Cincinnati Reds minor league catcher Mark Kolozsvary didn’t show up on top prospect lists at the beginning of the season, but he’s shown he can handle a veteran pitching staff.
Kolozsvary helped the USA Baseball Team to a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics, starting all six games. He had four hits in 21 at-bats (.190 batting average) with two RBI, two walks and nine strikeouts.
“Mark is a … I’m not going to say pleasant surprise because we know his skillset and how talented he is,” Team USA manager Mike Scioscia last month. “To get a kid really not as experienced as some other catchers around and to have him perform at the level he did, I know Mark brought a lot of confidence back with him.
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“Not only is he a terrific receiver, he understands game planning, he understands putting pitches together and he made such a quick study of our pitching, which was really the main reason why we were able to move forward in the qualifiers. That was critical to what we did and wanted to do.”
Kolozsvary, 25, spent time at the Reds’ alternate site last year and he was around the big-league team in spring training.
"I love throwing to Mark," Reds top prospect Nick Lodolo said. "He's made huge improvements, overall – hitting, fielding – when he got to Prasco. He'll tell you too, he's not the player he is now. He worked his butt off there, especially catching and hitting with (hitting coordinator) C.J. (Gillman). He's turned into something."
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Kolozsvary homered off Cleveland ace Shane Bieber in a “B” game on the backfields during the spring and he had a red-hot start in his first few weeks at Double-A Chattanooga.
In 34 games at Double-A, which is where he played when he wasn’t helping Team USA in the qualifiers and playing in Tokyo, he posted a .238 batting average and .345 on-base percentage with 12 doubles, four homers and 22 RBI.
“He really swung the bat well and showed that he’s ready for higher baseball,” Scioscia said. “This guy is definitely going to play in the Major Leagues at some point.”
His play over the last year, whether it was at the alternate site, spring training, Chattanooga or the Olympics, has put him firmly on the Reds' big-league radar.
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"He always stood out to us in spring training, just the way he went about his work," Reds manager David Bell said. "He's a well-liked teammate and he has a good personality and everything, but he also had an intent to everything he did. He had a seriousness that you see with a lot of future big-leaguers, so he did stand out to me in that way."
Former Reds third baseman Todd Frazier hit .143 in the Olympics with two doubles.
BULLPEN REINFORCEMENTS: Right-hander Tejay Antone began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Saturday, scheduled to pitch one inning if the weather cooperated.
Antone has thrown bullpen sessions over the past couple of weeks, ramping up toward games. He’s been on the 10-day injured list since June 26 with a right forearm strain.
"We want to get him back as quick as we can, but we want to do it in a way that is best for Tejay," Bell said, "and we can have him for the rest of the year and he doesn't have to deal with this anymore at all, even next year or beyond."
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Lucas Sims could be activated as early as Sunday after pitching in five rehab games with Louisville. He allowed two runs on six hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings while striking out four.
"There is still a pretty strong chance he'll be activated (Sunday)," Bell said.
SENZEL SLOWER: Nick Senzel began his rehab assignment with Louisville on July 30, but there's no timetable for his return to the big-league team.
Senzel had arthroscopic knee surgery in May.
"He's still not recovering exactly how we would want him to in order to set a date for him to return anytime real soon," Bell said. "I still think that could happen. We could get to tomorrow or the next day and say, 'hey, he's got another game or two and we need to get him back here.' Just not quite there yet."
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Senzel was expected to play at least one game at shortstop during his rehab assignment, but that was likely shelved because of how he's recovered from games.
RBI CHAMPIONS: The Reds 18U team from their Urban Youth Academy won their first-ever RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) World Series at the Jackie Robinson Complex in Vero Beach, Florida.
The Cincinnati RBI squad beat Austin for the title Saturday morning, 10-5. Left fielder Tarrus Garrett Jr. earned championship game MVP honors, scoring three runs and delivering three RBI. He hit a three-run double in the top of the seventh inning.
It was Cincinnati’s first RBI World Series title in their ninth overall appearance, posting a 5-1-1 record in the tournament.
There will be a Cincinnati RBI softball team competing in the RBI World Series next week.
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