Section 111 Row H Seat 1

is where I plan on spending the majority of my time next summer. In-laws did a good job picking a seat. Below is the view from my seat. Looking forward to the logo now.....

Future Wahoo's: Yorman Rodriguez

I first got to see Yorman play in October of 2008 during am Instructs game vs the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota. He was pretty skinny and that looked did not change almost two years later when I saw him in Ogden, Utah when he was playing for the Billing Mustangs in 2010 The Reds signed Yorman at the age of 16 with a $2.5 million out of Ocumare de la Costa, a small coastal town in Aragua, Venezuela. During the two games that I watched in 2008, he was a mess at the plate but when he did make contact the bat made a sound that got your attention. In 2010 with Billings, his only flaw was swinging and missing at breaking balls in the dirt.
 Yorman might arrive in Pensacola sometime late during the 2nd half of the 2012 season if he tears up the Califoria league at High A Bakersfield.  If that doesn't happen, he will more then likely open the 2013 season in Pensacola. The Reds are pretty high on him not based on what he has done so far but rather on what he might be able to do in the future. Yorman completed his first year of full season ball this year at Dayton in the Midwest League at the age of 18 and batted .254/.318/.393 with 10 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 84/25 K/BB, and 20-for-28 SB in 79 games. Not terrible for a player that should should still be in high school. Scouts were impressed with how Yorman still continued to use the entire field with power this season.  In a perfect world, Yorman becomes a athletic right fielder for the Reds roaming Great American Ball Park at the age of 22 with modest power and a high batting average. 

Predicting the 2012 Wahoo's Opening Day Roster

 
Lot can change from now until Opening Day 2012. You have the Rule V draft were its possible the Reds could lose a player or two listed below or add a couple of Minor League Free Agents that will change the 2012 Opening Day designation for a lot of Reds Minor League Players. Trades could also change my guesses.  What we do know for sure is Billy Hamilton and Yorman Rodriguez should start out in High A Bakersfield while other players like Yasmani Grandal move on to AAA Louisville. So with all that said, here is my guess on the 2012 Opening Day Roster:

OF-  Ryan LaMarre, Bill Rhinehart, Josh Fellhauer, and Andrew Means

IF-  Henry Rodriguez, Chris Richburg, Didi Gregorius, Brodie Greene, Stephen Hunt, and Alex Bucholtz

C-   Mark Fluery, Kevin Coddington

SP- J.C Sulbaran,  Pedro Villarreal, Josh Ravin, Tim Crabbe, Matt Fairel, and Mark Serrano

Bullpen- Justin Freeman, Mace Thurman, Curt Partch, Clay Shunick, and Jordan Hotchkiss

Henry Rodriguez- The most interesting player to me. Overall ,he stole 30 bases and hit 13 homers with a nice .320/.372/.469 line split between Bakersfield and Carolina. His nickname is Pollo.

Didi Gregorius - features a nice arm at SS that could really turn into something with a little more work. Didi has no problem making contact and has good base-running instincts. 

JC Sulbaran-  Did pretty well considering he had to pitch in the California League.  His 119/42 K/BB ratio is impressive.

Ryan LaMarre.batted a combined .278 with 18 Doubles, 3 Triples, 6 Home Runs and 47 RBI’s in 117 Games with High-A Bakersfield and 5 Games with Double-A Carolina. He stole 55 bases on the season. Very impressive speed.
 
Roster is short a couple of players for the Southern league roster limit, I will play around with this roster later on down the road.