The cool trend as the year comes to a close is to go about creating “All-Decade-Whatever” for whichever subject you happen to be interested in. Around here we are interested in baseball – specifically, Cincinnati Reds minor league baseball. So today we are going to take a look at the All-Decade team for the Reds farm system.

The criteria was simple: Play in the Reds farm system. What this list is: One season, not a career, gets you on the list. What the list isn’t: A prospect list (there will be something closer to this kind of thing tomorrow), a list of best “prospect” seasons, or a best career contributions to the farm system.

The Position Players

The Catcher: Devin Mesoraco (2010)

The start of the decade saw what was far and away the best season from a catcher on the farm. Devin Mesoraco saw action in Advanced-A Lynchburg, Double-A Carolina, and Triple-A Louisville in 2010 and hit .302/.377/.587. In 451 plate appearances he crushed 25 doubles, five triples, and 26 home runs. The breakout season established him as one of the top prospects in the organization and a Top 100 prospect in all of baseball.

The First Baseman: Marquez Smith (2014)

At 29-years-old, Marquez Smith is the oldest player to make the team. But he put together what was probably the best season of anyone in the organization on the farm during the decade in 2014. Splitting time between Advanced-A Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola he hit .311/.424/.601. In 134 games he hit 34 doubles, four triples, 34 home runs, and he drove in 131 runs. The 131 RBI for Marquez wasn’t just the tops for the decade, it was far and away the tops for the decade. No other Reds minor leaguer had more than 85 RBI in a season during the decade.

The Second Baseman: Jose Acosta (2019)

The only player on the team from 2019, Jose Acosta made a run at hitting .400 on the year, falling just one hit short. Splitting time between the Dominican Summer League Reds and the Arizona Rookie League Reds he hit .395/.481/.579 in 53 games. He hit 17 doubles, five triples, three home runs, and went 26-for-27 in stolen base attempts. His .395 batting average was the highest since the magical season of 1978 by Gary Redus, who hit .462 for the Billings Mustangs.

The Third Baseman: Eric Campbell (2011)

There was plenty of competition here, but Eric Campbell’s 2011 season edged out the others. Splitting time between Advanced-A Bakersfield and Double-A Carolina he hit .307/.387/.540 between the two stops. In his 127 games he had 37 doubles, a triple, and hit 20 home runs. He scored 81 runs and he drove in another 83.

The Shortstop: Ronald Torreyes (2010)

The first season of the career of Ronald Torreyes put the undersized 17-year-old on the prospect map. Despite being 5′ 7″ and probably 135 lbs at the time, Torreyes destroyed the ball in the now defunct Venezuelan Summer League, Arizona League, and a short stint in the Midwest League. In his 91 games he hit .370/.434/.564 with 29 doubles, 12 triples, and five home runs. He also stole 25 bases, scored 72 runs, and he walked more times than he struck out – 24 to 19.

The Outfield: Billy Hamilton (2012)

When it comes to OPS, Billy Hamitlton’s 2012 season sticks out like a sore thumb on this list. Not that it was bad, Hamilton hit .311/.410/.420 in 2012 as he split time between Advanced-A Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola. But an .830 OPS is 70 points short of the next lowest mark on the list. But this list isn’t solely about OPS. He also stole 155 bases that season, and he scored 112 runs. Those 155 steals set the Minor League Baseball record for a single season.

Hamilton actually spent most of the year at shortstop – but 2012 was the year in which he did transition to the outfield. And yes, I’m cheating by having him here since he only made that move in the Arizona Fall League – but hey, my site, my article – I’ll do what I want, which in this case, is cheat.

The Outfield: Denis Phipps (2011)

The 2011 season sticks out in the career of Denis Phipps. He broke out in a big way between Double-A Carolina and Triple-A Louisville. The then 25-year-old hit a combined .346/.397/.527. In his 122 games he had 34 doubles, seven triples, and 12 home runs. Phipps would score 83 runs, drive in 64, and he stole 14 bases.

The Outfield: Phillip Ervin (2013)

The career for Phillip Ervin began with an outstanding professional debut. The 1st round pick split his first year between the rookie level Billings Mustangs and the Low-A Dayton Dragons and hit .331/.425/.564 with 11 doubles, a triple, and nine home runs. In his 46 games during the year he also stole 14 bases in 15 attempts, scored 34 runs, and drove in 35.

The Designated Hitter: Ibandel Isabel (2018)

When the 2018 season began, Ibandel Isabel wasn’t even in the Reds farm system. But a trade in April brought him over from the Dodgers and he beat up the Advanced-A Florida State League for the Daytona Tortugas. Isabel broke the league record for home runs that had stood for 68 years, hitting 35 for Daytona (and he had a 36th that he hit for the Dodgers farm before the trade). Overall he hit .258/.333/.566, good for an OPS of .900 – which was 209 points better than the league average.

