Corcino struggling to find rhythm in Cactus League

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The spring struggles of Reds pitching prospect Daniel Corcino continued during Friday's split-squad game against the Mariners. Corcino, who was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 7 prospect in the organization last season, gave up five runs on three hits and two walks in only two-thirds of the sixth inning.

The sixth started well as Corcino retired his first two batters, but a D.J. Peterson home run came next, followed by more mayhem.

"The wheels kind of fell off," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "A walk, three more hits and a walk and we had to go get him. His velocity dropped down and he was trying to make pitches and just find his way through the inning. It just didn't happen. He is one of the most confident, best looking prospects in our system. The physical ability is still there, but we have to get him over the hump mentally to get back to being aggressive and attacking the zone with good stuff."

Through three outings, the 23-year-old Corcino has a 58.50 ERA with 13 runs allowed in two innings. Last season at Triple-A Louisville, he was 7-14 with a 5.86 ERA in 28 games, including 23 starts.

"The concern is he's not commanding the ball the same way in the games that he has in the bullpens and his live batting practice," Price said. "He was one of the most impressive early spring guys in the camp, especially coming off of last year which was kind of a step back in his progress. He came in and his velocity was there. [He had] command in the bullpen. There was good intensity. Live batting practice went well. We were optimistic that he would have a good spring. To this point, he hasn't."