AL Division Series for the New York Yankees in Boston.The veteran left-hander had excellent numbers against the Yankees’ biggest rivals Edgar Martinez Jersey , and manager Aaron Boone was counting on him to neutralize a Red Sox lineup that produced some of the best offensive statistics in the majors this season.Happ went 1-1 with a 1.99 ERA in four starts versus the Red Sox this year and entered 8-4 with 2.98 ERA against them during his career.That was one reason the Yankees traded for him from Toronto in July and perhaps at least part of the reason why Boone held him back in favor of Luis Severino in the wild-card game Wednesday against Oakland.Instead, Happ put the Yankees in a big hole.He lasted just two-plus innings in Friday night’s 5-4 loss, giving up five runs and four hits, including a homer. That gave Boston’s beleaguered bullpen the cushion it needed to stave off New York’s late comeback attempt.“I’m certainly not going to make any excuses,” Happ said. “I just didn’t get it done. … I need to be sharper. If I get another opportunity, hopefully I will be.”After the third inning, the Yankees’ bullpen allowed just three hits and kept Boston scoreless the rest of the way.“J.A. obviously got in a little bit of trouble in that first inning, just not having his real airtight command that he usually has, especially with the fastball,” Boone said. “The ‘pen did a great job to allow us back in the game and give us a chance. And we almost caught them.”Happ’s troubles started at the outset.He struck out leadoff man Mookie Betts before giving up a single to Andrew Benintendi and a walk to Steve Pearce. J.D. Martinez laced a three-run homer that just cleared the top of the Green Monster in left field.Happ said getting behind 2-0 in the count to Martinez allowed him to jump on a good pitch.“I thought I threw it to the glove and he put a good swing on it,” the pitcher said.Happ retired Boston in order in the second before being removed in the third after Betts led off with a double off the Green Monster, followed by a bunt single from Benintendi. Both scored when reliever Chad Green allowed an RBI single to Steve Pearce and Xander Bogaerts‘ sacrifice fly.Happ was frustrated that he wasn’t able to provide more innings.“My execution wasn’t as high as it’s been,” he said. “That’s the reason I always stress trying to get strike one. I wasn’t very good at that tonight. The big hit cost me.”Yankees first baseman Luke Voit said despite Happ’s difficult night, his teammates still have faith in him going forward.“He made one bad pitch to one of the better hitters in baseball. It’s frustrating. But he knows he’s going to get another opportunity,” Voit said. “He still competes and he still did a good job. But sometimes bad things happen.” The toolsy center fielder jumps the likes of Shed Long and Vladimir Gutierrez."In what is one of the closer votes we’ve had in a while, Jose Siri edged out Shed Long by a total of four votes.Obviously elections are important (hint Ryon Healy Jersey , hint) and it’s important for everyone to turn out.Remember, you can’t complain if you don’t vote.Ok, well, that’s not really true but whatever.Jose Siri will probably start the year in AA to see if he can get on to a hot start before moving on to AAA Louisville.Well, that’s what I would do anyway.On to number #8. Shed Long, 23, 2BHighest 2018 Level: AA (Pensacola)Eye-Poppingest Fact: 57 walks against 123 strikeouts in 522 plate appearances. .261/.353/.412 line.Most Worrisome Fact: Can he stick at 2B? He was a bit streaky during the season with a slight drop in powerAlias(es): Shed My Pants, Tool Shed, Shedric Von Long In The DrawersBB-Ref PageShed Long has been a guy that’s been hanging around for a while, and it’s funny because he’s the oldest guy on the list so far. He was drafted in the 12th round of the 2013 draft as a catcher. The catcher thing didn’t work out, obviously, but he’s athletic enough to play 2B. Ever since becoming a pro Shed has shown the ability to get on base while providing some very nice pop from a middle infielder position. He’s also good for 15-25 steals a year it seems. The one weakness that has always followed Long was if he has the glove to stick at 2B because otherwise he’d probably have to become a corner outfielder. His bat doesn’t play as well there.Long had a relatively strong 2018 even if it was sort of underwhelming based on previous seasons. He also represented the Reds in the Arizona Fall League where he had a .644 OPS because he showed pretty much no power but had a OBP of .333. I’m also for some reason thinking that Shed had missed a small amount of time with an injury? Possibly a wrist injury? I can’t bring myself to do the research on it. Either way, Shed Long is a pretty dang good prospect to have kicking around in the Reds system at this point, and for a lot of teams he’d be in their top five. I’d expect him to start in AAA.Vladimir Gutierrez, RHP, 23Highest 2018 Level: AA (Pensacola)Eye-Poppingest Fact: 3.82 K/BB ratio http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-edgar-martinez-jersey , 8.9 K/9, 2.3 BB/9Most Worrisome Fact: 4.35 ERA in 147 innings and was pretty hittableAlias(es): Vlad Goots, Gootius Maximus, The CountBB-Ref PageVladimir Gutierrez was an international signee ($4.75 M bonus) from the 2016 class where the Reds paid a whole bunch of money to some base ballers. I