Former Dayton Dragons right-handed pitcher Robert Stephenson is one of five minor leaguers being invited to big-league spring training, the Cincinnati Reds announced.
Stephenson, 20, joins veteran Jeff Francis, signed Tuesday, and three more former Dragons, pitchers Tim Crabbe and Drew Hayes and reliever Michael Lorenzen, as minor leaguers invited to big-league camp.
In his second professional season, Stephenson rose from low Class A Dayton to advanced Class A Bakersfield and finished 2013 at Double-A Pensacola. This week, MLBPipeline.com ranked him the No. 7 right-handed pitching prospect in all of baseball.
Stephenson was 7-7 with a 2.99 ERA over 22 starts combined at his three different teams last season. Over his 114 1/3 innings, he gave up 92 hits and 35 walks while striking out 136 batters.
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