He was brutally honest.
He even said as minor leaguers Yonder Alonso (one of the few non Dragons among the prospects) and Juan Francisco develop, if first baseman Joey Votto doesn’t return to mid-year form with his hitting, he’d trade Votto and go with the slightly younger players.
Among Brantley’s other observations of former Dragons:
• “The guy I’m most impressed with is Chris Dickerson. He started out the season and couldn’t catch the ball, couldn’t hit. He put too much pressure on himself. He’s a guy when he was brought up didn’t do anything right.
“After he lost his job, he learned how to hit. He learned how to hit by pinch hitting. He learned how to play. Every start he had he had two hits. He started to learn how to steal bases. There’s still a lot of raw ability that hasn’t been exposed. I don’t know that we have a centerfielder that can do what he does.”
• Where does that leave Drew Stubbs?
“Drew Stubbs has got a long way to go,” Brantley said. “He is a player, but he takes too many pitches, and he doesn’t take charge in the outfield.”
• Catcher Ryan Hanigan: “I love his skills. When it’s all said and done, he’s a .250 hitter in the big leagues. He’ll figure out how to knock in runs. If I was pitching to him, he’s not an automatic out. Drew Stubbs is an automatic out. (Shortstop) Paul Janish is an out, from now until the day is over.”
• Francisco: “I think he is the best young hitter we have coming up. I see his mechanics and all the things he does — great power, strength. The thing I like about him more than anything else is he has a great internal drive to be the best player out there. He doesn’t want to be like just leading the league. He wants to be the MVP. I don’t know that he will be, but I like his chances.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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