FSL notes: Long turning heads with Tortugas

The Daytona Tortugas are as loaded with high-priced talent as any Minor League team.
Third baseman Nick Senzel received $6.2 million from Cincinnati as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, while shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez and right-handed pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez received nearly $12 million combined last year from the Reds after leaving Cuba.

The Tortugas' most eye-catching player in the first half of the Florida State League season hasn't necessarily been one of those three, however.
Second baseman Shed Long, a converted catcher who was a 12th-round pick in 2013 out of high school in Alabama, has been dominant at the plate while continuing to make steady progress in the field.
The 21-year-old went into the All-Star Game -- where he was 2-for-2 with two runs scored for the winning North Division -- ranking at or near the top in most offensive categories in a league that usually favors pitchers. Long was hitting .316 with 12 homers and 35 RBIs while ranking third in slugging (.543) and second in OPS (.921). The Reds' No. 13 prospect was FSL Player of the Month for May, when he batted .357 and had 14 multi-hit games.
"We have a good team and it's been a lot of fun so far," Long said. "I just have to keep it going. You can't take anything for granted."
Infield trio reps Tortugas at All-Star Game »
As a 5-foot-8, left-handed batter with surprising power, Long brings back memories of former Reds second baseman Joe Morgan. It's another Hall of Famer for the Reds, though, who has had a direct role in Long's development.
Shortstop Barry Larkin, a special assistant with the Reds, worked extensively with the former catcher on his move to the infield in 2015, and the relationship continues. After the Reds' instructional league last fall, Long spent time in Orlando this winter working with Larkin and present Major League infielders like Dee Gordon and Francisco Lindor.
"I learned a lot, and I think I'm day-to-day getting better this season," Long said of his defense. "I was real raw around the bag. Now I think I'm better turning the double play and more confident in my backhand. It's night and day from where I was when I started."
Getting out from behind the plate allowed Long to get more regular at-bats, and he had a breakout season offensively last year, hitting a combined .293 with 15 homers and 75 RBIs for Class A Dayton and Class A Advanced Daytona.
As a reward, Long was named the Reds' Minor League Hitter of the Year.
"I think catching was hiding my true value," he said. "My bat was always the best part of my game."

Long hit well at Daytona's Jackie Robinson Ballpark after moving up last year and has done even better at the plate in the historic stadium this season. Long was batting .387 with nine homers and 25 RBIs in 30 home games.
"It's not the best-looking place, but it has a great atmosphere," Long said of the ballpark. "I love playing there."
Long, who was one of the Reds players taking part in a leadership training program at West Point in the offseason, also thrives off friendly competition with teammate Senzel. Long leads the league with 74 hits and Senzel, batting .303 with 24 doubles and 30 RBIs, is second with 72. Long normally hits second or third in the Daytona lineup, with fellow All-Star Senzel usually directly behind him.
"If I get on, he better drive me in," Long said. "We're always pushing each other. It's competition, but not negative competition. We want to get the best out of each other."
Senzel, an All-American at the University of Tennessee, is expected to move quickly toward Cincinnati.
The expectations by the Reds for Long were once modest. That's no longer the case.

In brief

Starting over:Anthony Gose, the Detroit Tigers' regular center fielder in 2015, has had a rough go so far as he tries to make the conversion from position player to pitcher. He was 0-2 with an 18.69 ERA in his first six relief appearances with Lakeland, allowing nine runs in 4 1/3 innings on six hits and five walks. Gose, 26, did have four strikeouts. The left-hander decided to make the switch after hitting .209 in 30 games with Detroit last year and then .203 with Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie in 90 combined games after being sent to the Minors. He is a former second-round Draft pick by Toronto.
Changing minds: Undrafted out of NCAA Division II Drury University, Jupiter Hammerheads right-hander Trevor Richards has arguably been the best pitcher in the Florida State League the past three weeks. He allowed just nine hits and two earned runs while striking out 30 and walking two over 23 1/3 innings in four starts. Richards, 24, was 7-4 with a 2.13 ERA overall and had 81 strikeouts to 12 walks in 70 2/3 innings. He was signed by the Miami Marlins in 2016 after pitching parts of two seasons for Gateway of the independent Frontier League.
Nice turnaround: Palm Beach Cardinals right-hander Ryan Helsley followed up one of his worst starts of the season with one of his best, limiting Dunedin to two hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out eight and walked one en route to his fourth straight victory, improving to 6-2 while lowering his ERA to 3.20. Helsley, 22, has 61 strikeouts to 21 walks in 59 innings. The fifth-round pick in the 2015 Draft is ranked as the No. 30 prospect for St. Louis. Helsley was 10-2 with a 1.61 ERA over 17 starts in the Class A Midwest League last season, but missed six weeks because of biceps tendonitis.