GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Reds manager Bryan Price is getting a chance to see a lot of his pitchers throw live in camp for the first time.
“If you go down that list of the 12 guys that threw (Wednesday), seven of them are guys that I had not seen pitch live,” Price said. “I had seen them on video but I never saw them pitch live.”
Price pointed out right-handers Tim Melville, Jon Moscot, Nick Travieso, Layne Somsen and Tim Adleman and left-hander Chris O’Grady as pitchers who impressed him Wednesday.
“I like the way the ball came out of Tim Melville’s hand. I saw him in the early going. The ball comes out of his hand really nicely. Chris O’Grady threw the ball well,” Price said. “Moscot was terrific. There wasn’t anybody that disappointed me. Travieso was really nice and Somsen as well. The ball comes out of Adelman’s hand, he’s not a power arm but he’s sneaky. He’s got a little hesitation in his delivery that can throw off the timing of the hitter. I can see where he could be very effective.”
Of the six Price mentioned, Moscot has the best shot to make the club.
Melville, 26, was a minor league free agent signee. He went 7-10 with a 4.63 ERA in Triple-A last year. O’Grady, 25, was the Rule 5 from the Los Angeles Angels. He put up a 3.28 ERA over 57 innings of relief Double-A and Triple-A.
The others have been in the system. Travieso, 22, is the former No. 1 pick. He spent last year in high-A, going 6-6 with a 2.70 ERA in Daytona. Somsen, 26, was the 22nd-round pick in 2013. He put great numbers in relief at Pensacola and Louisville. Alderman, 28, was minor league free agent signee in ’13. He went 9-10 with a 2.64 ERA at Pensacola.
Moscot, 24, was the Reds’ fourth-round pick 2012. He made three starts for the Reds last year before injuring his non-throwing shoulder. He’s one of the favorite to make the rotation.
“When he came up he was considered arguably our most mature and our most ready starting pitcher in our system to come up and pitch in our rotation,” Price said. “He had earned his way to the big leagues. I think the three games he was in probably gave him a little bit of comfort on what to know and what to expect. He’s not going to be a first-timer when he makes his first appearance in 2016. He’s going to have already been through that. Even though he didn’t get a whole lot of innings, I think it pays some dividends that he got those two-plus games.”
VISIT CLOCK: Major League Baseball announced a 30-second limit will be places on mound visits this season to pick up the pace of the game.
“The timing starts as soon as they see a coach or a manager leave the dugout,” Price said. “So it’s not getting to the mound and having 30 seconds. It’s from the time you leave. What it is doing is encouraging your coach or manager to jog out — if he’s not making a pitching change — to jog out, try to hustle, say whatever you’re going to say and get back.
“I don’t everybody appreciates what you’re trying to accomplish in those mound visits. They think it’s like Bull Durham, where you talk about candlesticks being a good gift or whatever the heck it is. And it’s not. Sometimes, it is.
“But quite often you’re trying to impart something that will change to direction of tide. That might take more than 20 or 22 seconds.”
With a young staff, a lot goes into visits at times.
“Guys are learning a lot through this process,” Price said. “You want to still be able to coach. No one wants anybody out there for a minute or two. That’s too much time. It slows down the game and kills the tempo. Hopefully, they’ll have some leeway on that.
MESO BETTER? Price thinks that catcher Devin Mesoraco’s rehab from hip surgery could end up helping him in the long run.
“Like all these guys, you have room to get better,” Price said. “When guys go through these injuries, you spend a lot of time talking about how you have to take advantage of your rehab to be successful. There’s a lot of work to do. I think Devin’s best days are ahead of him. I think he’s only going to get better as far as learning how to call a game. He’s making adjustments to be in better position to block and to receive, because we felt there was some wear and tear with the way he was dropping to a knee to catch certain pitches. He’s still a young guy from an experience standpoint. He’s got some great days ahead of him.”
