God knows how long it's gonna take for

(46:55):
him to work his way through the system by the
time he does. What are we thinking? Twenty eight, twenty
twenty eight is the earliest, So not happening this year.
Not gonna see him next year, not gonna see him
in twenty twenty seven. We'll see him in twenty twenty eight,
and I guess that's the year that he's gonna turn twenty. Right,

(47:17):
he'll be twenty in three years, basic Matthew seventeen now,
so in three years, he'll be twenty in twenty twenty eight.
And chances are if this dude is on the Reds
in twenty twenty eight, it's not gonna be on opening day, right,
it ain't gonna be. He's the opening day back up shortstop.
He's probably gonna get to the big leagues at some
point midway through twenty twenty eight, well midway through twenty

(47:39):
twenty eight, And I know you're not gonna want to
hear this. I don't want to say it. I don't
want this to be true. But in the middle of
twenty twenty eight, we're gonna be bearing down on the
end of ellidaylor Cruz's time in Cincinnati. Sorry, let's just
let's just talk about the most likely outcome here. And

(48:00):
I love Ellie. I can't wait to watch him in
the All Star Game tomorrow. I'm gonna and I'm probably
gonna regret this. I'm gonna find odds on him being
All Star Game MVP and make the wager because it'll
be fun. I love Ellie del I will always love
Ellie Dela Cruz. But if if you had to put

(48:21):
an amount of money that matters to you on Ellie
plays for the Reds in twenty thirty, which is the
first year of his eligibility for free agency, or Ellie
plays for any one of the other twenty nine teams,
we know where we're putting our money, right, it's an
amount of money that matters to us. Are you gonna
bet on him playing for the Reds in twenty thirty
or somebody else? The smart money is on somebody else.

(48:43):
Maybe that ends up not being the case. Maybe they
do sign him long term, maybe they sign him long
ish term, or they do like a Hunter Green deal.
Would they somehow buy a year or two a free
agency I don't know. And by the way, I think
the bigger issue is do the Reds win while they
have Ellie Dela Cruz very sort of basic, rudimentary, dumb
guy away of looking at this for me last night

(49:05):
was cool. By the time this guy is ready, Ellie
Dela Cruz will be ready to hit free agency. So
this is Ellie's replacement. Now those will be big shoes
to fill. And let's let this guy get a taste
of professional baseball first before we start talking about when
he's gonna come to Cincinnati. There are some other shortstops
in the system. The Rets have a pretty good system.

(49:26):
We've talked to three people over the last two weeks
who have gone on to talk in great detail about
how sneaky good this system is, and there are shortstops
in it. I don't know that you could ever have
too many of something important, like you could have too
many of a luxury item. Shortstops are not a luxury item.

(49:48):
Think of all the things you could criticize the Cincinnati
Reads four. I've made a living doing it. Oh man,
this stupid team has too many shortstops. I'm ever gonna
be one of them. But yeah, okay, fine, they draft.
They just drafted a guy who's going to replace Helly
Taylor Cruz in twenty thirty. And I know that sounds

(50:10):
like a really pessimistic way of looking at it. I
think it's a little bit more realistic than anything else.
And look, maybe he ends up moving positions and he
plays third base where he plays second or who knows,
But oh man, they took a shortstop when they already
have a bunch. Just not even close to a consideration.
It shouldn't be. It shouldn't be. Take the best players.

(50:34):
Take your gas is as good as mine as to
whether or not this guy is going to be good,
whether he was the best picker, I have no idea,
but I don't know that you could reasonably not like
it because of the position the guy plays, especially when
he plays a position as important as this one. And
by the way, Reds are kind of interesting from this perspective.

(50:54):
For the better part of god, let's see thirty four
years the Reds side two shortstops David Concepcion. They had
Barry Larkin like, we're really spoiled here. One guy's in
the Hall of Fame. The other guy should be in
the Hall of Fame. And by the way, our friend
Chad Doddson this winter wrote the definitive pro Hall of
Fame case for David Concepcio and it's awesome. Go read it.

(51:16):
And then you know, there's been a bit of a
revolving door, and some guys have held down the position
for a few years, like a Zach Cozart, and then
there have been you know, flashes in the pan like
Felipe Lopez, and then a whole bunch of other dudes
here and there, and now it's Elie de la Cruz.
Many of those shortstops forgettable. Oftentimes, we've talked about like
who can best hold down that position and compared them

(51:38):
to a guy who's in the Hall of Fame and
a guy who should be in the Hall of Fame.
And we've seen the difficulty the Reds have had and
finding a guy to man that position for a long
amount of time. And we've seen some players who look
like they could hold it down but then ended up
getting moved to different positions. I'm not gonna worry about
having too many shortstops if that is, If your biggest

(52:01):
concern is the Reds have too many shortstops, that tells
me this team's winning percentage is like seven to twenty
five and they're working on like their third consecutive World
Series title because they have fixed everything else, and now,
oh my god, they have too many shortstops. I understand it, like, well,
they have so many short stops, but nobody who could
do all these other things. Well, that's why the draft

(52:22):
has a lot of rounds. That's why you have a
deep farm system. That's why you have to be good
a player development. And by the way, they've hit pretty
good with pitchers. They have drafted Hunter Green when healthy
is awesome. Nick Lodolo is a perfectly fine middle of
the rotation starter. Chase Burns has shown some very encouraging signs.
Rat Louder, if he ever pitches again, was good last year.

(52:44):
Underlying metrics not as friendly to them. Oh, and Andrew
Abbott's an All Star. Can't have too many pitchers, can't
have too many short stops, can't have too many of
anything that's important, can't have too many quarterback. Bengals quarterback
situation is like one of the best in the league.
It's not just because of Joe Burrow. So sign me

(53:07):
up for too much of anything that's important. Uh sixteen
after four o'clock five one, three, seven, four nine, fifteen
thirty is our phone number. All right? It is a
pastime of summer to complain about the All Star Game.
I'm gonna fix it. I'm also gonna ask what kind
of All Star game do we want? We'll do that

(53:27):
next on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (53:30):

Speaker 4 (53:33):

Speaker 5 (53:36):
dot com. An update on an earlier situation, The accident
westbound two seventy five on the Carrol Cropper Bridge has
now been cleared out. However, traffic is jammed up both
directions heading onto the bridge westbound Ronald Reagan Highway. Another

(54:00):
accident at cold rain block in the two right lanes
that He's not like with traffic.

Speaker 8 (54:05):
This reporting spots Illinois.

Speaker 10 (54:07):
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati's Sports.

Speaker 1 (54:10):
Brendaman and Jones on Baseball just about twenty five minutes away.
Your phone calls are coming up here in Uh just
a few, excuse me, just a few, if I if
I can, if I can get through a segment without
having to hit the cough button to belch. And by
the way, I'm not some morning zoo wacky disc jockey,

(54:30):
so I actually hit the cough button when I have
to do that.

Speaker 11 (54:34):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (54:34):
The All Star Game is tomorrow, and you might see
Jacob Mizeroski, who is with the Milwaukee Brewers and has
absolutely electric stuff. Can get the fastball routinely over one hundred.
His first three pitches in the big leagues were over
one hundred, gets it up as high as one hundred
and three. In his big league debut, he went five
no hit innings. Like he just projects to be awesome.

(54:59):
And if you've had a chance to watch him, you've
seen what has generated some buzz and why people in
Milwaukee are so excited about him. And you know, he
hasn't yet pitched against the red so we haven't seen him,
but you know, who knows, maybe he will. The Reds
and Brewers play in August. He's going to be an
All Star. He has pitched in five Big league games, so,
by the way, he has pitched well in four of them.

(55:23):
He is a National League All Star. Chances are you've
heard about this. He is a National League All Star
after having appeared in five Major League Baseball games. Not
five Major League baseball games this year, but you know
he was he was healthy last No, he's a rookie.
He just got called up five big league games. Dude's

(55:44):
twenty three years old. Five big league games. He is
an All Star. So a couple of things about this.
Number One, I don't want to be hypocritical. I lobbied
for Ellie Dela Cruz to be an All Star two
years ago. Now, the sample size was bigger. Ellie got
called up in early June and the All Star break
had played in thirty games, well over one hundred and
twenty played appearances, and was batting three twenty five. Sample

(56:07):
size bigger. But my take was, like, just Adam to
the game. Just Adam. Just baseball can do whatever it
wants with the All Star Game. Just Adam. Don't have
it come at the expense of anybody. Adam. A larger
sample size there. Paul Skeins pitched in the All Star
Game last year started it had appeared in eleven games,
but he was the most dominant pitcher in the sport
for two months. This guy is not so number one.

