Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Catching What's Thrown at Him

EagleFan · 08-02-2008, 02:15 PM

The rest of spring training was not very kind to John as he got plenty of playing time but did not have a lot of luck. He was able to kep the number of strikeouts down to a low number but looked over-matched many times aganst some of the better pitchers which led to many weak ground outs.

When he was hitting the ball he ha bad luck as some of his hardest hits were stopped by great plays. Some of the infield stops could have led to infield hits if he did not run just like a catcher.

Defensively he did shine as he didnot make an error or allow a passed ball. His arm strentch and accuracy needs to improve to be able to throw out any runner tht is above average.

He ended the spring hitting .246 with an on base percentage of .287. He scored just 1 run and knocked in 5. Much of his lack of run production was related to hitting late in the lineup and that the Reds had one of the worst offensive performances of any team in spring training.

After spring training he was offered a AA contract. After low-balling him and rejecting his counter the Reds began offering multi year AA deals. John was finally able to settle on a 1 year deal worth just over 37,000. Hopefully the time in the low minorw will help him develop into what the organization hopes he can be.

08-02-2008, 02:15 PM	#3
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	Spring Traiing 2008 Wrap up The rest of spring training was not very kind to John as he got plenty of playing time but did not have a lot of luck. He was able to kep the number of strikeouts down to a low number but looked over-matched many times aganst some of the better pitchers which led to many weak ground outs. When he was hitting the ball he ha bad luck as some of his hardest hits were stopped by great plays. Some of the infield stops could have led to infield hits if he did not run just like a catcher. Defensively he did shine as he didnot make an error or allow a passed ball. His arm strentch and accuracy needs to improve to be able to throw out any runner tht is above average. He ended the spring hitting .246 with an on base percentage of .287. He scored just 1 run and knocked in 5. Much of his lack of run production was related to hitting late in the lineup and that the Reds had one of the worst offensive performances of any team in spring training. After spring training he was offered a AA contract. After low-balling him and rejecting his counter the Reds began offering multi year AA deals. John was finally able to settle on a 1 year deal worth just over 37,000. Hopefully the time in the low minorw will help him develop into what the organization hopes he can be.