Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Photos
Under is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Cincinnati Reds. Scouting studies have been compiled with info offered by business sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fifth 12 months we’re delineating between two anticipated reduction roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column beneath: MIRP for multi-inning reduction pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning reduction pitchers. The ETAs listed typically correspond to the 12 months a participant must be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Handbook changes are made the place they appear applicable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means could be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview could be discovered right here.
All the ranked prospects beneath additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the positioning gives that includes sortable scouting info for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from varied sources) than this text and integrates each workforce’s record so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm programs. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Notice
Grouped by kind and listed so as of desire inside every class.
A Few Too Many Okay’s
ITILL MARIATHOSS
Sammy StafuraSS
Carlos Sanchez. 3B
Ethan O’DonnellOF
Ricky Cabrera. 3B
Mariano signed for $1.65 million final January after which had a contact price down close to 60% in his first DSL season. He’s defender and really projectable at a lanky 6-foot-3. He ought to be monitored for enchancment, but it surely isn’t as if a workforce is tripping over itself to commerce for a man who hit .188 within the DSL. Stafura has a really lengthy swing and ran a sub-70% contact price final 12 months, and he’s off to an excellent worse begin at Daytona this season. His shortstop protection is inconsistent, however he’s athletic sufficient to play there. Sanchez, 20, is a well-built lefty-hitting third baseman whose contact efficiency has grow to be extra of an issue as he’s reached full season ball. O’Donnell is a hard-swinging lefty outfielder out of Virginia who hit 10 bombs and stole 31 bases in 2024. He’s a nook man with a ton of in-zone swing-and-miss. Cabrera signed for $2.7 million again in 2022. He’s a free swinger and below-average defender who has had some underlying purple flags associated to his chase and call, even again in rookie ball when his floor line was nice.
(Lars Voice) “Far Away”
Arij FransenRHP
Dominic SchefflerLHP
Fransen is a 23-year-old Dutch righty with an uphill 92-94 mph fastball and a median slider that he can land for strikes, however not for chase. He’s pitching in reduction at Double-A. Scheffler, 20, is a 6-foot-4 Swiss lefty who signed for 165,660 Swiss Francs in 2023. If he makes it to the bigs, he’ll be the primary Swiss-born spieler since Otto Hesswho pitched for Cleveland and Boston within the early 1900s. There’s a unbelievable 30-minute German-language documentary about Scheffler’s first 12 months in professional ball on YouTube (readers can monkey with the closed captions in order that they’re in English). The highlights: Scheffler performed beginner ball in Zurich and Regensburg, and for a time was an alternate scholar in Japan. He was signed understanding he’d want TJ, which he returned from in 2024. He likes MarioKart, however perhaps not the west aspect of the Phoenix metro. He broke 2025 camp with Low-A Daytona and is fighting walks for the second straight 12 months, however he’s obtained a shot to put on an enormous league uniform as a lefty relieever. He’ll contact 94, his fastball has some pure minimize at instances, and he’ll flash a pleasant slider.
Spot Starter Sorts
Tristan SmithLHP
Jose MonteroRHP
Brian EdgingtonRHP
Nestor LorantRHP
David LorduyRHP
Smith was final 12 months’s fifth rounder out of Clemson, a three-pitch lefty who sits 93 and will find yourself with three common pitches. Montero is a 21-year-old Venezuelan righty who instructions a 90-93 mph two-seamer, a median slider, and a power-sinking changeup. He’s at the moment at Dayton. Edgington, 26, is coming off a 2024 wherein he posted a 1.21 WHIP in 113.1 innings mixed throughout each A-ball ranges. The 2023 UDFA out of Virginia has changeup and throws strikes with a 90-92 mph heater. Lorant is a 22-year-old Venezuelan righty who has had A-ball success whereas sitting 89 and dealing with changeup. Lorduy is a 21-year-old pitchability righty from Colombia who reached full-season ball late final 12 months and has pitched properly in a handful of Low-A outings. He instructions a median slider and changeup to both aspect of the plate and may elevate a 91-92 mph fastball. A roughly common athlete with beneath common projection, he has depth starter ceiling.
Fringe Relievers
Lenny Torres Jr.RHP
Donovan BenoitRHP
Simon MillerRHP
Easton SikorskiRHP
A former extremely touted Guardians prospect, Torres signed with Cincinnati on a minor league deal this offseason. He’s once more sitting 96-98 mph with out nice motion in a reduction position at Triple-A Louisville. Benoit is a limber, low-slot righty reliever at Chattanooga. He has unusual arm energy for a sidearmer and can contact 97, however his really feel for location is just too crude to incorporate him on the primary part of the record. His slider is hard on righties due to his slot, and if his management progresses late (he’s almost 27), he’ll be a middle-inning choice. Miller is a 24-year-old cutter-heavy reliever who Okay’d somewhat greater than a batter per inning in his first full professional season. He’s peaking round 96 at Chattanooga, whereas sitting 93-94. Sikorski, 25, was the Reds’ 2022 seventeenth rounder out of Western Michigan. He’s a misleading reduction righty sitting 91 with plus journey, and he has two common secondaries that diverge in reverse instructions. He’s having early-season success at Dayton and will have a fast hook to Chattanooga given his age.