(56:31):
Why not have some minimums? They have minimums when it
comes to things like qualifying for the batting title, I
have to have a certain number of plate appearances, or
qualifying for an er title, you have to have pitched
in a certain number of innings. How do you not
have some sort of minimum when it comes to qualifying
for the All Star Game? A certain number of appearances

(56:53):
or innings for a pitcher, and perhaps a certain number
of games played or played appearances for a position player.
So there is number one. Number two. I'm I don't
do what a lot of people in my age range do,
which is sit around and talk about how great the
All Star Game used to be and wish it was

(57:14):
that way. Because times change, things evolve. It's the All
Star Game is mostly fine. It serves its purpose. It's
never gonna occupy the place in the consciousness of American
people that it used to because baseball doesn't. Baseball's never
been more of a local sport. Baseball fans have have
never had less interest in watching players on other teams.

(57:37):
If that applies to the regular season, if that applies
to the postseason, why would it not apply to an
All Star Game, especially when you don't have the novelty
of wondering like, what would it be? What would it
look like if Roger Clemens pitched to I don't know,
Darryl Strawberry Right well, I mean, now there's a lot
more movement, there's interleague play. You don't have to dream

(58:00):
of such things. So the All Star Game has been
severely diminished in popularity, in viewership and ratings, and just
in the consciousness of American people. And that's okay. It
doesn't mean it can still be a fun television event.
I think Fox does a good job with it. I
think the All Star Game is harmless, mindless fun. I
will watch tomorrow. I think it's awesome that they're letting

(58:21):
the players where there are real uniforms. Again, the pregame
introductions for the All Star Game still make me feel
like I'm ten years old. I hope Andrew Abbot gets
in and pitches well. I hope Ellie de la Cruz
gets in and plays well. And if they don't, it's Okay,
Hunter Green lost the All Star Game last year and
no one cared. He still had an awesome year. But
I still think there should be something about prioritizing merit.

(58:44):
If you are prioritizing merit, you're not taking a guy
who's pitched in five games. What I wonder, though, is
if most baseball fans want merit to matter. Like I
asked this question in a few weeks ago. Number one,
how many baseball fans vote for All Stars? I don't

(59:04):
think most do. Number two, how many who vote actually
sit down and go, Okay, in the American League, who's
having the best year at second base? I don't vote
for All Stars. I have no interest in going to
MLB dot. I just you know, I mean, I'm old
fashioned enough to do this to tell you that, like
if they still did it the old way, where they
gave you a punch card at the ballpark and you

(59:26):
filled out the ballot, Like I always thought it was
fun to sit with whoever I was with and talk
about our ballot. I just don't have any real interest
in doing that now. And so I'm the first to
admit I don't vote for All Stars. But I also
feel like those who do aren't really sitting down and going, Okay,
let's pick the most deserving player at every position. If

(59:48):
that is the case, why should baseball feel weird about
including somebody who's maybe not as deserving when many fans
don't make their choice based on who is most deserving.
Then there's this, so this, this kid's gonna have a
chance to pitch, And there are I think what fifteen
players who are not gonna be able to play. A

(01:00:08):
number of them are pitchers who pitched either Saturday or Sunday,
and so they're ineligible to appear in the game. And
you need enough guys to pitch in the game. And
so you're not gonna bring to the to Atlanta guys
who aren't gonna play. Why can't you just move the
All Star Game to Wednesday? This is probably not the
first time I have brought this up. I'm not the

(01:00:29):
only person to point this out. MLB had its Futures
Game on Saturday. Sal Stewart and Alfredo Dunio, Red's prospects
both appeared in it. Salth Stewart then god promoted to
Triple A. They had it in the middle of the
afternoon opposite a whole bunch of Major League Baseball games,
Like that's the sort of thing only Major League Baseball does.

(01:00:52):
So what somebody who's smarter than me, which is pretty
much everybody, explained this, Why can't you just say screw it.
What baseball is gonna do is the schedule's go to
pause for a week. On Monday night, we're gonna play
the Futures Game. It's gonna be its own entity, opposite
nothing but maybe some WNBA games. Tuesday is gonna be

(01:01:12):
our home run Derby. Wednesday is gonna be our All
Star Game. And that way, if you pitched on Saturday
or you pitched on Sunday, there's a little bit more
time for you to maybe get into the game, and
you're not ineligible. You could have your draft on Thursday.
Why not have your draft Thursday night into Friday during
the day. And then how about this, the season doesn't

(01:01:34):
resume on Friday. But you work with the National Baseball
Hall of Fame, like you collaborate with them and say,
all right, we're gonna go on Friday night and we're
gonna make the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony
like a primetime TV event, and the season will resume
on Saturday, and we'll have a Saturday to Monday wrap

(01:01:55):
around series. More players who are more deserved appear in
the All Star Game. Players themselves get a larger break.
Your draft doesn't have to share the spotlight with baseball games,
the Futures Game doesn't have to share the spotlight with
baseball games, and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which
now takes place at like noon on a Sunday, is

(01:02:16):
also not airing opposite Major League Baseball games. That and
you have a minimum that pitchers have to appear in
for their team before they're eligible, and at bats or
games played for a position player before he's eligible for
the All Star Game. And there I fixed it. I
don't know that that's full proof, but I don't see

(01:02:38):
many holes in the plan. Sports headlines are next and
will take some phone calls. My name is mal Egar.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (01:02:48):

Speaker 4 (01:02:52):

Speaker 5 (01:02:55):
The u see Health Brain Tumor Center finds answers for
some of the most complex brains. Learn more at UCHealth
dot com. Westbound Ronald Reagan Highway to right lanes blocked
off from an accident at Cole Rain also got an
injury accident on Harrison Over near Work Road. West Chester
Road closed off due to a broken water mean between

(01:03:17):
Beckett Road and Meridian Way, Union Center Boulevard. Your best
alternate on that he sound like with traffic.

Speaker 10 (01:03:24):
This report ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's sports station.

Speaker 1 (01:03:28):
I saw that last minute Wi tarn door walking a tightrope.
There for a second, you almost played Pitbull. Don't think
I didn't notice. By the way, I got an email,
which is not in itself news, but it was seeing
if I wanted to buy tickets to the baseball game.

(01:03:49):
And when I say I got an email, I got
the same email that that anybody who subscribes to a
Reds dot com or MLB dot com has gotten. But
it was selling tickets for the baseball game Atlanta and
Cincinnati at the racetrack in Bristol, the Bristol Motor Speedway.
And I bring it up because I guess pit Bull
is going to play a concert, and Tim mcgrawl's going
to play a concert, and the Reds and Braids are

(01:04:11):
gonna play and I certainly hope the event is a
success and there is some novelty to it and if
you are going, I hope you have a great time.
The site lines for that look terrible. I'm sorry. The
site lines for that look awful. Sports headlines are a

(01:04:34):
service at Kelsey Chevroleet, home of lifetime powertrain protection and
guaranteed credit approval from their family to yours for life
kelseyshaff dot com. We've talked a little bit about some
of the players the Reds have taken in the draft.
We need to say congratulations to big twelfth player of
the Year Carrington Cross from UC. He was taken by
the Padres in the seventh round today. Also, Landon Vederik,

(01:04:58):
who was a UC's right fielder this past year, becomes
the fifth player in school history drafted in the top
three rounds. He went one oh four overall, taken by
the LA Dodgers in round three last night. And congratulations
to Devin Taylor from LaSalle High School who had a
great college career at Indiana University. He was drafted forty

(01:05:19):
eighth overall last night by these should still be in
Oakland Athletics. Congratulations too all. If I have neglected to
mention someone locally who has been taken. It's not an
intentional slight. These are just the ones that I have seen.
I'm sure there are others, and if you want us
to give him a shout out, send the information our way.
The Home Run Derby is tonight eight o'clock. Coverage begins

(01:05:41):
on ESPN fifteen thirty. I think this is a fun
event for wagering. The bet that I like is and
you know, we'll see if I'm right about this, and
if I'm wrong, God knows, there'll be no shortage people
who tell me I like Matt Olson versus cal Raley
in the final, which you can get a plus thirteen
hundred if you get a fan to you can. There's

(01:06:02):
a ton of different wagers out there, and one of
them is to pick the exact matchup in the finals.
Cal Rowley obviously is having a ridiculously good year, the
Big Dumper leads all of baseball, and Homer's obviously a
good bet to win the event tonight. I like Matt Olson.
It's his ballpark. I think he's gonna be a little

(01:06:24):
bit better equipped to deal with the heat and humidity
that's going to be part of the event. Tonight in Atlanta.
So we'll see, we'll see, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong,
take a phone caller too.

