Yesterday, Atlanta dealt Jung Bong and RHP Bubba Nelson to Cincinnati for Chris Reitsma.

Atlanta drafted Nelson out of high school with a second round pick in the 2000 draft. His steady advancement through their organization placed him at AA Greenville in the Southern League for most of last year. At AA, Nelson compiled a 77:45 K:BB with 106 H and 7 HR allowed in 119 IP for a 3.18 ERA over 23 appearances, including 20 starts. Near the end of the year, he receive a promotion to AAA Richmond in the International League, where he was used as a reliever, though that move supposedly was only made to prepare him for possible use in the major league pen if he was needed. However, he was scheduled to open the season in the AAA Richmond rotation. I wasn't overwhelmed by his AA performance, as he obviously still needs to work on his control, and his strikeout rate has grown smaller with each promotion he's received in the minors. Consequently, I don't expect Nelson to shoot to the majors before September at the earliest. The 22-year-old should spend most of 2004 at AAA Louisville in the IL. A strong performance at AAA could land him a job in the Reds' 2005 rotation, but unless he takes big strides forward this year or Cincinnati has depth problems at the major league level that lead them to rush him, I suspect he'll require more than a season of AAA.