The Pitching Staff

Starting Pitcher: Tony Cingrani (2012)

The run that Tony Cingrani went on to begin his career is other worldly. If there were a farm system “player of the decade”, he’d be it. In his first full season after being drafted, Cingrani threw 146.0 innings between Advanced-A Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola while posting a 1.73 ERA where he allowed just 98 hits. The left-handed starter also struck out 172 batters with just 52 walks.

Starting Pitcher: Tony Cingrani (2011)

As I just said, the start of his career was other worldly. In his debut, the Reds kept Tony Cingrani in Billings for 13 starts where he was limited on his innings and pitch count. Still, he dominated the Pioneer League with a 1.75 ERA in 51.1 innings where he allowed just one home run and 35 total hits. He would walk just six batters and strike out 80 of them to go along with a 0.80 WHIP.

Starting Pitcher: Tyler Mahle (2017)

Everywhere he went in the minors saw Tyler Mahle find success, but his 2017 season stands out above the rest. The then 22-year-old spit time between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Louisville. Early in the season he threw a perfect game for Pensacola and he never looked back as he posted a 2.06 ERA over 144.1 innings pitched. He gave up just 109 hits, and just nine of those were home runs. He would also walk just 30 batters and he struck out 138 on the season.

Starting Pitcher: Greg Reynolds (2013)

Unlike the other starting pitchers that made the list, Greg Reynolds wasn’t the type of pitcher who racked up big strikeout numbers. What he did do, though was use the plan of big time ground ball numbers and walking next to no one back in 2013 for the Triple-A Louisville Bats. That plan led to him posting a 2.42 ERA over 156.1 innings for Louisville. All of those grounders led to him allowing just six home runs on the season. While he faced 618 batters during the year, he walked just 26 of them.

Starting Pitcher: Ben Lively (2013)

This pick is the one that I expect to be the most controversial. Ben Lively went 0-4 in 2013 while making 13 starts for the rookie-level Billings Mustangs and Low-A Dayton Dragons. After being drafted the Reds limited both his innings and his pitch count. That led to him throwing just 41.0 innings over his 13 starts. That’s so few innings, but it’s not Lively’s fault and when he was on the mound he got it done. He posted a 0.88 ERA without allowing a home run, giving up just 23 hits, walking 13 batters, and he struck out 56 of the 162 batters he faced in his debut.

Relief Pitcher: Drew Hayes (2011)

In the 2011 season Drew Hayes dominated out of the bullpen for the Low-A Dayton Dragons. He pitched in 51 games and threw 60.0 innings while picking up 22 saves for the Dragons. That came along with a 1.35 ERA, just two home runs allowed among the minuscule 29 hits he allowed, and he walked 27 batters with 89 strikeouts.

Relief Pitcher: Donnie Joseph (2010)

The decade began for Donnie Joseph by dominated across three levels. The left-handed reliever saw action in Low-A Dayton, Advanced-A Lynchburg, and Double-A Carolina in 2010. Over his 57 games he picked up 24 saves and posted a 2.08 ERA in his 65.0 innings pitched. Joseph allowed just two home runs among his 43 hits allowed, walked 25 batters, and he picked up 103 strikeouts along the way.

Relief Pitcher: Zack Weiss (2015)

Zack Weiss saw his 2015 season split between Advanced-A Daytona and Double-A Pensacola. The right-hander picked up 30 saves between the two stops while posting a 1.98 ERA in 63.2 innings pitched. Allowing just 42 hits and walking just 15 batters, his WHIP was best among the three relievers on the team at 0.90. Weiss also racked up 90 strikeouts while facing 240 batters on the season.

The Stats

The All-Decade Position Players

The All-Decade Pitchers

The Single Season Stat Leaders

Offensive Stats Stat Player Total Runs Billy Hamilton (2012) 112 Hits Dave Sappelt (2010) 174 Doubles Cody Puckett (2010) 42 Triples Billy Hamilton (2012) 14 Home Runs Ibandel Isabel (2018) 35 RBI Marquez Smith (2014) 131 Steals Billy Hamilton (2012) 155 Walks Billy Hamilton (2012) 86 AVG Jose Acosta (2019) .395 OBP Jose Acosta (2019) .481 SLG Marquez Smith (2014) .601 OPS Jose Acosta (2019) 1.060 Pitching Stats Wins Scott Moss (2018) 15 ERA (SP) Tony Cingrani (2012) 1.73 ERA (RP) Brennan Bernardino (2014) 1.01 Saves Alejandro Chacin (2016) 30 Saves Zack Weiss (2015) 30 Strikeouts Tony Cingrani (2012) 172 K% (SP) Tony Cingrani (2011) 41.9% K% (RP) Sarkis Ohanian (2016) 43.0% BB% (SP) Seth Varner (2015) 2.0% BB% (RP) Randy Wynne (2019) 0.8% K/BB (SP) Tony Cingrani (2011) 13.3 K/BB (RP) Randy Wynne (2019) 34.5 WHIP (SP) Tony Cingrani (2011) 0.80 WHIP (RP) Luis Gonzalez (2013) 0.77