Speaker 3 (01:06:36):
Let's do it.

Speaker 1 (01:06:37):
Michael, You're on ESPN fifteen thirty. What's up, Michael? Thanks
for hanging on.

Speaker 3 (01:06:41):
Yeah, what I'm how you doing?

Speaker 1 (01:06:42):
I'm good man.

Speaker 12 (01:06:44):
Hey, So a couple of things about the shortstop, don't
I don't have a problem taking a shortstop. But you
brought up him making it in twenty twenty eight.

Speaker 1 (01:06:52):
He would be twenty.

Speaker 12 (01:06:53):
There's only been six or seven guys that have ever
made the pros in their age twenty sea. It's like
Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Justin Upton, Jackson, holiday In just
a couple others. So banking on him making it then
would be asking him to do something that one percent

(01:07:15):
of the one percent of one percent of all professional
baseball has ever done, right, Yeah, I mean that was
the best case. That would be a pipe dream, I think,
But I think it would more to It would be
to get guys we can get some help on the
Major League Baseball club with in the next two to
three years, to surround Ellie with that type of talent,

(01:07:37):
Talent like Burns and some of these other arms or
an outfielder to where we can get some guys that
can be pro ready sooner than a seventeen year old
that reclassified. I mean, he's just a junior and there's
a lot of there's a lot of talk that he
might have been the number one overall pick next year.
That's great, but I think that, you know, thinking that

(01:07:58):
he's going to be up here to replace Ellie if
we trade him before arbitration ins or whatever, I don't
think that's the right way to look at it. I
think we need to be getting guys that can be
pro ready in a year or two and get some
talent on the big league club, surround Ellie with some
of that talent, and do what we didn't do with Vado,

(01:08:19):
and that's, you know, let him in his prime years
just sit on teams that we did the exact same
thing with draft guys that are four or five years out.

Speaker 1 (01:08:27):
Yeah, I think it's a very I think it's a
very fair perspective and a very fair point. I guess
what I would say to that is this, we obviously
want them to win while they have Ellie Dela Cruz,
and it's very important. It's very important if you want
to keep them. It's very important if you don't want
to do what they did with Joey Vado. I would say,
if you're using the draft as something that's going to
better supplement Ellie Dela Cruz in the short term, then

(01:08:51):
you're doing free agency and you're doing trades for established
big league players completely don't do that.

Speaker 3 (01:08:57):
But we don't do that. We don't do that.

Speaker 12 (01:08:59):
We don't we don't add free agency, we don't trade like.
That's the thing is that we want guys that are
arbitration controllable for minimum, for league minimum, the type deals
like we had Burns and we have somebody that Brett
Lauder and some of these other guys. Yeah, I think
if we're looking, hey, this guy's replaced Ellie in twenty
twenty eight, twenty twenty nine, I mean we are literally

(01:09:20):
asking him to do what Hall of Famers are doing.

Speaker 1 (01:09:24):
I don't think anybody. I don't. I mean, you're not. Again,
this was my basic way of looking at it last night.
Elie Dela Cruz is under team control through twenty nine.
So you know, if you're if you are, if you
are just basically looking at Okay, this guy's going to
replace Elie Dela Cruz. That's happening in twenty thirty. I
think that, you know, again, the twenty twenty eighth thing
was best case. That means he development gets accelerated, he

(01:09:48):
checks every box, he gets through the system quickly, there
are no growing pains, there are no injuries like that's
absolute best case. I don't think it's unreasonable to say
that any player they take in twenty twenty five should
be at the big league level within five years, which
is twenty thirty, and by then Ellie will no longer
be on the team. And you say they don't, You
say that they don't acquire players from outside. Look, I

(01:10:11):
want them to swim in the bigger free agency waters
as much as anybody. But Austin Hayes was acquired from
another team. Gavin Locks was acquired from another team. Nick
Martinez two years ago was acquired from another team. Brady
Singer was acquired from another team. Jose Travino was acquired
from another team. Emilio Pagan was acquired from another team.
I mean to say that they don't do that at

(01:10:32):
all is a little unfair. Do they do it as
well as they should?

Speaker 12 (01:10:36):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:10:36):
Do they spend as much as we would like. No,
So I guess what I would say is, if you're going, okay,
the best way win with we win with Ellie de
la Cruz is by using the twenty twenty five draft.
That's all well and good, but I would prefer Ellie
de la Cruz be surrounded with more players who are
currently big leaguers in the coming years and arming him

(01:10:57):
with the best way to win doing that. Does that
make yeah?

Speaker 12 (01:11:01):
I would, and I would agree with that. But I
also think that there are players that are more pro
ready that we could be drafting that could help out
Ellie much sooner than this pick, and to focus on
that because if not, we're gonna trade Ellie in twenty eight,
because no team's gonna give us any type of haul
unless they have at least another year control on them,

(01:11:21):
and his trade value is not going to be any
higher than it will be in twenty seven or twenty
eight than we probably are going to see. So if
you're if you're looking at like that, I would rather
have more guys like Chase Burns and Red Louders to
be able to come up in a year or two
and under cheap, cheap contract controllable contracts and then okay,
you're right, we have a acquired guys, but those are

(01:11:42):
tier three, tier four guys. Go out and grab a guys,
get a bigger back, get something else, and and bring
those guys in, but also have young pitching and some
young help. Instead of saying, hey, here's a seventeen year old,
like you said, best case scenario, he's going to do
what six future Hall of famers did.

Speaker 1 (01:12:00):
Like, that's just not you know what I mean like that,
No doubt, it's completely fair. It's completely fair. You know, hey, look,
I'm trying to win in this window right now? Is
it better to get a guy in the early round
get players in the early rounds who fit in that window? Right?
We're looking at the window now to twenty nine the
rest of the decade. A seventeen year old shortstop is
less likely to fit in that window than a college player,

(01:12:23):
a college pitcher, a guy like the names he just
brought up, Burns and Louder. It is a completely fair
way of looking at it.

Speaker 12 (01:12:29):
Yeah, and I would rather have those types of players
than than a five or six year project. I mean that,
you know, I'm not looking at it yet, so I
would rather have those types of guys come in be
able to support the big league ball club sooner than that.
It's not about them taking a short stop. I don't
think to take shortstops. It's just that we could take
guys that could help this club sooner than what this

(01:12:51):
guy's think.

Speaker 1 (01:12:52):
That would be my argout.

Speaker 12 (01:12:53):
It's not a short not a short stop argument.

Speaker 1 (01:12:55):
Right, No, it's you're you're exactly right. It's the first
thing we do with every single prospect, what's the earliest
he could get here, Like we did it with Nick Senzel, right,
because the whole thing with him was, well, he's probably
not going to be a star, but he can get
to the big leagues quickly. We did it with Hunter Green, right, so.

Speaker 3 (01:13:10):
I India, we did it with India.

Speaker 12 (01:13:12):
Those are that's what I would rather see. Yeah, for me,
it's not an argument of a position the kid plays.
It's more of a position and a player that could
get here sooner.

Speaker 3 (01:13:22):
For me.

Speaker 12 (01:13:22):
Ess, that's the way that our club is built and
the way that our ownership works. That would be my complaint,
not that not that the kid plays a position, rather
a player and a prospect that's more prone and it's
gonna be better suited quite more quickly to.

Speaker 8 (01:13:38):
Be on our club.

