2006 Scouting Report

Dayton Dragons

• Fifth Third Field, Dayton, Ohio.
• Affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds.
• Manager: Billy Gardner.
• Coaches: Pete Magre (pitching), Larry Pierson (pitching), Doug Bair (interim pitching), Alonzo Powell.

This page profiles the 2006 Dayton Dragons, a Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of the Midwest League.

• History: MWLguide.com

Profile

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics on this page are through September 4, 2006.

Season Summary

• Second Half: 32-38, .457 (4th place tie, 16.0 behind)
• First Half: 35-35, .500 (3rd place tie, 7.5 behind)
• Pitching: 67-73, 3.70, 44 saves, 3 complete games, 1089 strikeouts
• Hitting: .253, 609 runs scored, 91 HR, 90 steals (67% success)
• Defense: 145 errors (1.04 per game)
• April: 9-13 (.409)
• May: 16-15 (.516)
• June: 15-11 (.577)
• July: 14-14 (.500)
• August-September: 13-20 (.394)

• Position Players used: 18
• Pitchers used: 33
• Pitchers per game: 3.3

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Outfielder Jay Bruce

• Best Starting Pitcher: Johnny Cueto (2.59, 8-1, 82 strikeouts) or Zach Ward (2.29, 7-0, 95 strikeouts) or Carlos Fisher (2.76, 12-5, 122 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Bo Lanier (3-11, 3.03, 9 saves, 5 holds, 58 strikeouts) or Blake Hendley (3.34, 10-3, 15 saves, no holds, 28 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Johnny Cueto, Jose A Rojas, Jeff Stevens
• Control Pitchers: Johnny Cueto, Carlos Fisher, Blake Hendley, Robert Manuel

• Best Hitter: Jay Bruce (.291, 16 HR, 81 RBI) or Paul Janish (.398, 5 HR, 18 RBI 28 games!)
• Home Run Leader: BJ Szymanski, Jay Bruce (16)
• High Batting Average: Paul Janish (.398)
• High On Base Percentage: Paul Janish (.435)
• High Slugging Percentage: Jay Bruce (.516), Paul Janish (.612)
• Notable Baserunners: Jay Bruce, Adam Rosales, BJ Szymanski, Craig Tatum
• Notable Batting Eye: none

Mid-July Profile

The Dragons are still playing a relatively high-scoring game, both ways, and continue to play .500 ball. This is a team with excellent power; it's a team with fairly weak pitching.

Outfielder Jay Bruce has developed into a perhaps-unexpected star and is a viable Best Prospect candidate; shortstop Adam Rosales is a next-tier talent. They're surrounded by competent but unexciting hitters. Bruce is fast, but a bit sloppy on the basepaths; outfielders BJ Szymanski & Josh Holden are fine baserunners.

Johnny Cueto's been promoted, but Zach Ward's stepped into that hole and delivered. Travis Wood and Carlos Fisher have also pitched well in the rotation. Closer Blake Hendley's the class of an unexciting bullpen.

May Profile

The Dragons have scored 242 runs while permitting 241 opposition runs; as you'd expect, they've won about half their games so far. This is a high-scoring team which also permits lots of runs. The defense is OK; baserunning is not particularly a factor in this team's offense.

Shortstop Paul Janish has been promoted, which leaves the team without an offensive star; nonetheless, there's a good array of talent for manager Billy Gardner to work with. Jay Bruce and BJ Szymanski are significant power hitters; outfielder Gerardo Cabrera, 2B Michael DeJesus, 3B Jarrett Reininger, and catcher Craig Tatum are all pretty good at getting on base. Although Gardner doesn't let this team run much, most of these guys seem to have good speed.

Starter Johnny Cueto was the MWL's big star in May; Carlos Fisher, Zach Ward, and Travis Wood have pitched well in what's actually a pretty strong rotation. When these guys hit their pitch limits, though, things get pretty iffy, as the relievers mostly haven't shown much. Closer Blake Hendley still looks like the real deal.

April Profile

The Dragons are probably not as bad as their record suggests. This is a team with some serious weaknesses, and little depth, but manager Billy Gardner's able to put a competitive squad out there most nights.

Shortstop Paul Janish is putting together a star-quality season. Add in outfielders Jay Bruce, Gerardo Cabrera, first baseman Bobby Mosby, and third baseman Mike Griffin; you've got a decent lineup core. BJ Szmanski's still a power source, though his batting line is otherwise weak. Griffin's not a real leadoff hitter, but there isn't one of those in this lineup....

Starters Johnny Cueto and Carlos Fisher show considerable promise, while Philippe Valiquette's got potential to blow everyone away. The bullpen's adequate, but not overwhelming; Blake Hendley might develop into a real closer.

Pre-Season Profile

Manager

Billy Gardner's a conventional, but rather conservative, manager.

First Round Draft Selection

• Jay Bruce (2005; 12th selection)

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 22.2
• Pitchers: 21.7
• Hitters: 22.8

• Oldest Player on the Team: Josh Holden (born 12/10/1980)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Jay Bruce (born 4/3/1987)

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 the team website 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 core of the new Dragons team was rather successful in Billings last summer; they'll have some help from players who appeared at Dayton or in the Gulf Coast League in 2005.

Team        League              W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                      (Teams)
Sarasota    Florida State (A+) 65/67    8(12)       0      1
Dayton      Midwest (A)        60/79   14(14)       4      4
Billings    Pioneer (R+)       43/33    2(8)        8      5
Reds        Gulf Coast (R)     22/32   11(12)       4      4

Several of these players were moved during the season and are counted twice in this table. One of the new Dragons came from another organization, a second played for an Indy league team, and a third did not play professionally in 2005.