2011 Dayton Dragons Team Set - Part 2

Continuing on from yesterday in the 2011 Dayton Dragons team set. I can't guarantee I won't be long winded again but hopefully I won't have to split this into a third part.

Devin Lohman was an infielder who was actually drafted twice, first by the Rockies out of high school in the 43rd round of the June 2007 draft, then again by the Reds out of CSU Long Beach in the 3rd round of the June 2010 draft. In 2011, he started at Dayton for 62 games before being demoted to Billings for 29 games, and then getting promoted again to Bakersfield to end the season. In those 62 games for the Dragons, he hit a paltry .208 with one homer and 31 RBIs. After Dayton, he made it as high as Triple-A Lehigh Valley for 10 games in 2015, his last season in the minors.

Besides being the first German developed player to play in the majors in the modern era, Lutz became something of a world traveler in recent years. While his 2011 season in Dayton where he hit .301 with 20 homers along with recording the first cycle in Dragons history was impressive enough to earn him a spot on the Reds 40-man roster, he struggled in the majors. In 62 games over parts of two seasons with the Reds (2013 & 2014), he only mustered a .211 average with 1 homer and 9 RBIs. After the 2014 season, his world travels began in abundance with Obregon in the Mexican Winter League, then back to Triple-A Louisville for 13 games before getting injured. This was followed by an offseason stint in the Australian League with Brisbane, back to Louisville, then Pensacola, followed by another stint with Brisbane and finally resurfacing this year with Leon of the Mexican League. I think I need a passport after writing all that.

The career of Jaren Matthews lasted all of four seasons, with 2011 being his most prolific. In 66 games with the Dragons that year he hit .217/.272/.364 with only 5 homers and 21 RBIs. He was out of the Reds system after spending 2012 with Bakersfield and out of baseball entirely after spending 2013 in the Independent Leagues.

In 5 seasons in the Reds system, Daniel Renken never made it above Double-A. A 25th round pick our of Cal State Fullerton in the 2010 Amateur Draft, he saw action in 20 games for Dayton in 2011 amassing a 6-8 record and 3.89 ERA. That was good enough for him to get a late season promotion to Bakersfield where he finished out the season by going 2-0 with a 4.80 ERA for the Blaze. He hung around in the minors until 2014 and was out of baseball after that season.

I remember hearing a lot about Tanner Robles during this time frame, about how he's a promising left-handed pitching prospect and all that mess. The problem with that is that despite all the hype, he never made it past A-ball and a 7-9 record with a 5.40 ERA doesn't exactly blow the doors off, if you know what I mean. He bounced around the low minors in 2012 and 2013 and after his ERA ballooned to 10.57 in 2013 after 6 games, he was promptly shown the door.

The only major league action Yorman Rodriguez has seen to date was 11 games as a September call-up in 2014. Aside from that, he's been toiling in the minors since 2009. I couldn't find any record of him playing this year, so it appears that the last season he had in the minors was 2016 with Daytona. Back in 2011 though, he was a promising outfield prospect that hit .254/.318./393 in 79 games with the Dragons.

Chad Rogers, so far, is the first player I've come across where 2011 was his professional debut. Over 37 appearances, mostly as a reliever, in his debut season he racked up a 6-4 record with a 2.99 ERA over 69.1 innings. He maneuvered through the minors over the next few years, getting as high as Triple-A Louisville but he never made it to the majors. His most recent appearance came with Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves system in 2016.

Besides having an interesting spelling of the name "Jeffrey", Sierra didn't have much of a career. Dayton in 2011 was as high as he got in the minors. It was also his best season appearing in 105 games while hitting .234/.270/.297. After 71 more games for Dayton in 2012, he was out of baseball except for a brief time in 2014 where he resurfaced with Billings for a 20 game stint.

Josh Smith is the last player of the bunch to make it to the majors. He's also still currently active, having split this season between Nashville and Oakland. Over parts of two years with the Reds (2015 and 2016) mostly out of the bullpen, he had a 3-7 record with a 5.46 ERA. In 2011 though, he was a starter with the Dragons going 14-7 with a 2.97 ERA in 142.1 innings. Aside from Tucker Barnhart and Billy Hamilton, I believe he is also the only other person still active in the majors from this team.

A 5th round pick out of high school in the 2009 Amateur Draft, Daniel Tuttle was out of the minors by 2012 after 8 games with Dayton. The season prior however, he split between the rookie level ARZ Reds and the Dragons. Over 11 starts with the Dragons, he went 4-3 with a 4.87 ERA.

I was surprised to see that David Vidal is still kicking around in 2017, having spent this season in the Marlins organization at both the Double-A and Triple A levels. In 2011, though, he was the primary third baseman appearing in 127 games and putting together a more than respectable season at the plate hitting .280/.350/.498 with 20 homers and 85 RBIs.

And we've finally reached the last player to be represented in the set, one Daniel Wolford. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 2010 Draft out of UC Berkeley and lasted all of three seasons in the Reds system. He saw action in 43 games for the Dragons in 2011, all in relief, with a 1.46 ERA and a 7-1 record in 67.1 innings. He was promoted to Bakersfield in 2012, saw his ERA balloon to 6.38 over 68 innings and was out of the Reds system following the season.

Wrapping up the set we've got the coaches and mascot cards. The mascot cards are cool but I'm not really sure I need a card of the Dragons hitting coach.

There you have it. An exhaustive two-part look at the 2011 Dayton Dragons team set. I need a nap after writing all this.