Dayton Loses to 9th Inning Rally

Dayton hasn't had a lot to cheer about this season while putting together what is currently the worst record in the Midwest League. One of the bright spots has been the play of Ryan Wright. The second baseman came into the Cincinnati organization with a fifth round pick last year and now leads the Dragons in hitting and RBI wile displaying a solid all-around game.

Dayton opened up a road trip with a 9-8 loss at Lansing Wednesday night. It looked like the Dragons had the game in hand when they hung up five in the eighth to take a three run lead. The game ended when the Lugnuts scored four of their own capped off by a walk-off double with bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Seven Dragons had a multi-hit game led by Josef Terry with three. Ryan Wright went 2-5 with two RBI and two runs in the losing effort.

On the mound Jacob Johnson gave up only one unearned run on four hits in five innings. He now has a 0.90 ERA after two starts this season. Carolos Contreras entered in the ninth inning and took his first loss.

Wright came into the Cincinnati organization out of the University of Louisville after he was selected in the fifth round of last year’s draft. He played multiple positions in college but was primarily used in the middle of the infield while hitting .350. He kept that average while playing for the US Baseball Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2010. Soon after the draft he signed and his bat did not slow down when he switched to wood and went to work in the rookie leagues. Most of last season he was at Billings while putting up an overall average of .301 and slugging .536.

Cincinnati has no shortage of top prospects in middle infield positions and Wright is forcing himself into that group while leading the Dragons in batting average and RBI. At the plate he’s making good contact and going almost nine plate appearances per strikeout on average. He’s also been very resourceful on the basepaths by swiping 11 this season without getting caught.

Defensively Wright has spent all of his action at second base. He’s been charged with seven errors in 89 career minor league games. His glove has been solid, keeping a fielding percentage of .976 and providing enough range to get 4.26 assist/putouts per game.

Some prospect rating services have described the 6’1/196# right-handed hitter as an “overachiever”. If that is accurate he seems to have applied it to all facets of his game. There are also some opinions that he may have potential to hit with more power than his current gap level. If that materializes he could project into a solid utilityman at the major league level. As for right now Wright is playing like he has intentions of becoming a regular at second base. It would not be surprising at all to see this prospect's rating rise as he ascends through the Reds organization.

Other News from the Farm:

Former Lousiville Bat Todd Frazier hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth last night to cap off the Reds fifth consecutive win including the first three of a four game home set against Atlanta. Bronson Arroyo threw 6+ innings of 1-run baseball while striking out seven and bringing his ERA down to 3.22. Aroldis Chapman retired the side in order in the top of the ninth and is now 4-0.

The Louisville Bats were idle yesterday and will open a series today at Indianapolis. Jeff Francis is scheduled to make the start.

Pensacola allowed three in the sixth and lost the opener of a home series to Mississippi by a score of 5-2. The Wahoos were limited to three hits on the evening. Tim Gustafson was lifted in the sixth and was charged with all of the M-Braves runs in his first loss of the season.

Bakersfield had an off-day yesterday and will resume action Thursday at home against San Jose. Tony Cingrani will be putting his sub-one ERA on the line with the start.