posted 7/19/12 10:59 AM PST
by Marc Hefferan
*MLBDepthCharts.com considers any player not on a team's 40-man roster, in AAA, or ranked as a top 10 prospect by Baseball America or top 11 prospect by Baseball Prospectus before the 2012 season as an 'under the radar' player.
Under the Radar Minor League NL Hitting Performance of the Week
OF Steven Selsky, Hi-A Bakersfield (CIN)
season stats: .296 BA, 10 HR, 42 RBI, 23 2B, 4 3B, 25 BB, 72 K, 7 SB in 86 games (Hi-A/Lo-A)
July 11-July 17: 10-for-28, 3 HR, 3 2B, 3B, 6 RBI
After a week off from the UTR feature, it felt great to get back to work. And I admit that even midway through an incredible family vacation, I started to feel the itch to begin this week’s installment. While the week progressed and hitters started to separate themselves, I was reminded of how satisfying it is to see kids that Jim Brown and I rank on our pre-season under-the-radar ‘breakout’ lists emerge as possible top prospects during the season. In April, I chose 2010 4th round draft choice and current Double-A Pensacola infielder Brodie Greene as my Cincinnati ‘Breakout Player of the Year’. Greene has unfortunately seen his struggles this season, but the name directly below Greene on my Reds list was that of this week's pick, outfielder Steven Selsky. The 22 year-old fell a single shy of hitting for the cycle on July 12th vs. Stockton. He homered again the following night and posted another two hits with two runs scored July 16th vs. Rancho Cucamonga. The Manhattan Beach, CA native has collected hits in 12 of his last 17 games.
A highly-touted prospect out of Loyola HS (CA), Selsky was heavily recruited by several major college programs including UCLA and Cal State Fullerton. But he chose the University of Arizona, where he ended his career with a .330 average and 18 home runs, although he played only 18 games his junior year due to hamstring injuries and a broken wrist. The Reds organization wasn’t fazed and selected Selsky in the 33rd round of last year's draft. Selsky’s 2012 season has brought growing power with 10 home runs, a better than expected contact rate, and a major league ready glove and arm strength to both outfield corners. The Reds feel Selsky needs to improve his strikeout-to-walk ratio to become a bigger run producer, but his strides so far this season prove that Selsky is ready to give Cincinnati a huge return on their 33rd round investment.
Honorable Mentions
3B Travis Mattair, Hi-A Bakersfield (CIN): .258 BA, 15 HR, 54 RBI, 20 2B, 34 BB, 86 K in 84 games; 9-for-29, 4 HR, 2 2B, 9 RBI in last week.
2B Austin Elkins, Short-Season Tri-City (COL): .351 BA, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 7 2B, 2 3B, 5 BB, 10 K, 10 SB in 28 games; 13-for-29, 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 4 SB in last week.
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UTR Minor League NL Pitching Performance of the Week
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