Lefty swinging corner outfielder Jeremy Hermida is ripping the ball in AAA for the Reds. He has played in 55 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 73 for 203 (.360 avg, .977 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 6 homers, 29 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Hermida played in 10 games earlier this year for the Reds and he was 2 for 18 (.111 avg, .389 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He has played in 599 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 502 of 1,948 (.258 avg, .749 OPS) with 243 runs scored, 64 homers, 242 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. I can’t see Hermida getting another chance with the Reds unless they suffer an injury to an outfielder.

30-year old righty swinging LF Jonny Gomes has seen his P.T. start to drop to due Fred Lewis and Chris Heisey playing well. It seems to have put some vigor back into his bat so far in June. Gomes has played in 16 games for the Reds so far in June and he is 13 for 40 (.325 avg, 1.015 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. Gomes has now played in 62 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 40 for 181 (.221 avg, .778 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 10 homers, 30 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Gomes is also whiffing at an alarming rate as he has struck out 59 times already this year. Gomes better continue to hit well or he’s going to continue to lose playing time as the Reds might be in the trade market for a LF, or Heisey could just flat out beat Gomes out of a job.

The Reds have dealt 29-year old righty reliever to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later. Jackson pitched in 10 games in AAA-ball for the Reds and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 5.59 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. This was a good deal for the Reds as they saw enough of Jackson to know he wasn’t going to help the team in 2011. This way the Reds at least get a player for Jackson instead of just releasing him.

Lefty swinging 2B Joe Morgan was a key cog in the Big Red Machine. In his 8 years with the Reds, he eclipsed 20 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season three times! Morgan won back to back N.L. MVP Awards in 1975 and 1976. In 1975, Morgan played in 146 games in which he was 163 for 498 (.327 avg, .974 OPS) with 107 runs scored, 17 homers, 94 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. He walked 132 times and he only whiffed 52 times in 1975. In 1976, Morgan played in 141 games for the Reds and he was 151 for 472 (.320 avg, 1.020 OPS) with 113 runs scored, 27 homers, 111 RBIs and 60 stolen bases. He walked 114 times while only whiffing 41 times in 1976, as Morgan had an awesome eye at the plate. Morgan played in 1,154 games in his 8 years with the Reds and he was 1,155 for 4,008 (.288 avg, .885 OPS) with 816 runs scored, 152 homers, 612 RBIs and 406 stolen bases. Morgan is #4 all-time in Reds’ history in OPS with a .885 mark. He is also #10 in runs scored (816), #2 in stolen bases (406) and #5 in walks (881) in Reds’ history. Morgan made the N.L. All-Star team all 8 seasons with the Reds. He also won 2 N.L. MVP Awards and he won 5 Gold Gloves with the Reds. Morgan was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1990 on the strength of his time with the Cincinnati Reds.

23-year old righty starting pitcher Mike Leake has been outstanding since coming back to the Reds after his demotion to the minors. In his 5 starts since coming back to the Reds, Leake is 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has only walked 5 batters while whiffing 19 of them in his last 35 innings pitched as he has been pounding the strikezone. Leake has now pitched in 14 games (11 starts) for the Reds this year and he is 6-3 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The Reds need Leake to keep up the good work because they are a little thin in the starting rotation due to injuries.