Baseball America's John Manuel chatted on ESPN.com Wednesday afternoon. I found his response to a Johnny Cueto question concerning...
Ben (Centerville, OH): Johnny Cueto has looked fantastic this spring for the Reds, what pitches does he have and how do they rate?
John Manuel: Cueto should look good, he threw 30 or so winter innings and should be more ready to go than most. I like him a lot, he's got some pitchability and two plus pitches, as well as a decent changeup. I'm a little concerned about workload--our Ben Badler did a piece on that for our last issue of the magazine, should be online soon, that details that the 5-foot-10, 190-pounder threw as many or more innings than any minor leaguer last year, winter included. We'll see how it affects him this year but hopefully the Reds will be careful with him.
My take: Why in the hell is Cueto, a little guy, shouldering a bigger workload than any other minor league pitcher? How many cautionary tales do we have to see before a lesson is learned? Christ, the Reds have great young arms...let's not waste them in winter ball.
Speaking of young talent, Baseball America just released their annual Top 100 prospect list. You might recognize the guy holding down the No. 1 spot, two spots ahead of Yankees' stud closer Joba Chamberlain.
I can safely say I haven't been this excited about the Reds in February since 2000, when Griffey arrived.
-Brad Spieser (Brad@TwinKilling.com)
2/27/08
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