don’t want to go in great detail on those signings because they’re super controversial but Vladimir Gutierrez was not controversial. He is a small guy (6’0, 190lbs) and profiled much like Raisel Iglesias when he was signed. Gutierrez is also considered to be one of the more polished pitchers in the Reds system, and his name has been brought up briefly in trade rumors.Gutierrez has had a rather up and down professional career so far. Scouts laud him for his control and breaking pitches. His fastball isn’t super overpowering (low to mid 90’s, but has touched as high as 98) but it has decent movement and he can control the pitch. The problem with it so far is that it gets hit well. He also has a curveball that grades out at 60 and a change up at 50. If you go based on his peripherals Gutierrez looks really good and some of his blips are probably just maturation and feel. There has also been some concerns about his endurance at the ends of games and near the end of the season. He did pitch 147 innings in 2018, and as long as he can limit the real bad games the sky is the limit for this kid. His start to the 2018 season was about as bad as it could get with an ERA of 5+ in April and 7+ in May, but he settled down well in the Summer months. I think there’s a real good shot that he starts the year in AAA.TJ Friedl, OF, 23Highest 2018 Level: AA (Pensacola)Eye-Poppingest Fact: .381 OBP over 570 plate appearances in A+ and AAMost Worrisome Fact: .100 ISOAlias(es): TJ Of The Hill Friedl, Frield Day, You Got A Friedl In MeBB-Ref PageAt this point, I think everyone is aware that TJ Friedl came to the Reds as a undrafted Free Agent after some weird mix up in the 2016 draft. Basically, he was playing in an All-Star circuit, didn’t have an agent http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-edgar-martinez-jersey , and no one knew he was eligible to be drafted. Once it was figured out he was eligible to be drafted, the Reds threw the largest amount of money at him to sign him. I think it was something like $700,000 or so but don’t quote me on that. It’s also not like the Reds were throwing money around. They were the only team that could offered that much because of rules.Regardless, the only thing Friedl has done since signing with the Reds is get on base, and he definitely did that in 2018. Friedl was putting up a super impressive season with Daytona (.405 OBP, .817 OPS) before being promoted to Pensacola and holding his own (.359 OBP, .719 OPS). Scouts like Friedl because of his dependability and because he’s a bit scrappy. He plays a good center field, and can reliably play all over the outfield, and as long as he gets on base he’ll find himself in the big leagues sooner rather than later. There could be a bit of controversy putting him on the voter list so early because he does lack that big prospect ceiling. But, he’s also one of those players that shows reliable skills that could make him a starter or at least a 4th outfielder type. Honestly, he’s probably one of my favorite prospects in the system so he’s getting a favoritism boost.Mike Siani, 19, OFHighest 2018 Level: Rookie (Greeneville)Eye-Poppingest Fact: .288/.351/.386 slash line over 205 plate appearances.He’s like really good at playing the defense. Most Worrisome Fact: .98 ISO and he didn’t pick up many steals. Alias(es): Mike Trout Siani, Mike Salami, Say It Ain’t SianiBB-Ref PageWhen picking the new guy to put on the list I kept thinking to myself, “Don’t pick the young guy that’s in lower level rookie ball.Just don’t do it.”Well Felix Hernandez Jersey , I did it and I’m not ashamed.I’m gonna dream big on this kid because he’s got some killer tools in his arsenal.Mike Siani was considered a high potential draft pick that should have went earlier than the 4th round but a lot of teams figured he’d go to college.However, the Reds threw some big money at him ($2,000,000) which almost no youngster turns down.It’s real fun to see what the Reds do with their draft bonus pool money.They’ve been pretty creative.What is exciting about Siani is that Mike Trout is his favorite player so of course he’s going to turn into Mike Trout.Definitely.Siani is lauded for being one of the best defensive center fielders in not only last year’s draft but probably in all of minor league baseball at any level.He’s got legit, plus skills across the board sporting great range, an amazing arm (90+ MPH pitcher in high school), and a nifty glove.Scouts believe that he’ll also probably keep his above average speed.The only knock on him is that scouts were mixed on how well he would hit.He’s not a real big guy right now, but there is some belief he could put on twenty pounds or so without losing a step. In 2018, he was promoted to hit against college aged hitters and fared pretty well (see the Eye-Poppingest Facts).He didn’t hit for really any power but showed a mature approach at the plate that I don’t think many expected.Obviously, his talents are in the field but if he can continue to hit (and find some power) he’s going to be a top prospect in no time.The smart bet would be that he starts the year in instructional league and then starts the year in Billings.However, I’d be real interested to see if the Reds are more aggressive and just let him sink or swim in Dayton.They did the same thing pretty much with Taylor Trammell and that worked out pretty good.