Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Top Prospect List: #18 Pedro Viola, LHP


Pedro Viola is something of a mystery man, but he continues the impressive flow of young, potential impact talent coming from the Reds' Dominican Republic baseball academy. Three of the top 20 prospects in the Reds system were signed as free agents out of the Dominican Republic and two of them have established themselves as impact prospects. While Viola hasn't reached the level of Johnny Cueto and Juan Francisco, his debut was very impressive and he's most definitely on the rise.

Viola stands 6'1" tall, weighs 185 pounds, bats left, throws left, and is 24 years old. In 2007, the Reds used him exclusively out of the bullpen and he seems unlikely to ever be put into the rotation.

PROFESSIONAL DEBUT

Dayton

Viola arrived in the U.S. in 2007 and immediately made his presence known. The Reds started Viola out low-A Dayton, which proved to be no great challenge for Viola. At Dayton, Viola worked in 43.1 innings posting a 1.87 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9, and 10.2 K/9. In addition, he had a GB/FB ratio of 0.93. However, he had a bit of good fortune and wasn't quite as good as his ERA indicates, as his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) was 3.21 and he had a .260 BABIP. After 3 months, that level of performance was enough to get him promoted to high-A.

Sarasota

At Sarasota, Viola continued to impress. He logged 20.0 innings posting a 0.90 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, and 12.6 K/9. His performance at high-A was supported by his peripherals, as his FIP was 1.58 and his BABIP was .311, which means that his performance was for real. He was then promoted again, this time up to AA Chattanooga.

Chattanooga

Despite it being his second promotion in his first season of American pro-ball, Viola didn't slow down at all. At Chattanooga, Viola posted a 0.95 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, and 8.1 K/9. His peripherals at Chattanooga don't quite support such an impressive performance, as evidenced by his 3.88 FIP and .204 BABIP.

OVERALL 2007 PERFORMANCE

Overall, Viola posted a combined 1.42 ERA in 82.1 innings with a 3.3 BB/9 and a 10.3 K/9. It's hard to believe that such an unheralded prospect could have so much success so quickly. However, perhaps it shouldn't be unexpected, as Viola is 24 and has spent time pitching in the Dominican Leagues.

In 2006, Viola posted a 2.04 ERA in 61.2 innings as a starting pitcher in the Dominican Summer League. Viola's age and experience makes him more polished than most players signed out of the Dominican Republic, which makes him more like the Japanese players who come over to the U.S. His experience and maturity allowed him to climb the ladder much more quickly, but it'll be interesting to see how he fares against AAA competition.

FUTURE

Viola is likely to start out 2008 back at Chattanooga, but he could move quickly to Triple-A. In fact, if he pitches in 2008 like he did in 2007, then he could even see time at the MLB level. Major League teams are consistently in search of quality lefties, so Viola should get every opportunity to work out of the bullpen in the near future.

Once again, the Reds international scouting effort is making a impact on the future of the organization. The Reds signed Viola and Cueto out of the Dominican Republic and both pitchers seem to have the polish and baseball acumen to go with their stuff. Each could end up playing a role for the Reds at the MLB level.

Viola needs to repeat his 2007 performance in 2008 to establish himself as more than a one year wonder, but if he can do that then he'll be in Cincinnati sooner rather than later.

If Viola and Roenicke continue their rapid ascent up the ladder, then they may make the Reds regret their decision to hand out such a massive contract to Francisco Cordero. They could both be in the mix well before the 4 year contract with Cordero expires.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Lark,

    I was wondering whether you post in any other forums beside this one and the ESPN handle you mentioned. I enjoy the enquirer blog and if you aren't already posting there I hope you might join us. It is always great to have someone with such a wealth of knowledge to join in our discussions. If you already do post there, would you mind telling me your ID? Thanks!

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  2. Hey Anon,

    Thanks for the kind words!!

    I'm actually registered on three different message boards (Redzone under 11BarryLarkin11 [rarely], ESPN Reds Board under Lark11 [rarely], and the Redlegs Message Board as Lark11[all the time]), but haven't gotten around to the Enquirer forum. Maybe I'll check it out, since it sounds like you think it's worthwhile. I enjoy blogging, but I also love a good back and forth discussion.

    I used to live on the ESPN Reds message board and a lot of my posts were so long that I decided to start this blog. Not long after, the ESPN board deteriorated to the point where we started our own message board for ESPN converts. I'm sure you've probably been on it, as I linked to the top of this blog, but here's the URL in case you missed it:

    http://redlegsbaseball.proboards89.com/

    Of course, you are cordially invited to join up or just drop by from time to time. We've got a nice community building up on that board and a lot of good discussion. Anyway, I'm always on the prowl for good baseball conversation, so I'll have to check out the Enquirer board. Thanks for the tip!!

    Best,
    Lark

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