Speaker 1 (01:13:40):
I cannot disagree with anything you've just said. That's a
very fair worth considering. Yeah, my guys, I appreciate it, man.

Speaker 8 (01:13:45):
Thank you, appreciate you.

Speaker 1 (01:13:47):
B Yeah, I mean, I think I think it's a
reasonable way to look at it. And again, like I
don't know that I go into the draft priority any
guys who can get to the big leagues as quickly
as possible, like you do want to take the best
players at the same time. Yeah, I mean, and if
you are limited with what you can do in free agency,
and there's a limit to what you'll do via trades,

(01:14:08):
which clearly to this point there have been for the Reds,
then shouldn't you put a shouldn't you place a higher
priority on guys who can get to the big leagues
quickly to help out quickly. Yeah, I think that's a
completely reasonable way of looking at it. I'm not gonna
speak to the quality of the players themselves or who

(01:14:30):
would have been a better pick, because I'm not qualified
to do that. I don't pretend to be. But I
think that is a very fair way of looking at it.
If you are trying to win in these next three
four five years, and you have limitations with what you
will spend, or you have limitations with what you will
do via trades, then you've got to fill in the

(01:14:51):
margins by getting players who can get to the big
leagues during that window. And justin I'm sorry, Steele Hall
might be terrific, might be a ton of upside. It
doesn't feel like he's going to be capable of doing
that because he's just seventeen years old. I actually agree
totally with Michael are completely. I'm not sure I change

(01:15:12):
my mind, but I have evolved my thinking. There you go,
How's that makes total sense? I'm trying to win now.
Shouldn't there be a higher priority on getting guys to
the big leagues who can get there as quickly as possible.
I don't know how. The answer isn't yes. Brendiman and
Jones on Baseball is.

Speaker 9 (01:15:32):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:15:38):

Speaker 5 (01:15:41):
dot com. On Harrison, it's an accident near work road.
Police are they're on sen directing traffic around the accident
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(01:16:03):
two seventy five after Mothstellar, the left lane blocked from
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knowledge entered this nationwide keyword on our website.

Speaker 1 (01:16:13):
Okay, hey, that's hey, Hey enter it now? Hey he
a y pay the man, pay me? What's up? This
is ESPN fifteen thirty. It's the mikelo Ultra five o'clock
Happy Hour. It's the michelob Ultra. Yeah, good afternoon for
the mikelob Ultra of five o'clock Happy Hour. Good night

(01:16:34):
to have an ice cold Mick Ulture. No matter what
you're doing listening to the Home Run Derby on ESPN
fifteen thirty, mile Mikeeloi Ultra Superior Light Beer, Superior taste, Superior,
I said the Home Run Derby is tonight on ESPN
fifteen thirty. The first half of the season, the proverbial
first half of the season is over. The Reds going

(01:16:57):
to the break at fifty and forty seven three over
five hundred. Can you can you imagine, and I think
it's very very reasonable to still be frustrated by losing
the game on Friday. I talked about this at the
top of the show. You know, sometimes you could use
social media as a metric to kind of take the

(01:17:18):
pulse of a fan base or the pulse of a
segment of the population, and sometimes you don't need social media.
I did not need social media on Friday night the
Reds lose to the Rockies. I do not think that
that is the game that Austin Hayes should be most
identified with, because he's had some really good games for
this team. Unfortunately, he's also dealt with injury. But let's

(01:17:41):
face it, it's really difficult to have as a night
as bad as Austin Hayes did on Friday. Zero for
five strikes out to end the game. They walk Ellie
three times to get to him. He doesn't come through
in any of him, leads a bunch of runners on
base grounds into a double play. Just an awful night.
He was not the only reason they lose the game.
Tony santi and spiking a plate toward the plate to

(01:18:03):
allow Colorado to score the go ahead run had not
maybe not as much to do with it, but certainly
had a lot to do with it. That game on Friday,
I don't know, And I'm including like big games that
the Reds have won, the Bengals going to the Super Bowl,
which I thought like, I didn't know that I would

(01:18:25):
ever hear my phone make as much noise as it
did the night they beat the Kansas City Chiefs, or
the night that you see beat Houston about a month
or so earlier to make the college football Playoff. I
remember that night. Phone went nuts that night. I don't
know that my phone has made more noise from texts, tweets,

(01:18:47):
even a phone call, a good old fashioned phone call
than the game on Friday night? Did I mean? I
legitimately heard from people that I haven't heard from in forever.
I heard from people that I haven't heard from him
so long I didn't have their number. Like twice, I
had folks who wanted to just get something off their
chest about that game on Friday, and I had to say, like,

(01:19:10):
I'm sorry, I don't know who this is, including a
dude that I maybe haven't talked to in twenty years.
That guy had my phone number. That loss on Friday
was something the homestand itself was disappointing. Call it what
it is. We said a week ago they had to
go five and two, had to go six and one.
Four and three is not five and two or six

(01:19:32):
and one, and so from that standpoint, in large part
because of that game on Friday, obviously that was not
the only game in the homestand they lost. They only
go four and three, So multiple things can be true. Right,
four and three homestand when you're playing the Marlins and
Rockies isn't good enough. But they did, They did bounce back,

(01:19:52):
and they won that game on Saturday, And let's be honest,
much of Saturday afternoon it felt like, holy crap, the
Red's going to go into needing to salvage the final
game of the series. Give you know, we talked about
clutch hitting, clutch pitching, that Red's got a lot of
it on clutch fielding too, specifically Will Benson. But three

(01:20:13):
times on Saturday the Rockies had a guy on third
base with nobody out, and all three times the Reds
figured out a way to get out of the inning
without further damage. And then they win the game in
the bottom of the ninth and the walk off era
by Orlando Arcia on a ball that I think Will
Benson still would have scored on. Then they win. Yesterday

(01:20:34):
they go four and three, they're three over five hundred.
It's interesting like Austin was doing the thing on Sincy
three to sixty, where you know he was having people
assign a grade. I'll go C plus. C plus is
not good enough. This team, for for the most part,

(01:20:58):
this season, I think, has been what most of us
thought it was gonna be. I think most of us
believed the Reds were gonna be good enough to be
barely good enough, that they were gonna be good enough
to be in somewhat contention, that they were not gonna
lose ninety games, that they were probably not gonna win

(01:21:19):
ninety games, that they were gonna spend much of the
summer in contention. Now, in contention doesn't mean win, doesn't
mean get to the postseason necessarily, doesn't mean win. A champion.
In contention means you're in the hunt. You've got a shot.
The Rids are in the hunt right now. It's pretty
safe to say they're in the hunt. It would not
be the team that you feel best about getting to

(01:21:41):
the postseason. I think they have almost no chance of
winning the National League Central because you have to leave frog.
Three teams makeup seven and a half games. They've not
played well against the Cubs and Brewers and Cardinals this year,
and so you have to consider that. But they're in contention.
They have been, I think, for the most part, what
we suspected. A team with good starting pitching, a team
with good starting pitching despite the fact that Hunter Green

(01:22:04):
has often been absent, and a team with at times
shaky offense, a team with an average at best offense,
and that's kind of what they've been. So the question
really becomes they are you know, they're setting an eighty
three and a half win pace when the season started.
When I was backed into a corner on opening day,

(01:22:24):
picked the record, mo I said, eighty three and seventy nine. Well,
they're pretty much on an eighty three and seventy nine pace.
They're on pace to win eighty three and a half games.
Let's round up and say eighty four and seventy eight.
That's probably not good enough. So the question becomes how
do they accelerate what has been their pace all year long?
And it has been their pace all year long, you know,
They've Their longest winning streak is five games. Their longest

(01:22:46):
losing streak is four games. The most games they've been
above five hundred is four. The most games they've been
below five hundred is four. They haven't lost a series
this season, but they haven't gone on a prolonged stretch
without a loss. They're a below five hundred team, but
just by a game and one run games early in
the season they couldn't win one. Recently, they have been
winning them. Uh, how do they accelerate that pace? How

(01:23:12):
do they accelerate that pace? Is currently constructed, and we
could talk about the deadline and the impact of the deadline.
The Reds have twelve games before six o'clock on July
thirty first, But how does this team is currently constructed,
accelerate the pace. How does this team as currently constructed
prove that they're better than what we thought when for
ninety seven games they have done nothing but provide confirmation

(01:23:36):
of what we suspected they would be. One of the
more interesting things that happened this weekend is Christian and
Carnassi on Strand got sent down and that dude's had
his moments here right, I mean, he had the big
series against the Diamondbacks when he first came off the
injured list. He had the big three run double against
the Yankees, he had the Grand Slam against the Red Sox,
and I pretty much named all his good moments. He

(01:23:57):
has a ghastly strikeout to walk ratio thirty two punchouts,
three walks. He has been the ultimate feaster or famine guy.
This to me speaks to kind of one of the
frustrations with this team that you still have a lot
of guys that you just don't know about, like Matt McLean.
I know you find folks on the internet who if

(01:24:19):
you you know, do anything but say that Matt McClain
is going to be the next Joe Morgan. They get mad.
But like Matt McLain's first half I think to me
has been the biggest disappointment of the season so far.
We still don't know. Is he the player we saw
two years ago who was terrific. Is he the player
who had times this year it feels like he never

(01:24:40):
makes hard contact.

