Jay Bruce tore up Triple-A, posting the highest OPS (1.023) in the International League before making his highly anticipated major league debut. Bruce then caught the nation’s eye with his first week in the bigs, providing enough walk-off hits to make David Ortiz jealous in a sensational debut. Bruce mania swiftly followed, as the 20-year-old Texan received a full feature in Sports Illustrated and even took some thunder away from Ken Griffey Jr., whose pursuit of 600 home runs came to an end back in June. While he has fallen back down to earth a bit—.264/.319/.410, seven homers overall—he is currently one of the most exciting young outfielders to watch in the league, showing why he was the number one prospect in the minors in several pre-season Top 100 lists. He will undoubtedly serve as a mainstay in an outfield that is expected to lose Adam Dunn and Griffey Jr. in the near future, most likely in right field.

Edinson Volquez has been spectacular as well, going 12-4 with a 2.77 ERA with a 134-to-61 K/W ratio in 21 starts to earn an invitation to the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Volquez, who came to Cincinnati in exchange for Josh Hamilton this winter, has even drawn comparisons to Pedro Martinez with his electric performance thus far. He is likely to anchor the Reds’ starting rotation well into the next decade, easing the pain among Cincinnati fans with the loss of Hamilton, who is flourishing with the Texas Rangers.

Johnny Cueto has had his ups and downs, but has also flashed glimpses of brilliance, posting a 116-to-47 K/W ratio and a park-inflated 5.02 ERA. Cueto, 22, is also a major reason why the future looks bright for the franchise, though he has been lost in translation pitching alongside his All-Star teammate.

Then there is rookie Joey Votto, the Reds’ premier position player prospect outside of Bruce entering the season. Votto quickly supplanted veteran Scott Hatteberg as the full-time first baseman after a strong start to emerge as one of the most productive offensive rookies in the majors. The 25-year-old left-handed hitter is batting .270/.339/.440. While he has not shown even average on-base skills, drawing only 36 walks in over 350 plate appearances, he has flashed tremendous power and is among rookie leaders with 13 home runs.

Cincinnati, 12.5 games back in the NL Central, is clearly out of it for this year, and should look to make some deals at the deadline with an eye on adding a supporting cast for the aforementioned core. With a plethora of soon-to-be free agents on the roster expected to come off the books come September, general manager Walt Jocketty truly has a nice opportunity to turn his team into a force on the Senior Circuit for years to come as the Griffey hometown reunion comes to its ultimate end.

However, the Reds have drawn scant interest from other clubs about Bronson Arroyo—who has $25 million remaining on his contact and was reportedly taken off the market—and Adam Dunn. Dunn, who has the ninth-highest OPS total in the league and is tied for the majors’ lead with 30 home runs, would certainly upgrade the offensive attack for a contending club with his high-level offensive production. He is a polarizing slugger, however, who has scared away several potential suitors with his poor defense and high strikeout totals. His days are likely coming to an end in Cincy, regardless, but he is serious undervalued within the industry and it will be tough to replicate his production.

With a number of prospects flourishing in the majors, there are still several high-quality prospects still developing.

Homer Bailey—yeah, the phenom right-hander from Texas who was lit up this weekend—has still yet to establish himself in the majors. Considering the hype that has surrounded Bailey since he was drafted in the first round back in 2004, this is a major disappointment. He has been ineffective in nearly all of his six major league starts this time around, going 0-4 with a 6.52 ERA and 11-to-13 K/W ratio in 29.0 innings pitched. The 22-year-old, still yet to develop a capable second offering, has been hit hard as well, giving up eight gopher balls and nearly two hits per inning during his up-and-down stay with the parent club. He was absolutely awful in his latest outing, on Saturday, allowing 15 hits and four earned runs in a loss to the Colorado Rockies. He turned in two quality outings—in which he allowed three runs or less in 5.2 innings plus against the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers— before the weekend debacle at Great American, but is likely to be shipped back down to the minors.

Bailey has hardly been dominant in Triple-A, either, as he is 4-7 with a 4.42 ERA, 82-to-38 K/W ratio and 1.42 WHIP in 16 starts with the Louisville Bats. While many have questioned his attitude, his velocity is down and his performance has left a lot to be desired, he is still young enough, at 22, to turn things around. Still, his star has dimmed.

