July 23, 200322 yr Reed’s Rolling CHICAGO—Lots of players have better tools. But Wally Backman has seldom seen a more developed hitter who knows how to play baseball than outfielder Jeremy Reed, who has absolutely torn up the Southern League since joining Double-A Birmingham. “He has skills and he is off the chart in terms of his instincts,” said Backman, the Barons’ second-year manager. “This is going to sound sort of old school but he’s just a baseball player. He knows how to play the game and he wants to play the game. That’s a terrific combination.” In his first 18 games in Double-A, the 22-year-old Reed hit .479-3-8 with 16 runs scored. He began the season at high Class A Winston-Salem and had hit .369 over a combined 295 at-bats. He had walked 46 times while striking out only 22 times in 295 at-bats. Reed has looked like a steal since being selected in the second round of the 2002 draft from Long Beach State, hitting .348 as a pro. “The guy is very advanced for this level,” Backman said. “You notice the little comments he makes. One day a lefthander throws him a breaking ball, strikes him out and makes him look just sick. The next time up, he gets a good breaking ball and absolutely smokes him into the gap. “He said, ‘You make me look bad on a pitch, then I’m looking for it the next time.’ He has an idea how guys are trying to get him out.” Reed shows enough power that Backman projects him as hitting 15 homers a year in the big leagues as a No. 2 hitter. Reed played mostly first base in his first two years in college but was drafted as an outfielder. The White Sox have played him on the corners, but Backman considers him to be a Darin Erstad type of center fielder. He could fill that vacancy in Chicago as soon as next season. “This guy is going to play in the big leagues,” Backman said. “He’s got a chance to be an impact-type player for the White Sox.” CHI-LITES • First-round pick Brian Anderson, a center fielder from Arizona, hit for the cycle in his sixth professional game at Rookie-level Great Falls. He was hitting .391-3-13 through 46 at-bats. • Righthander Jon Rauch, who was expected to make the jump to the big leagues this season, was sidelined with a shoulder injury. He was 4-1, 4.26 in 74 innings for Triple-A Charlotte. The Sox were worried because Rauch missed most of 2001 after shoulder surgery
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