Speaker 8 (01:24:41):
What is he?

Speaker 1 (01:24:43):
Can you really continue to bat him?

Speaker 7 (01:24:44):
Second?

Speaker 1 (01:24:46):
Christian and Karnasi on strand right now is in Louisville,
and he's a guy that I think if you would
have said toward the end of twenty twenty three, midway
through twenty twenty five, is Christian and Karnasi on strand
gonna be one of those cornerstones, I think most of
us would have said, yes, Well, right now he's a
cornerstone for the Louisville Bats. Or is Matt McClain a cornerstone?

(01:25:08):
I think most of us still believe the answer has
a good chance of being yes. But you can't feel
as good about that now as you might have four
months ago. Even a Hunter Green man like we love
Hunter Green, when's the guy gonna pitch? When's he gonna
get through a full season without having to go on
the interlist? There are still so many questions, and so
the obvious answer to the original question, which was how

(01:25:31):
do they accelerate the pace, well, they need some guys
to perform better than they performed in the first half
of the season. How much can we count on that happening?
I'll throw that question to you at five, one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. I did a segment before on Noelve Marte
and it's it's worth mentioning again. You know he had
a good homestand he didn't have a great game yesterday,

(01:25:53):
but hit the home run on Saturday, made good contact
on the ball that Arcia bobbled on Saturday led to
the winning run. We are quick to bury players when
they get demoted. Christian Incarnacion Straan is dealing with that
right now. I think you have to celebrate players when
they prove a lot of people wrong. I think Noel J.

(01:26:14):
Marte has proved so far at least a lot of
people wrong. And you know he still has some work
to do, there's no denying that. But you know, you
can find a lot of folks who thought he was
worth moving on from at the end of last year.
And you could not have found yourself more in the
organizational doghouse than Noel J. Marte was during spring training.

(01:26:37):
I mean, they buried him, and understandably so because of
how last season went ped suspension, and then when he
came back he was a non factor. And if you
remember when spring training was ending, it wasn't like we
were wondering, God, who's going to get that last roster
spot and could it be noelve Marte? Because they weeks
before send him to minor league camp and by all

(01:26:59):
the house, did what he needed to do at Louisville,
put his head down, works, got an opportunity, and he
has taken great advantage of it. And now we're doing
with him what we were not doing at the end
of the season, and we view him as one of
those foundational pieces. Does that mean that should preclude the
Reds from taking advantage of third base help from outside

(01:27:22):
if it presents itself. No, But if we're going to
bury dudes when they get demoted and wonder about what
they could do to come back and re establish themselves
as important parts moving forward, then I think you have
to give it up to the guys who get sent
to Louisville, get demoted, find themselves in the doghouse, and
then earn their way out. Noel de Marte has done that.

(01:27:45):
Hopefully Cees does the same. Sixteen minutes after five o'clock,
some Bengal stuff, a little bit later on some draft
stuff as well. Our previous caller, I think clocked it
really well, and I will admit that that's not the
tact that I was taking last night, and now I
kind of am. I wish we were looking at the
Reds having drafted more guys that you could say couldn't

(01:28:06):
get to the big leagues quickly when the window for
contention is open, if you assume it is when you
have Elie de la Cruz, good stuff lines are open.
Five one, three, seven, four, nine, fifteen thirty. We have
the annual right of summer when it comes to the NFL,
and that's quarterback rankings. Won't be the first, won't be

(01:28:29):
the last. We've got Joe Burrow being ranked by NFL
Exacs on ESPN dot com. I don't care so much
about the rankings. I care about a question. I'll ask
it here in just a bit. Phone calls are coming
up on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 2 (01:28:42):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:28:47):

Speaker 5 (01:28:50):
dot com. Eastbound two seven five still got the left
two lanes blocked off from an accident between Mostellar and
Lebanon Road. Fifteen minute to lay back from seventy five
and Sharon Bill westbound Ronald Reagan Highway's an accident at

(01:29:12):
cold Rain that blocks the two right lanes. I'm at
ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 1 (01:29:17):
This report is sponsored is an ESPN fifteenth We gotta
like get people a talk on this show. We got
folks waiting. I'm gonna stop badling. We're gonna turn things
over to people. I want to make people wait anymore.
I'm not the Cincinnati Rads. Okay, Red's just ask you
year after year after wait. Wait, I don't do that. Oh,
some people I do because we take the calls in
order to beget them. Let's see Phil, You're on ESPN

(01:29:42):
fifteen thirty. Phil, Good afternoon. How are you.

Speaker 7 (01:29:46):
I'm good, Mo. How are you?

Speaker 1 (01:29:47):
I've never been better? What's up?

Speaker 13 (01:29:51):
So thinking of when Hunter Green maybe actually possibly returns,
coinciding with the need to limit Chaspeare innings at some
point this summer. Yeah, what would you think of Hunter
Green being an opener for Chase Burns in the five spot?
M So save Hunter Green from himself? Yeah, limit, limit

(01:30:16):
Chase Burns innings. So because that you helped the bullpen.
Yeah and yeah, and you stretch out Hunter Green so
that maybe he pitches the actual rest of the series
and fingers crossed, red S don't let us down into
the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (01:30:34):
So I got mop Wow, Phil, thank you very much.
I like this idea, and now you know, obviously I
appreciate the phone call. Obviously you you're essentially using six starters,
though two are going to pitch on the same day. Uh,
Hunter Green and Chase Burns give me a combined nine

(01:30:56):
innings every day. That's fantastic. If I end up having
to go to the bullpen, it's sort of it negates
what I'm trying to do to help save the bullpen,
and the bullpen has one less arm. But I think
we're all encouraged, mostly by what we've seen from Chase Burns.

(01:31:18):
I like how we threw it the other night. I'll
be at the Rockies aren't very good. I think there's
validity to that because one of the things we've wondered is,
you know, they have what sixty sixty five games? That
spot in the rotation is gonna come up thirteen more times?
There's obviously only only so many innings Chase Burns is
gonna pitch. Your guess is as good as mine as

(01:31:39):
to when Hunter Green pitches. So the first thing you
have to figure out is, like, well, when's when's Hunter
gonna be back. When's Hunter Not when is Hunter Green
gonna pitch rehab? Not not when's he gonna ramp up
his throwing program, but when is he gonna be on
the twenty six man roster? When is he gonna be
capable of helping this team? Is that in two weeks?

(01:31:59):
Is that in a month? Is it sometime in early August?
Is it in September? But yeah, if if you're trying
to lessen Hunter Green's injury risk in the short term,
sign me up. And I guess you know you can
make adjustments based on you know, how Hunter feels, how

(01:32:21):
he's pitching that particular day, what Chase Burns just did
in his most recent outing. But I do like that idea.
I might have to think it through to poke holes
in it. And again, you know, you're kind of shortening
your bullpen by a man. You know, you're only allowed
so many pitchers, So you know, here, these two guys
are going to pitch this one day. Those are you know,

(01:32:42):
that's that's essentially a relief arm who's not going to
help you any other day. Is that something you really
wants The rest of the season unfolds, But just the
basic general premise I think I'm here for Hunter Green
opening for Chase Burns. Sign me up, Sign me up. Uh, Jerome,

(01:33:03):
you're on ESPN fifteen thirty. Hi Jerome, how are you?