There are a few talented bats in the wings as well, several of whom are still miles away from contributing to the big league club. The group includes Juan Francisco, Todd Frazier and Drew Stubbs and is ikely to receive a boost with the addition of first-round pick Yonder Alonso, who is a Scott Boras client and has yet to sign.

Francisco has tremendous power potential, currently sitting with 15 home runs for the Sarasota Reds. He has drawn only 13 walks while striking out 93 times, however, and needs to improve his approach at the plate. One could even say that he is Dunn without all of the runs scored and walks. Still, the corner infielder is only 20 years old playing against older competition, is a switch hitter and has compiled 46 extra-base hits and a line of .284/.307/.479 in 405 at-bats. If he can figure things out plate discipline-wise and bring his on-base skills to an acceptable level, then he could turn into a prospect to keep a close eye on.

Frazier, the Reds’ supplemental first-round pick back in ’07 out of Rutgers University, had a fine professional debut season, posting a line of .319/.405/.538 in 47 at-bats in lower-level ball. The former Little League World Series hero began this year at Dayton, where he posted a 1.000 OPS and hit seven home runs in 30 games. He then received a promotion to the Florida State League, remaining at shortstop—he will most likely be forced to switch positions—while receiving the label as a “gamer” from many scouts along the way. At a tough hitters’ park down in Sarasota, he has been solid yet unspectacular, hitting .292/.367/.468 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs.

Frazier is an excellent infield prospect, though, and will likely end the season at Double-A.

Stubbs recently made the jump to the Southern League, where he has performed well (.341/.431/.386) in a brief sample size with the Chattanooga Lookouts. How he performs the remainder of the season in Double-A will be a play a huge factor in the development of the 2006 First-Round pick, who had a tremendous collegiate career at the University of Texas.

A solid defensive outfielder with great speed, Stubbs has shown the ability to get on base since signing. He has not hit for the power that many expected yet—he hit numerous shots during his days with the Longhorns—he has been a consistent offensive player who continues to improve. Before his promotion, he batted .261/.366/.406 with five home runs, 38 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 35 tries down in Sarasota.

Alonso and the Reds are expected to reach an agreement on a signing bonus before the August 15 deadline, which will add a high-impact player who is ready to make a quick jump to the majors to the Reds’ minor league system. The University of Miami star, who reportedly had dinner this weekend with stars Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez, posted a ridiculous 1.311 OPS and finished sixth in the nation with 24 home runs during his final college campaign. He has great on-base skills and an advanced approach to hitting, which should allow him to make a quick rise through the organization.

The Reds have plenty of interesting prospects, though there is a drop off in pitching depth after Bailey, who will lose his prospect label one of these days. Still, the organization—regardless of what happens before Thursday or not—has a bright future ahead of itself.

To reach Tyler Hissey, send an email to TylerHissey@gmail.com.

Hamilton was regarded as the best prep prospect ever when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him with the number one overall pick out of Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, NC, in the 1999 First-Year Draft.

With too much time on his hands after sustaining an injury early in his professional career, Hamilton simply got mixed up with the wrong crowd at the wrong time. He then spent the majority of his time at a tattoo parlor down in Bradenton, Florida, smothering his body in tattoos while experimenting with a plethora of hardcore drugs.

This was quite a shock for Tampa Bay. After all, the organization said at the time that its reason for selecting Hamilton over a high school pitcher from Texas named Josh Beckett was because of Hamilton's makeup as a person.

Things only got worse from there for Hamilton, who was suspended from baseball on three different occasions after he became addicted. Under the guidance of his family, he turned to religion to get his life back on track. Baseball seemed like an afterthought at this point, as he nearly lost his life to the addiction that crippled him as a person and athlete for years.

The rest is history. After Tampa Bay left him off of its 40-man roster in the fall of 2006, he was selected in the Rule V draft by the Chicago Cubs. Then-Cincinnati Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky saw the tremendous potential left untapped there, making one of the strongest moves of his tenure by acquiring the once-promising future star for cash considerations.

There was risk involved in keeping Hamilton on the Reds’ 25-man roster at the time, for sure, as he had never faced a pitcher above low-level Single-A and missed much of the previous three seasons. The odds were stacked against him, though he had already accomplished a lot solely by cleaning up his act and remaining sober.

