FanPost

Video: Alex Reyes and Vaughn Bryan

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Editors Note: We're pushing this Fanpost up to the front page as it deserves some more coverage. Longtime VEB member Tackle Box has been supplying us with excellent news and notes on the Peoria Chiefs all season. Enjoy!

This is something I've been meaning to get to for quite some time. So, I apologize for the lateness (if you were even waiting around on it...although I have mentioned I had this a few times).

Anyway, way back on June 11, I made a trip out to Dozer Field to catch a game between the Peoria Chiefs and the Kane County Cougars. If you don't know, Kane County is the Class-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and they've pretty much run roughshod over the Midwest League this year. At this point, they do still have a very good roster, although all of the premier names in the Cubs organization are all pretty much above this level and Kyle Schwarber hadn't been drafted yet. Probably the name you'll recognize is one of Shawon Dunston, son of...well, I'll let you figure it out. Another name you'd recognize from that day was Ryan Sweeney. He was on a rehab assignment, was hitting 2nd (and wearing a blue Cubbie batting helmet), and playing centerfield. To see and actual Major League Baseball player on the field and to be able to compare bodies to him was a bit of a treat. You can really see how thin some of these guys are. Anyway, even though you might not recognize most of the players names, that is not to say that Kane County doesn't have a very good lineup. Of the guys in the lineup, three were listed in John Sickels' Pre-Season Top 20 Cubs Prospects list (all as honorable mention): Jacob Hannemann (OF), Yasiel Balaguert (OF), Shawon Dunston (OF) in addition to Ryan Sweeney.

Okay, moving on.

To say Alex Reyes was dominant would be an understatement. I loved getting a chance to see him face a major league hitter and he handled him quite well. Sweeney went 0 for 3 with a strike out (very questionable check swing call on a breaking ball in the dirt), a fly out, and a pop out to 2nd base. To be honest, Reyes struggled a bit to start the game. He had trouble locating his pitches and got into a little trouble, but after a visit from Jason Simontacchi (the Chiefs pitching coach), everything was smooth sailing with Reyes pitching a 2 hit, complete game (7 innings due to a DH), which the Chiefs won 2-1. His final line was 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 94 TP.

Reyes sat mid-90s all night with his fastball and his breaking pitch, once he got control of it, was un-hittable.

The other player I was excited to see was Vaughn Bryan (OF). In the first game, Bryan hit 2nd and when 1 for 2 with a double and a walk. In the 2nd game, he also hit 2nd and when 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored. Both games he played RF.

As an outfielder, my impression was that he moved well and got good reads on the ball. He didn't get a ton of balls hit to him (especially in the first game since Reyes was absolutely dealing) and had a ball hit over his head in the first inning that he had no shot at, but he showed a decent enough arm getting the ball back in to keep it a double.

As a hitter, I was impressed with what I saw. Peoria has a few outfielders who are a bit similar in C.J. McElroy and Kenny Peoples-Walls (now with State College) along with Bryan who are super athletic guys with very good speed. Considering Bryan started the year in Extended Spring Training, I figured he'd be a little behind those other two, but he wasn't. Actually, I liked his approach at the plate and his swing much more than the other two. He simply looks more polished.

So, enough of my rambling. Here's what you're probably here for. The videos.

Alex Reyes - Pre-Game Bullpen

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Alex Reyes - Windup, 1st AB of game vs Jacob Hannemann

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Alex Reyes - Stretch, 2nd AB of game vs Ryan Sweeney (check swing K)

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Vaughn Bryan - (Double)

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Hope you like the videos. Again, I've accumulated a bit of a collection of Peoria Chiefs videos so if you missed my last Fanpost and would still like to see them check it out or head over to my YouTube page to see videos of guys from last year.