Speaker 8 (01:33:06):
I'm good, nough, How are you?

Speaker 1 (01:33:08):
I'm awesome? What's up?

Speaker 14 (01:33:10):
So you're talking about shortstops and you can never have
too many because you can just move them to another position.

Speaker 8 (01:33:16):
I don't necessarily.

Speaker 14 (01:33:17):
Disagree with that, but namely the guy that they've done
that with in the last five to ten years.

Speaker 1 (01:33:21):
But who have they had to do it with?

Speaker 8 (01:33:24):
Well, they got all kinds of shortstops.

Speaker 14 (01:33:26):
Elie Dela Cruise doesn't play any other position besides shortstop.
Who do they plan on moving to a different position
from the shortstop position?

Speaker 1 (01:33:34):
That could be Elie de la Cruz one day.

Speaker 8 (01:33:37):
All right, Well, I believe it when I see it.

Speaker 1 (01:33:39):
No doubt, no doubt. They haven't had to do it.
But I you know, Matt mcclan's a shortstop. They moved
to second base.

Speaker 14 (01:33:47):
I'd say he's more of a second basin. But actually
I thought they were at their best defensively when Jonathan
India was at second Matt McLean was that short and
Eli da la Cruise was that third, but those day
is a long un Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:33:57):
I think there's actually I think there's actually some validity
to that. I mean, they they have. I think the
general premise is that it's it's easier to take a
shortstop and move him to another position because you have
to have I guess is the necessities you need to
succeed at shortstop translate to other positions. And I think

(01:34:19):
it's less the case vice versa. Does that? Does that
make sense?

Speaker 8 (01:34:23):
That makes sense?

Speaker 1 (01:34:24):
Yeah? And then I mean and and and and and.
By the way, like Matt McLain in college never played
second base?

Speaker 8 (01:34:32):
Oh really?

Speaker 1 (01:34:32):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (01:34:33):
Okay, I didn't really follow the college of preyers.

Speaker 1 (01:34:35):
Matt McLain in the minor leagues played a lot more
shortstop than second base. Okay, so the answer is Matt McLean.

Speaker 14 (01:34:44):
Okay, Well, I guess uh, we're trying of waiting on
his success though, no question. About an hour ago, you
said you didn't want to be a hypocrite.

Speaker 8 (01:34:55):
I truly believe that.

Speaker 7 (01:34:57):
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Speaker 8 (01:34:58):
Though, when the.

Speaker 14 (01:34:58):
Bengals select drafted Joe Mixon, you weren't in favor of
that because he assaulted a woman.

Speaker 3 (01:35:03):
Correct?

Speaker 1 (01:35:03):
Correct?

Speaker 14 (01:35:05):
You do promos for a company called Longneck, who has
a high ranking employee, who may or may not be
the part owner. Now, who's assaulted multiple women.

Speaker 8 (01:35:14):
So what side of the fence you lay on?

Speaker 1 (01:35:15):
I know nothing about that.

Speaker 14 (01:35:17):
I didn't think you did, but now you do, so
if you continue to do promos for him, it's a
bit hypocritical.

Speaker 8 (01:35:23):
One man.

Speaker 1 (01:35:24):
All right, Well, I will do my homework as I
always do.

Speaker 8 (01:35:28):
I appreciate it, all right, Jerome, thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:35:31):
Mike. You're on ESPN fifteen thirty high. Mike.

Speaker 7 (01:35:35):
Wow, you're getting quite a dichotomy pick.

Speaker 1 (01:35:38):
It's good. Dichotomy is good.

Speaker 7 (01:35:41):
They got in love to call it.

Speaker 12 (01:35:44):
That.

Speaker 7 (01:35:45):
That caller before regarding the draft, what a brilliant What
a great caller. That's one of the best callers I've
ever heard on your show. As far as making sense
of solid, solid, solid argument.

Speaker 3 (01:35:58):
He was wonderful.

Speaker 7 (01:36:01):
And he almost changed.

Speaker 15 (01:36:03):
I don't know if you've.

Speaker 7 (01:36:04):
Admitted it yet, but you love to have your mind change.

Speaker 1 (01:36:07):
Yeah, yeah, I think he I think he did. I
think he did change my mind. Now I'm not gonna
I'm not going to tell you that I think the
Reds got it wrong in the draft, because then I
would be lying because I haven't watched his high school
kid play, and maybe his talents are such that you're
just willing to go you know what, screw it, We're
willing to wait it out. And if it's taking longer
for him to get the big leagues, to get to

(01:36:28):
the big leagues, that's totally okay. But I think that
the general premise, the general sort of take of you
wish the Reds would have prioritized players who can help
in the short term given the window they're trying to
win within. That makes total sense, and it's hard to
argue that a seventeen year old kid is going to

(01:36:48):
provide much value in the coming years when you're trying
to win in the coming years, especially if you have
self imposed limitations with free agency and with willingness to
trade prospects.

Speaker 7 (01:37:01):
Okay, that takes me to the La thing.

Speaker 3 (01:37:05):
Okay.

Speaker 7 (01:37:06):
In the NBA, Okay, we keeps saying we're we gotta
build this thing with La being around till hopefully he's
here till twenty nine barring crazy stuff. But in the NBA,
you can build around a guy. In the NFL, you
can build around your quarterback. And baseball, I'm not so
sure you can just bank on building around one guy. No,

(01:37:26):
you can't. So I think when we talk about that, uh,
maybe putting a little too much weight on Elie's important.
It's not that he's not important, You see what I'm
trying to say.

Speaker 1 (01:37:39):
Yeah, but you also don't want to waste elite talent.
They wasted Joey Vado, right, They wasted a guy who's
going to be in Cooperstown one day. They had three
winning seasons with him. That's a waste. So you know,
you there's always you can build around players. Now, one
guy in baseball can only do so much. Barry Bonds

(01:38:00):
is the best baseball player I've ever watched, never won
a World Series. Ken Griffey Junior is one of the
best baseball players any of us have never have ever watched,
never played in a World Series. But you can still
build around them. But you build around them understanding there's
only so much that that one player can do. I
will always build around elite talent.

Speaker 7 (01:38:20):
Okay, your old nemesis now is biting at your heels again.
All of a sudden, I turned around and the Brewers
have one of the best records in baseball and they've
actually added another team rock solid, almost a lot for
a wild card and that makes the Reds task even
tougher now to get in. And it's those darn Brewers.

(01:38:46):
It's unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (01:38:47):
Yeah, even when they don't necessarily try to be really
really good, they end up being really good. And you
know they're they're starting pitching. Freddy Peralta has been awesome.
It's remarked bull that in the Milwaukee papers. You could
read about them maybe trading him. You know, we could
debate whether Jacob Mizrowski should be an All Star, but

(01:39:07):
he's given that rotation a boost. Their bullpen has been
just awesome this season, and they're doing it without getting
an elite caliber offensive season. Like you know, Jackson Curio
is having a good year, but the numbers don't jump
off the page. South Freelick is having a good year,
but then the numbers that don't jump off the page.

(01:39:28):
They got a good team, they got a good system,
they got a good organization. That's why I say it
all the time. If you want to say, well, the
Reds can't compete with the Dodgers, that's fine. I want
them to be the Milwaukee Brewers who are sixteen over
five hundred at a game behind the Chicago Cubs.

Speaker 7 (01:39:42):
And it wasn't that long ago a number A few
years ago we were saying we want to be the Cardinals.
Now now we maybe want to be the Brewers.

Speaker 3 (01:39:51):
Question.

Speaker 7 (01:39:52):
Yeah, who was the play by play guy yesterday on
the Rids? I know sad Act was off.

Speaker 1 (01:39:56):
Jim Day.

Speaker 7 (01:39:58):
It was Jim Day. I'll tell you what.

Speaker 3 (01:40:02):
I thought.

Speaker 7 (01:40:03):
It was refreshing. I thought he sounded like an a
very experienced TV play by play guy with the pauses,
without hammering everybody with the statistics and the metrics and stuff.
I thought it was refreshing. I thought Jim Day was great.