Hamilton made Krivsky look like a genius, immediately showing his tremendous natural baseball ability with an excellent showing in spring training before breaking camp with the big league club.

The best was still yet to come. Although the injury bug found its way back into his life on two different occasions, Hamilton exceeded expectations and defied conventional logic by hitting .292/.368/.552, for a .922 OPS, with 19 home runs and 47 RBIs in 90 games. While he spent too much time on the disabled list to merit serious consideration for NL Rookie of the Year, he was in the discussion for most of the first half.

With Rick Ankiel’s transformation into a capable position player in St. Louis, Major League Baseball was full of amazing tales of overcoming adversity.

Hamilton’s tremendous journey then took another incredible twist this offseason, when Krivsky dealt him to the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitching prospect Edinson Volquez.

Fittingly enough, Hamilton and Volquez each made it to the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium last week.

Volquez was brilliant in the first half is his own right, going 12-3 with a 2.29 ERA and 126 strikeouts. One of the most promising young arms in the National League, he is now a core piece to the Reds’ strong nucleus of young pitching talent. If he can maintain his performance after the All-Star break, he may merit some strong consideration for the Cy Young Award.

Texas has done alright on its own in the deal, though, as Hamilton is an MVP and Triple Crown candidate in the American League. He has turned into one of the most feared hitters in the game with his excellent first half, batting.310/.367/.552 with 21 home runs and 95 RBIs.

At this rate, he is on pace to drive in more than 160 runs, leading to questions about whether or not he has a legitimate chance to break Hack Wilson’s historic single-season RBI record. While reaching Wilson’s 191 total may seem like a stretch, Hamilton will have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. He has All-Stars Ian Kinsler, the AL’s leading hitter, and Michael Young batting in front of him. With Milton Bradley enjoying a fine season as well, it is no surprise that Texas rank first in the majors with 538 runs scored.

But it was on Monday when it all came full circle for Hamilton, as he captivated the city of New York and the rest of the nation with his incredible performance in the Home Run Derby. He stole the show, blasting 28 long home runs—several of which traveled more than 500 feet—into the seats to break Bobby Abreu’s record for most homers in the first round (Unlike Abreu, who was never really a power hitter, I do not see a home run drought on the horizon for Hamilton).

While he ended up losing in the finals to Justin Morneau, Hamilton will be the one who is remembered when fans think of the last ever Midsummer Classic at historic Yankee Stadium.

It truly would be difficult to make this stuff up.

What is even better, though, is that this appears to be an early chapter in the saga for Hamilton, who has provided hope for thousands of recovering addicts across the country.

Down in the Florida State League, another former top prospect is battling similar demons.

This prospect, though, is a long way from captivating the baseball world by showcasing his skills on the national stage.

Regardless, Florida Marlins’ pitching farmhand Jeff Allison is lucky to be alive himself, and he has now seen that conquering a crippling addiction is possible by watching Hamilton put on his legendary home run show last week.

Allison was one of the most promising young pitchers entering his senior season at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School back in 2003. Armed with a 95-MPH fastball, he dominated inferior competition for Peabody in front of nearly 15 scouts per game. Florida selected the then-18-year-old with its first pick in the draft, 18th overall, that year, rewarding him with a $1-million signing bonus.

Jeff Allison (AP)

Shortly after signing, he became addicted to OxyContin, before eventually getting hooked on heroin. The story only got worse from there, as the boy with the golden arm overdosed on heroin on two different occasions and nearly lost his life.

After numerous run-ins with the law, Allison finally cleaned up his act, reporting to spring training with one last hope of making an unthinkable comeback. Going into camp, he had not pitched since 2005, with only 20 professional appearances under his belt. Sober for more than 18 months with a new outlook on life, he is back on the mound where he belongs, pitching for the Marlins’ Single-A affiliate, the Jupiter Hammerheads.

While he no longer has the overpowering stuff that drew so many scouts to his high school games in Massachusetts, Allison pitched effectively enough to earn an invitation to the Florida State League All-Star game. In 17 starts, he has had some up and downs, going 5-7 with a 4.39 ERA and 50/40 K/W ratio and an opponents’ batting average of .256. Considering that he is less than two year's removed from his last heroin overdose—August 2006—those numbers are pretty impressive.

The majors are miles away for Jeff Allison, who has a long way to go. But he is alive—and has seen that a comeback can occur—which is all that really matters