• Reds rookie right-hander Johnny Cueto pitched lights-out against the Brewers Tuesday, but barely walked away with a no-decision, writes Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News. It took a 2-out, 2-strike home run off Eric Gagne in the 9th inning by Corey Patterson to tie the game, but the Reds would eventually lose 3-2 after a walk-off single by Rickie Weeks. Still, Reds manager Dusty Baker had nothing but good things to say about Cueto’s outing (6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 8 K).

Fantasy implications: Obvious.  Get him if you can.

• Joey Votto has been struggling in his role in a platoon at first base with veteran Scott Hatteberg; in 5 games this season Votto is batting .167 (2 for 12). However, Dusty Baker isn’t keen on changing the arrangement anytime soon.

Fantasy implications: Until he gets more than every-other-day playing time, Votto’s fantasy value is effectively nil unless you are in the deepest of leagues.

Reds rookie starting pitcher Edinson Volquez received a standing ovation from 26,566 fans after allowing only one run to the Phillies while striking out 7 in 5 1/3 innings pitched on Sunday.  If you missed the boat on picking up Johnny Cueto for your fantasy squad, Volquez is your man.  He had the most K’s of any pitcher in spring training and looks to continue that trend into the regular season.  Johnny Cueto is one of his best friends and the two have a friendly rivalry going which should motivate them both this season. When asked about Cueto’s slightly better 10K performance last week, Volquez took a light-hearted jab:

“Cueto cheated, because I didn’t pitch seven innings like him,” Volquez said smiling. “No, I don’t feel like we’re in competition. We’re all teammates. I just feel really excited to get my first win in Cincinnati.”

That’s “Johnny 10K” Cueto, of course.

In his debut on Thursday, Cueto got the win for the Reds against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Faithful readers of MLBPN would have (hopefully) already owned him on their fantasy teams and had him in the lineup for his overwhelming performance. If not, now is the time to try to claim him off the waiver wire if he isn’t gone already, which he probably is.

Through 7 innings Cueto struck out 10 batters, something no Reds pitcher has done in a major league debut - ever. Cueto had a perfect game going until the sixth inning when he allowed his only hit of the game, a home run by Justin Upton. There was already a major fantasy buzz about Johnny 10K after his strong spring showing, but now that buzz has reached a fever pitch. Even Manager Dusty Baker can’t help but be impressed:

“He was hitting that low and away fastball and mixing in his slider and an occasional changeup,” said Baker. “He threw the ball as well as anybody can throw the ball. The way he threw the ball today has no age to it.”

Sure its only his first start, but Johnny 10K is looking like the real deal. Did we mention he’s only 22 years old?

Kind of a funny piece today from Reds beat writer John Fay.  He shows his projected lineup and rotation from two months ago, on February 5th.  He had 1B Joey Votto batting lead off, and starting CF Jay Bruce batting in the 7 spot.  Of course we know now that Bruce has been optioned to Triple-A and Cincinnati’s new CF is Corey Patterson, who wasn’t even on the Reds on February 5th.  Fay is still projecting Votto in the starting lineup, but batting 8th in the lineup instead of lead off.

Fay didn’t fair quite as well with his projected starting rotation.  After the obvious first two in Harang and Arroyo, he had Matt Belisle, Jeremy Affeldt, and Homer Bailey.  Fay missed on all three.  Today the 3-5 spots in the rotation are expected to be occupied by Johnny Cueto, Josh Fogg, and Edinson Volquez.  All of the Reds top prospects are definite fantasy sleepers this year.

News comes out today that the Reds have decided to round out their rotation with Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Josh Fogg.  This leaves Homer Bailey as the odd man out.  The Reds today optioned Bailey to Triple-A Louisville.  The company line appears to be that Bailey needs to work on his control and mechanics at Louisville, but there have been reports that they are hoping he’ll adjust his attitude as well.  Bailey had a 5.21 ERA in 19 IP, and most scouting reports had him unable to hit the strike zone.  Hopefully Bailey can turn things around in the Minors and finally realize the immense potential most scouts think he has.

In Tuesday’s spring training game against the Philly’s, Edinson Volquez continued his break-out spring with another dazzling performance, pitching five innings while allowing only one run and striking out five. His spring line looks like it should belong to a seasoned fire-baller like Johan Santana rather than the young kid who was 3-11 with a 7.20 ERA in 20 games for the Rangers over three seasons. Volquez has made 2 starts (both wins) in 6 spring appearances. In his 20 innings pitched he’s allowed only 6 runs for a 2.70 ERA, and struck out 26 for the highest K/9 ratio in the majors (yes, better than Johan’s).