Speaker 1 (01:40:19):
I think Jim in whatever role he has asked to fill,
does a nice job. He's obviously done mainly you know,
dugout sideline studio work, but when he has done play
by play, I think does a really nice job.

Speaker 7 (01:40:31):
Did you like that it was? It was more of
a traditional play by play as opposed to a lot
of days.

Speaker 1 (01:40:37):
It's a different He has a different approach than John Sadak,
but that's okay. Every broadcaster is different.

Speaker 7 (01:40:44):
Yep, thanks Mal, I appreciate you, buddy, Mike, thank.

Speaker 1 (01:40:46):
You for the phone call. Five one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty is our phone number, Sports Headlines and you'll
hear from the shortstop. The Reds drafted the seventeen year
old with the ninth overall pick. Next on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 9 (01:41:00):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the.

Speaker 5 (01:41:06):
UC Health Traffic Center. The UC Health Brain Tumor Center
finds answers for some of the most complex brain tumors.
Learn more at UCHealth dot com. An earlier accident on
eastbound two seventy five between Mostellar and Lebanon Road has
now been cleared out. However, got an accident on Renting
Road that's over at Main Street and Westchester Road closed

(01:41:30):
off for a broken water main between Beckett Road and
Meridian Way at Ezak with traffic.

Speaker 1 (01:41:36):
This report is fun. The home run Derby is tonight
at eight on ESPN fifteen thirty. Sports Headlines or a
service of Kelsey Chevrolet Home of Lifetime powertrain protection and
guarantee credit approval from their family to yours for life
kelseyshow dot com. Uh, what do we have? We've got?
Steel Hall. Steel Hall drafted by the Reds the ninth

(01:41:59):
overall pick high school kids. Seventeen years old shortstop from
Hewitt Trussville, Alabama, who Keith Law says is an eighty runner,
which is at the top of the scale. A definite
shortstop who's going to be a favorite of teams to
go for high upside athletes over present performance or metrics,
excellent bat speed, can hit a fastball with close to
average power at seventeen. He can't hit breaking stuff, though,

(01:42:22):
with wiff rates near fifty percent when he saw them
attract events last summer and fall. Though the sample isn't
huge because he only reclassified into the twenty twenty five
draft in December. He writes, analytical models will love his
age and his speed, but the swing and miss on
sliders and curveballs is a real concern, and I think
reason enough for him to go after the first round,

(01:42:43):
even with the potential upside of a fifty steel shortstop
with twelve to fifteen homers. Let's hear from Steel Hall
himself asked the question last night why he decided to reclassify.

Speaker 15 (01:42:59):
Yes, okay, so yeah, so I'll go off like how
at first, like brought up to it. It was originally
a Tennessee's idea and I went up there for like
a camp where I could just like to get up
there and be on campus, and we started talking to
him and my family and they just like popped the
question to us about the reclassification, and really, first off,
we really didn't like look into it think about it,

(01:43:22):
just like why would we.

Speaker 1 (01:43:23):
Go up a year? Like this is pretty much stupid.

Speaker 15 (01:43:25):
And then it kept getting brought up by more and
more people that we like, trust and I'll like baseball circle,
and we did like a pros and cons list to
it and just like, really, what are the benefits and
what are the like the negatives to.

Speaker 3 (01:43:40):
Do it and not do it?

Speaker 15 (01:43:41):
And me and my parents gathered a ton of information
and we really couldn't find any negatives to do it
to not do it.

Speaker 4 (01:43:48):
So I said, let's do it.

Speaker 15 (01:43:50):
Let's put all the cards in one deck, and let's
let's go. Let's roll.

Speaker 1 (01:43:55):
That's a steel hall from hewittt Trustville High School in Alabama.
Want more from him? Here he is on his first
impression of the Reds of what excites him about coming
to Cincinnati.

Speaker 15 (01:44:09):
Yeah, my first impressions were it was great. Just like
all the talks to Jr. Was the guy like I
had most contact with and loved him. He like kept
everything real genuine, and yeah, really just appreciate him for
like keeping everything one hundred and yeah, I thought it
would be looking back, I thought when I was there,
I thought this gon be a pretty cool place to play.
And I'm also looking forward to like just always been

(01:44:31):
around like the big league guys and just like having
that expertise pretty much and just all the great coaches
you'll have, and just Cincinnati is a pretty good place too,
So it's pretty pretty So I like that too.

Speaker 1 (01:44:45):
I would agree with that assessment. Steel Hall taken by
the Reds ninth overall in the twenty twenty five draft.
Chris Crawford's an MLB draft analyst. You'll hear his take
on not just steele Hall, but some of the other
guys Reds have taken next on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 2 (01:45:00):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:45:04):

Speaker 5 (01:45:07):
dot com. Down to only one accident at the moment,
that's on reading road over at Main Street. Westchester Road
shutdown due to a broken water main between Beckett Road
and Meridian Way, Union Center Boulevard your best alternate route

(01:45:30):
and northbound seventy one seventy five slow traffic Burlington Pike
to the Brent Spence at Eazelik with traffic.

Speaker 1 (01:45:37):
This rebase. I have no idea fourteen away from six.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Chris Crawford has been on
my show for years to talk about the draft. He's
from Seattle Baseball Perspectus, Rhodeo World, ESPN dot Com. He's
with Kjar in Seattle, which is one of our stations.
Let's let's start with ninth pick overall, a seventeen year

(01:45:59):
old high school shortstop by the name of steel Hall.
What do we like about steel Hall?

Speaker 3 (01:46:05):
Quite a bit? And you know, I have to tell
you this was a pick that I didn't seem really coming.
I thought that they were gonna go probably the collegiate route.
But I really do like this pick. It's worth pointing
out that this is a guy who doesn't turn eighteen
until July twenty fourth, so there is a long way
to go in his development. But the intriguing thing here

(01:46:27):
is that he's already such a solid shortstop the type
of guy who I know gold glove is sometimes a
phrase that we don't love saying, but it's already a
sixty grade defender with a plus arm and super speed,
like the type of guy that you see steel thirty
to forty bases. Now, the offense is still very much
a work in progress, but that's true for any seventeen

(01:46:50):
year old, but in particular for a guy that you're
taking with the ninth overall pick. There's some work to
be done. There's some question marks about the power. I
do think right America Ballpark is a nice time for
that power to play up. But I think the hit
toll should be above average. He recognizes spin well, he
makes hard contact to all parts of the field. I
think he's more high floor than high ceiling, which is

(01:47:11):
a weird thing to say for a guy who is
just barely old enough to go to rated Hart movies.
But I do think that there is some upside here.
Obviously there's upside if you're taking someone with the ninth
overall pick, but I think the really intriguing thing here
is the floor, because he really just seems like a
lock to stick it shortstop to be a guy who
provides a ton of value on the bases and makes

(01:47:34):
enough hard contact for him to be worth putting in
the lineup every single day.

Speaker 1 (01:47:38):
So I've gathered the same that the overwhelming sentiment last
night was surprise, not that he's a bad prospect, not
that he doesn't have a lot of upside, but a
little surprised that he was taken ninth overall. So, as
the draft is unfolding last night and the Reds are
on the clock, if it's not this guy, who would
you have taken?

Speaker 3 (01:48:00):
It's a good question. I will say. I think that
passing on a arm like Jimmie Arnold was a little
surprising to me. And I know Cincinnati has gone college
arms so often and maybe they just feel so confident
they don't need to do that right now. But that
was probably who I would have taken, a guy who
probably would have been the first overall pick in a

(01:48:22):
draft if it happened. Happened in February and kind of
a mixed year, but that stuff is definitely filthy and
I think would have played really well there. I don't
think it's a huge reach. I had haul like thirteenth
on my board overall, so it's not like it was
this massive reach. The other guy who came to mind
was Ike Irish, a catcher slash outfielder who has a

(01:48:44):
chance to hit for a bunch of power, really good
approach at the plate, probably more outfielder than catcher, but
a guy who I think has a solid floor on
top of that ceiling. So those are probably the two
guys I would have taken overhaul in that situation. But
this was not a reach by any stretch of the imagination.
I was just surprised that they want to prep that route.

Speaker 1 (01:49:05):
They have a lot of short stops. It's my take,
you can't have too many of really anything, specifically short stops.
Is that a fair way of looking at it?

