Cincinnati Reds: Scouting Reports for Players Acquired at Winter Meetings

The Cincinnati Reds made headlines Thursday with two big trades in which they parted with two of their five starting pitchers from the 2014 season.

The Reds' first move, as reported by Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, was to send Alfredo Simon to the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers' Twitter account announced that the team had acquired Simon in exchange for shortstop Eugenio Suarez and right-handed pitcher Jonathon Crawford. The second deal, broken again by Rosenthal, involved potential ace Mat Latos heading to Miami in exchange for prospects Anthony DeSclafani and Chad Wallach.

The moves were made in an effort to free up payroll to either bring in a left fielder (maybe Michael Morse or Norichika Aoki?) or to help sign Johnny Cueto to a long-term extension—or both!

Either way, these two deals will have a major impact on the Reds' immediate and long-term future, so it's important to know what they got back for those two rotation pieces, yes? Yes.

So beginning with Suarez, here are scouting reports for each of the four players the Reds acquired on the final day of the winter meetings.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Eugenio Suarez

Position: SS/3B/2B

DOB: 07/18/1991 (Age: 23)

Height/Weight: 5'11", 180 pounds

Bats/Throws: R/R

Drafted: Signed 2008 (Venezuela)

ETA: 2014

2014 Stats

Scouting Report

Eugenio Suarez, a right-handed-hitting shortstop from Venezuela, is the first of two players making their way to Cincinnati via the Alfredo Simon trade.

Suarez is slight of frame but displays a compact, line-drive-oriented swing. The 23-year-old possesses decent plate discipline, logging no more than a 19.9 percent strikeout rate in any full season at the minor league level.

Suarez isn't going to wow anybody at the plate, and it would be surprising to see him continue to hit as well as we've seen at any minor league level—he has a career .278 minor league average (.288 in 2014). However, it's very possible he could outhit Zack Cozart.

While his offensive game might be enough to get him a job as the team's starting shortstop over the light-hitting Cozart, his defensive game will certainly need some work. In 81 games played at shortstop last season, Suarez was worth a disappointing minus-five defensive runs saved.

What I see in Suarez, though, is a player who has a solid feel for the middle of the infield and the ability to turn a double play quickly from both sides of the bag.

His arm strength and quick reaction times also allow him to slot in as a third baseman at times, which could allow him to serve as a utility infielder in 2014. However, given the Reds' lack of infield depth in the minors, it wouldn't be surprising to see him bounce between Triple-A Louisville and Cincinnati for most of the year.

Jonathon Crawford

Position: RHP

DOB: 11/1/1991 (Age: 23)

Height/Weight: 6'2", 205 pounds

Bats/Throws: R/R

Drafted: Round 1, 2013 (University of Florida)

ETA: 2015

2014 Stats

Scouting Report

Jonathon Crawford, a first-round selection by the Tigers out of the University of Florida, is the second half of the return package for starter Alfredo Simon.

The 23-year-old righty boasts a sturdy 6'2", 205-pound frame with a lose, quick arm action. All of this culminates in a fastball that sits in the mid-90s with good, heavy sinking action.

That fastball should play well at Great American Ball Park, where ground balls are paramount.

Crawford's second pitch is an above-average slider that he throws with relative consistency. The pitch works well as a secondary offering, but it lags slightly behind his near-plus fastball.

Crawford's third pitch, a changeup, is the biggest in his arsenal. The pitch, like his slider, is inconsistent at best, but the Reds hope that can be fixed as he continues to refine his mechanics.

The former Gator has a lot of unnecessary movement in his throwing motion, and as he continues to simplify his throwing mechanics, we can expect his control to improve as well (4.3 walks per nine innings in 2013 and 3.7 in 2014).

Keep in mind, having been recruited as an outfielder back in high school, Crawford is still relatively new to the mound, and he can still swing it and hold his own at the plate, per MLB.com. That being said, the young right-hander pitched well in his first full professional season, logging a 2.85 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP over 123 innings pitched.

The Tigers saw enough in Crawford to make him a first-round pick in 2013, and the Reds have done well with converted starting pitchers in recent years (see Michael Lorenzen), so follow this one closely.

Anthony DeSclafani

Position: RHP

DOB: 04/18/1990 (Age: 24)

Height/Weight: 6'1", 190 pounds

Bats/Throws: R/R

Drafted: Round 6, 2011 (University of Florida)

ETA: 2014

2014 Stats

Scouting Report

The Reds' second big trade came when the team dealt No. 2 starter Mat Latos to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Anthony DeSclafani and Chad Wallach. DeSclafani was the biggest piece in the return package and, at the time of the trade, ranked behind Tyler Kolek as the Marlins' No. 2 prospect on MLB.com (h/t Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer).

The University of Florida product works with a three-pitch arsenal, which starts with his above-average fastball (sits in the low 90s). DeSclafani also has an above-average breaking ball (MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo calls it a slider, but it looks a lot more like a curveball to me). The pitch features sharp, near 12-to-6 action and projects as a solidly above-average offering at the big league level.

His changeup isn't as refined as his first two offerings, but given their track record (see Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto) some work with the Reds' pitching coaches could help fast-track its development.

DeSclafani has a great future ahead of him, but a lot of it will depend on the development of his changeup. If it flops, he's a bullpen arm. If not, he'll be an above-average option for the back end of the Reds' rotation.

As it stands, expect DeSclafani to occupy one of the final two spots in the Reds starting rotation when the team breaks camp this spring.

Chad Wallach

Position: Catcher

DOB: 11/4/1991 (Age: 23)

Height/Weight: 6'3", 210 pounds

Bats/Throws: R/R

Drafted: Round 5, 2013 (Cal State Fullerton)

ETA: 

2014 Stats

Scouting Report

Chad Wallach was the second piece of the return package for starter Mat Latos. The 23-year-old catcher is the son of former big leaguer Tim Wallach and a college teammate of Reds prospect Michael Lorenzen.

The young backstop has a solid frame for life behind the dish and enough leverage in his swing to provide some power. He could do with a little simplification of his pre-swing routine, and it looks like he wraps his bat a little during his load. 

After that, however, he has a consistent swing plane with great leverage. Wallach follows pitches all the way back into the mitt and shows great plate discipline for a player just 23 years of age.

Defensively, Wallach's game is a work in progress. The Cal State Fullerton product has decent pop-up times and a good enough arm to throw out runners at a sufficient clip, but his transfer time is lacking.

As he continues to get work behind the plate, Wallach's defensive game should become more polished. If it does, he has a chance to be a great backup and possibly even an average starter at the big league level.

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