2008 Scouting Report

Dayton Dragons

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics on this page are through the end of the 2008 season.

Season Summary

• Second Half: 38-32, .543 (2nd place, 5.0 behind; playoff qualifier)
• First Half: 28-40, .412 (6th place, 10.0 behind)
• Pitching: 4.19, 66-72, 40 saves, 21 holds, 1 complete game, 983 strikeouts
• Hitting: .255, 595 runs, 120 HR, 82 steals (62% success)

• Position Players used: 23
• Pitchers used: 28
• Pitchers per game: 3.33

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Third Baseman Brandon Waring

• Best Starting Pitcher: Jeremy Horst (2.38, 8-2, 110 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: no bullpen stopper
• Strikeout Pitchers: Jeremy Horst, Jeff Jeffords, Kyle Lotzkar, Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette, Mace Thurman, Scott Carroll, Aguido Gonzalez
• Control Pitchers: Jeremy Horst, Enerio Del Rosario, Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette, Aguido Gonzalez

• Best Hitter: Todd Frazier (.321, 7 HR, 20 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: Brandon Waring (20)
• High Batting Average: Neftali Solo (.326), Todd Frazier (.321)
• High On Base Percentage: Todd Frazier (.402)
• High Slugging Percentage: Todd Frazier (.598), Neftali Solo (.500), Logan Parker (.492), B457randon Waring (.467), Zach Cozart (.457)
• Notable Baserunners: Justin Reed, Keltavious Jones, Denis Phipps, Jacob Kahaulelio
• Notable Batting Eye: none

July Profile

Dayton's team has scored 325 runs while permitting their opponents 402--a disastrous ratio which is reflected in their won/lost record. They lead the league in homers by a wide margin, but aren't putting enough runners on base to make the homers useful. Basically this team is a collection of free-swinging power hitters with a weak pitching staff.

That doesn't mean the Dragons don't give you something to watch. Third baseman Brandon Waring's a real power source, and outfielder Keltavious Jones is an exciting presence on the field. Shortstop Zack Cozart's a solid talent (and a fine defender), and center fielder Justin Reed's a speedster.

Even a weak pitching staff can have gems. While starter Luis Montano's not a star, he's a solid talent who's pitched well, and Jeremy Horst has excelled in a middle relief role. Henry Arias and Derrick Conatser seem to have some ability, and Zachary Stewart's been absolutely brilliant in a handful of innings.

Gone from Dayton: Shortstop Todd Frazier was putting up MVP numbers when he was promoted to Sarasota. Scott Carroll, Joseph Krebs, Phillippe Valiquette, and (especially) Enario Del Rosario--all lost to the SaraReds--have been replaced with unproven pitchers.

May Profile

Dayton's April was excellent. The Dragons have a very strong offense; while the best pitchers on this team are among the MWL's best, there's almost no depth in the pitching staff. There's enough here to make a very interesting team; how things will work out depends largely on how often the Reds rearrange the pieces. And whether the pitchers develop.

Outfielder Keltavious Jones--oh, what a wonderful name!--is this team's table setter; on other teams he'd be the star. But he's going to be upstaged by the left side of the infield, as shortstop Todd Frazier is an MVP candidate and 3B Brandon Waring is only a half-notch below him. There's not a weak hitter in Dayton's April lineup.

The strong lineup's a good thing, because they'll need to carry most of the pitching staff. Starter Luis Montano is among the MWL's elite pitchers, and closer Enerio Del Rosario's perhaps the league's best reliever. Middle reliever Joseph Krebs is perhaps not quite so strong, but he's posting similar numbers. Unfortunately, the talent level drops past these three, and fails almost completely toward the end of the bench.

Pre-Season Profile

This is a potentially excellent team. While the pitching staff lacks an obvious star, everyone on the staff routinely throws strikes. The hitters will put up runs; much of the lineup has power, and there's enough other talent to make for an interesting offense. Todd Frazier looks like a keeper; if the Reds leave him in our league, he'll put up some good numbers.

Manager

Scott's a fairly conservative manager in most respects. He lets good baserunners run; if his team doesn't have good baserunning skills, he looks pretty conventional. He's a bit more likely than most managers to call for an intentional pass.

Until he was victimized by Reds' recent dearth of minor league talent, Scott had been very successful.

First Round Draft Selections

• Todd Frazier (2007 sandwich pick; 34th selection)

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 22.2
• Pitchers: 22.4
• Hitters: 21.9

• Oldest Player on the Team: Kevin Gunter (11/5/1983)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Justin Reed (11/29/1987)

The average player in the Midwest League this season is 21.9 years old. This information is based on opening day rosters as published on MILB.com and will not be updated.

Where they played last season

This summary is based on the team's opening day roster and will not be revised to reflect roster changes.

The Dragons could be said to be based on last year's Billings Mustangs--but that would be a little misleading, as fully half of them appeared in Dayton uniforms last year. The surest thing about the Dayton team is that April's roster won't look much like August's roster.

Team        League              W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                      (Teams)
Sarasota    Florida State (A+) 81/59    3(12)       1      2
Dayton      Midwest (A)        78/62    6(14)       6      4
Billings    Pioneer (R+)       37/38    4(8)       11      9
Reds        Gulf Coast (R)     15/41   16(16)       3      3

The Reds believe in moving players around: Thirteen of these players appeared at two levels in the organization last summer and are counted twice in this table. All of the new Dragons spent last season in the lower part of the Cincy organization.