MVN - Most Valuable Network

A Red Future: Joey Votto

Sean Casey was arguably the most popular post-Big Red Machine Reds player, not named Barry Larkin. He anchored first base into the new decade (1998-2005), and was affectionately called “the mayor” by fans. Since being traded to Pittsburgh for Dave Williams, (ugh, don’t get me started) Casey’s hometown superstar role hasn’t been adequately replaced. Scott Hatteberg has done a fine job, but most fans realize he is not a long term solution. So what is the answer at first base? A 24-year old by the name of Joey Votto.

Votto was a relatively quite draft pick. He was drafted by the Reds in 2002 in the second round (44th overall). He started out playing for the GCL Reds in 2002, playing mostly third base and catcher. That year, Votto hit .269 with nine homers and 33 RBI in 50 games. He began 2003 in Billings, where in 70 games he hit six homers, drove in 37, and batted a cool .317. He was named a Rookie League All-Star at first base. He was then called up to Low-A Dayton, where he hit .231 finishing out 2003.

2004 was a minor breakthrough in Votto’s career. At Low-A Dayton, he hit .302 with 14 homeruns and 72 RBI, impressing many of the big league scouts. He finished the year hitting five homers in only 24 games at Potomac. He finally broke into High-A ball full-time at Sarasota in 2005. His power continued to shine, he hit 17 homeruns while driving in 83 that year.

A solid 2005 effort earned Votto a promotion to Double-A Chattanooga in 2006. That year, everything clicked and he skyrocketed up the list of the top minor league players. That year he hit .319, while slamming 22 homeruns and driving in 77. He was named the Southern League’s most valuable player. He was also a Baseball America First-team minor league All-Star, and was named The Reds’ minor league player of the year.

A monstrous 2006 earned Votto a spot on Triple-A Louisville’s roster to start 2007. Questions began on when Votto was going to get the call, but Wayne Krivsky stayed the course and let the young first baseman develop against higher competition. Good move in my book. At Louisville, he hit .294 with 22 homeruns and a career high 92 RBI. That play earned him a September call-up to the Reds big league roster.

His stay at big league Cincinnati finished out his season. He hit .321 with four homers and 17 RBI in only 24 games. He played a lot at first, but was also placed in left field by interim manager Pete Mackanin. Votto played well, and many scouts were impressed with his poise.

Votto became an immediate fan favorite in Cincinnati, and for good reason. There wasn’t a whole lot of hype surrounding Votto when he was working his way through the minors (unlike Homer Bailey), and many connected to this 24-year old Canadian’s hard-working, can-do attitude. Votto’s name has been mentioned in numerous trade talks, but I don’t see him moving anywhere. Votto has the skills and attitude to become an All-Star first baseman for many years to come. Expect to see him trot out to first base at Great American Ballpark on Opening Day 2008.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 10:14 pm and is filed under Reds features, Reds Blogs, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.