Final Yr’s DSL Names to Know
Yeycol SorianoOF
Samuel PerezRHP
Angelo MoraC
Yael Romero1b
Enmanuel TalaveraRHP
Rafhlmil TorresSS
Anielson Buten2B/LF
Soriano is a projectable lefty-hitting heart fielder who has had two good DSL seasons from a bat-to-ball standpoint, and can come to the ACL this summer time. He’s a sophisticated heart subject defender and might be somewhat taller than his listed 6-feet. Perez is a 20-year-old Panamanian righty who made his debut within the 2024 DSL. He has a beautiful supply, a precocious changeup and curveball, and his upper-80s fastball has driving life. He’s solely 6-foot-1 or so, and is projectable extra due to his athleticism and mechanics than his dimension. He’s a part of the Reds’ prolonged spring coaching group in Arizona. Mora is a bodily 19-year-old Venezuelan catcher who posted an .838 OPS within the 2024 DSL. He’s brief to the ball and has a mature all-fields strategy. Romero is a bodily lefty-hitting first baseman with a muscular physique and compact swing. He additionally walked greater than 20% of the time in every of his two DSL seasons. Talavera is a 19-year-old Venezuelan righty with plus projection and an important breaking ball. He was sitting simply 88-89 mph final 12 months, however he nonetheless had success within the DSL in each a bat-missing and strike-throwing sense. Torres is a slick-fielding switch-hitter who posted a 9% Okay% within the DSL final 12 months however nonetheless had a below-average line as a result of he’s so missing in energy. He’s a breakout candidate if he can add energy. Buten is an undersized Haitian 2B/OF with above-average bat pace and below-average bat management. He had a robust second DSL season in 2024.
System Overview
This technique is roughly common, perhaps a shade above due to the five-pack of Prime 100 abilities on the very high. It has roughly common total depth, with a reasonably typical cluster of impression position gamers (the 40+ FV tier and above). There are many soon-to-be-big-league-ready pitchers right here, a lot of whom mission to have appreciable impression. This pitching depth (which is already being examined by accidents and Alexis Díaz’s swoon) is an enormous purpose why I picked the Reds to win the NL Central this 12 months. Velocity reigns supreme in Cincinnati, with 14 fastballs topping out at 98 mph or above while you embody Lenny Torres Jr. Hunter Greene is the poster boy for giant, sustainable velo, not simply on this org however most likely for the league as a complete. He’s seemingly delivering on each molecule of hype generated round him since he was in highschool, and he’s about to have a bunch associates.
The hitting aspect of the Reds system will not be as robust. As a lot as I like Alfredo Duno, he’s dangerous, and so is principally each different hitting prospect on this record for one purpose or one other. I don’t assume there’s a single prospect with a future plus hit instrument on this total system. So lots of the Reds’ place participant prospects have “inside out” kinds of contact, the place they wrestle to drag fastballs and may actually solely hit them the opposite method. Hitters like this make me nervous and so they’re throughout this record. Even Héctor Rodríguez, who can activate his fair proportion of pitches, is dangerous as a result of he’s a nook man who has traditionally been very impatient on the dish. That group within the 45 and 40+ FV tier all mission to play significant part-time roles, however I’d be shocked if any of them grew to become the type of build-around participant who the org seeks to signal to a long-term extension. The Reds have a few guys within the massive leagues who seem like that type of participant (ELLY DE LA CRUZand perhaps Noelvi Mars), however many of the impression within the system rests with the pitching.
The Reds haven’t made a ton of sellers trades lately, so it’s somewhat robust to gauge their professional scouting tastes, however take a look at the hit price on a few of the offers they’ve made. Each prospects from the Mets within the Tyler Naquin commerce are nonetheless related, and everybody from the Luis Castillo swap aside from Levi Stoudt (who reached the large leagues) remains to be round. Have they got the items to make a purchaser’s deal this summer time? If I’m on the opposite finish of the telephone and the Reds want to commerce for my star outfielder, I’m asking for Duno and attempting to mitigate the danger by getting a few high-floored arms, too.
Internationally, the Reds are usually keen to stay their necks out to signal $3 million-ish gamers, and but they nonetheless have sufficient DSL gamers to fill two rosters. It’s because they go away a lot of their gamers down there for 2 years, which is changing into extra frequent. They haven’t had huge success with their top-of-the-market guys, however the sheer dimension of their operation within the D.R. creates many alternatives for decrease bonus gamers to emerge.
Domestically, the Reds draft plenty of junior faculty gamers (there are six within the system proper now, a few of whom have been traded for) and regularly siphon from the Southeast, particularly Florida and Georgia. Ten gamers on the record went to highschool in a type of two states. The Reds choose ninth on this 12 months’s draft and will add somebody who slots into the system on both aspect of Adam Serwinowski.