Speaker 3 (01:49:14):
Absolutely, because here's what's going to happen. You have guys
like him and Sammy Stefera and a few others that
you know. The cream will rise and we will see
who exactly is that shortstop. Defensively, I do think it
will be halled just because he has such clean actions
and such quality athleticism. And that's no insult to a

(01:49:35):
few of the other guys in the system, and that's
no insult to a certain shortstop that it's playing there
right now. But I just think at the end of
the day, you take those guys because it's a heck
of a lot easier to move the short stop to
a different position than vice versa, right like having depth
at that position. As a Seattle Mariner fan, I'm seeing

(01:49:56):
this more and more. They are just accumulating short stops
over over and over again. Well, those guys can play
anywhere outside of catcher. Really, shortstops are going to be
able to handle whatever position you put them at. So
if the best player on your high school team, he's
playing short stop right there just aren't a whole lot
of great Unless they know the MLB draft is like

(01:50:18):
coming up and they are six foot five or something
like that, then they're probably not playing short stop. They
want to say, hey, look at what I can do
at third base. But you put those guys, You draft
those guys that are shortstops knowing that they're going to
be able to play in the outfield, play second base.
Probably a few of those guys can even handle first base,
a corner outfield as well, but never a bad thing.

(01:50:39):
They have too many shortstops.

Speaker 1 (01:50:41):
Pick fifty one, Round two. They take a prep pitcher
and a tall one Aaron Watson. What can you tell
you about him?

Speaker 3 (01:50:47):
Yeah, I really like this pick. The Reds got a
good draft, by the way, This is one of my
favorite drafts that I think of any especially over the
first three days the excuse me, over the first three
rounds Day two, a lot of scene your signed type
of guys. But Watson's really interesting. Because we talked about
the high floor with Tull, it's kind of the same

(01:51:08):
thing with Watson as well, which is very rare for
a prep pitcher. He just has such excellent feel for
pitching like it feels, has good feel for a changeup,
has good feel for a slider. There's still some projection left.
At six foot five, two hundred and five pounds, you
will fill up that frame, and I think his fastball
will probably be plus offering when all is said and done.

(01:51:28):
Not talking about a future ACE, but it's very easy
to project mid rotation starter here and it wouldn't shock me.
Even as a guy who I think doesn't turn nineteen
until January, it wouldn't shock me if he is a
I'm putting up my quotation marks even though people can't
see it. Fast riser for a prep long somebody who
could help you in twenty twenty eight, which you know,

(01:51:50):
typically you're talking about five years of development for a
high school pitcher. But I really like this pick because
of the high floor and the high ceiling that he offers,
and you are gonna need him because you're a big kid.
You need high ceilings for six flip five people.

Speaker 1 (01:52:03):
I'm not going to ask you about every player, but
there is one that I want to focus on, Mason
Neville a fourth round. So this is maybe not the
most scientific way of looking at it. First of all,
I see from Oregon led the nation and home runs,
so that's cool. Yeah, But I follow the draft. I
follow along at MLB dot com, and so he was
the one hundred and fourteenth pick. MLB dot Com ranked

(01:52:25):
him as the thirty fifth best kid in the draft,
thirty fifth best player the true So I go, wa,
it's incredible value? Is that an unfair way of looking
at it? Is that a stupid way of looking at it?
And what do we like about Mason Neville on top
of the fact that he hits a bunch of home runs?

Speaker 7 (01:52:39):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:52:39):
So, first of all, back to back Mason's is interesting too,
because they took Mason Morris with the pick before, and
he's someone I actually really like as well. I was
really surprised Neville was still around. I didn't think he
was going to go in the first round or anything
like that. But I thought he made an awful lot
of sense in that late Day two, early day three.
So I don't think he's like this of steels because.

Speaker 7 (01:53:01):
There are some issues here.

Speaker 3 (01:53:02):
He strikes out a lot. There are considerable swinging miss
issues with that, and you know that's not the best
for a college guy to be striking out that much,
because he's going to be facing much better stuff as
he gets into the pros. But the power's legit. The
power's legit. He's a solid athlete. He should be able
to be, at the very least a solid bench bat

(01:53:25):
type of guy with the type of power that makes
him a weapon. But if he can handle left handed pitching,
which is a big question mark for anybody hitting from
the left side when you're going into the professional ranks,
you can't simulate the type of left handed stuff that
you're going to see. And if he can keep the
swinging miths to a low roar, it's got a chance
to be a starting outfielder.

Speaker 7 (01:53:44):
That's really solid value.

Speaker 3 (01:53:46):
I think some teams kind of overthought it a little bit,
and you know, contact issues are something that will see
guys slide in drafts. There's no question about it floating
all the way to the fourth round and being able
to procure his services there. I thought that was an speak.

Speaker 1 (01:54:01):
It was actually the nicksen Zel draft when they took
Nickson nine years ago. You made your debut on this
radio station talking about Nick sen Zel. I went and looked,
Oh my.

Speaker 3 (01:54:11):
God, that was so long ago, and that that worked
out fine? Right, everything, everything worked out really well with
Nixon Bell right.

Speaker 1 (01:54:19):
No, And like I've always felt for him because I
remember the consensus was, you know, this isn't a good
year to have the second overall pick. The Reds were
awful obviously the year before, right, and the prize was
Nickson Zel, And I feel like he was just from
the get go miscast and know it didn't necessarily work out.
They don't have Nick Senzel anymore, right now, give me

(01:54:40):
before I let you on a top to bottom assessment
of the Reds farm system, because I heard it described
this way last week. It's sneaky good. Do you share that.
Do you share that sentiment?

Speaker 3 (01:54:51):
Yeah, I think it is now. I will say this,
Chake Burns didn't get account as a prospect pretty soon,
and that is going to hurt the system quite a
bit because the name's after him. There's a pretty precipitous drop.
And you know rhtt Lauder still counts as a prospect
as well. So if you take away those two, the
top of the system isn't all that great. Like I

(01:55:11):
wouldn't love having South Steward or Cam Collier being my
top prospect if I'm just being one hundred percent honest
with you. But if the depth after that, it's the
look Edwin Arroyo is a guy who I still think
has a chance to be a solid player. Alfredo Duno
is a guy who has a chance to be a
really good one. Adam Cerwanowski, I think is one of
the more underrated pitching prospects. Luke Coleman, who I thought

(01:55:32):
to you about last year. I think he's got a
chance to be a very solid one. Then there's guys
like Ty Floyd and Luis May, who I know you
guys have seen already, who I think has a big future.
There's some real solid depth the top needs work. And
you know, that's one of the interesting things I think
about taking high floor guys with those first two picks,

(01:55:52):
because maybe looking at that system, I would have been
a little bit more interested in high ceilings than high floor.
But I do get too and adding those type of players,
you know, those high floor guys to a group where
I see a bunch of quantity of major league players
is pretty solid. It definitely needs work at the top,
but case Burns has a chance to just be such

(01:56:14):
a special pitcher.

Speaker 1 (01:56:15):
Yeah, we've we've liked most of what we've seen so far.
Awesome to have you on, great to hear your voice.
Can thank you enough, appreciate the time.

Speaker 3 (01:56:22):
Man, anytime. Man. You know you can call me at
times other than July, just so you know, like I'm
willing to talk to you at different times.

Speaker 1 (01:56:29):
Well, if the Reds, if the Reds go in the
tank here and then end up being sellers and they
you know, trade I don't know who they'll trade away,
but end up acquiring a bunch of prospects, then it's
requirement for me to call you. So let's I hope
that's not what they do, but you know it could happen.
It's it's happened before.

Speaker 3 (01:56:47):
Well now I'm hoping I don't talk to you Untils
a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:56:50):
You're the best appreciated man. Thank you. One of the
absolute best. Chris Crawford kJ R. And Seattle and the
contributor to a number of baseball websites over the years.
We are done. Paul Danner Junior is back tomorrow. We
are excited for that. I think we've got a good
guest on FC Cincinnati versus Inner Miami and so much more.

(01:57:12):
Plus we'll recap the home run derby and find something
about the All Star Game to complain about. My thanks
to Tarran Bland for producing, and of course to you
for listening. Have an unbelievable night. This is ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

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