Reds manager Dusty Baker hasn’t officially announced that Volquez will win the job, but from what he’s been saying about the pitcher it would be a shock if that wasn’t the case. Baker had this to say about Tuesday’s outing:

“He looked very good, especially since it was his second time seeing those guys,” Baker said. “I like his mound presence and his poise. He’s in the strike zone. He throws quality strikes.”

When asked point-blank if Volquez was the fifth starter, Baker said that he had a “great chance”.

Those words should be all the encouragement a savvy fantasy manager needs to pick Volquez up off of the waiver wire before the official news comes out. There is no telling how productive a Major League season Volquez could have with no track record to speak of, but if his amazing spring is any indication he could be very, very good this year.

News of top prospects being cut is flying in.  The latest top prospect to be cut is Reds CF Jay Bruce.  We’ve been expecting this for a while now, especially after the surprise signing of Corey Patterson.  This is still big news, though, as Bruce was projected by many to be the early favorite for Rookie of the Year honors in the NL.

Bruce didn’t have a very good spring, and probably could use some more time to develop at Triple-A.  He went .262/.279/.286 in 42 AB.  But it really is only a matter of time before this young stud is hammering the ball in Cincinnati.

John Fay of Cincinatti.com reports that Reds prospect Johnny Cueto continues to dominate the competition this year. After destroying Winter Ball (4-1 with a 2.84 ERA), Cueto has been equally impressive in spring training. Before today he had pitched 9 innings with 8 strikeouts and had given up only 1 run. Today he faced the potent Detroit Tigers lineup and pitched very well, going for 4 innings with 4 strikeouts and 2 earned runs.

If Cueto is available in your Fantasy draft pool (which he may not be yet) he should be drafted as a major sleeper for the significant upside.

• After hitting two long balls yesterday, Cameron Maybin came through with another home run today.  Looks like the youngster is making a push for that CF job.  Maybin had come into the game as a pinch runner earlier in the game.
• Kosuke Fukudome wowed fans with his defense today, making a spinning acrobatic catch to save an extra base hit.  Piniella also batted Fukudome in the 5 hole today, wanting to put a solid bat behind Aramis Ramirez.
• As we reported a few days ago, David Price has been cut from the big league squad.  It was announced today that Price will be starting the season at Class A.  This is pretty standard for first year players, but Price proved this spring that he isn’t a standard prospect.  It had been speculated that Price might start a little higher than Single-A ball.  Regardless of where he starts, Price should end up at the big show in no time.
• Jonathan Mayo of MiLB.com released his list of the top five farm systems.  Mayo had the Rays at #1 (no surprise there), the A’s at #2 (okay, that’s surprising), the Rangers at #3, the Reds at #4, and the Red Sox rounding it up at #5.
• The Giants are trying speedster Eugenio Velez at 3B.  Two weeks into March and the Giants still don’t really have a leading candidate for the 3B spot, so Velez definitely has a shot.  The Giants have been reported to be surveying the trade market for a third basemen, but if Velez wins this job, look out.  With a little bit of playing time Velez is definitely a fantasy sleeper to watch for his SB totals.
• Twins RHP Nick Blackburn finally gave up a run.  The youngster hadn’t given up a run this spring, until surrendering 3 ER in 3 IP today.

Jay Bruce, B.A.’s #1 Prospect, is off to a solid start this spring. He’s Batting .400 in 15 at-bats with 3 RBIs. It’s impressive and neccessary considering he is competing with Corey Patterson, Norris Hopper and Ryan Freel for the center-field job. Obviously there is a lot of potential in this 20-year old.  Not only does he have the skills, but a great mentor in Ken Griffey Jr., as Bruce describes:

“I learn from him, on and off the field, the way he carries himself and handles himself. He’s been doing it for close to 20 years and is still as professional as can be. He’s never late. He gets here on time and gets his work in. He’s been great to me so far. Anything I need to know, I can ask him. He’s great about telling me.”

Griffey is more than obliged to help out the youngster and give him words of encouragement.

“I think he has to just play, no matter where it is,” Griffey said. “If it’s here, he’s going to play. You’re not going to have a 20-year-old sit on the bench. If it’s at Triple-A, he’s going to play. He just can’t worry about trying to impress the guys up here. He has to play and get as much experience up here while he’s here. If he succeeds, he stays. If he doesn’t, he can’t get down and think it’s a demotion. It isn’t.”