Below you can find Baseball America’s 2025 MLB Draft report card for the Reds, which features picks for 11 key superlatives such as best pure hitter, best defensive player, best fastball and more.
You can find 2025 Draft Report Cards for every team here and complete draft results here.
Best Pure Hitter: SS Steele Hall (1) has a lot of development ahead of him and was one of the younger players in the 2025 class, but he does have a quick, handsy swing that could lead to him being a solid or better pure hitter. Arizona State OF Kien Vu (9) has a longer track record against high-end competition and is a career .351 hitter in three seasons with Arizona State. He has solid contact skills to go with an advanced offensive approach.
Best Power Hitter: Oregon OF Mason Neville (4) hit a nation-leading 26 home runs this spring and as a sophomore in 2024 he homered 16 times. He has boasted impressive power since his prep days, and also added plenty of extra-base damage in his pro debut with some of the loudest exit velocity data among 2025 draftees.
Fastest Runner: Hall (1) is a true burner who has some of the best pure foot speed in the class. He’s consistently a double-plus runner who regularly turns in top-of-the-scale run times and should be a high-volume base stealer with great range as a shortstop.
Best Defensive Player: Hall (1) has the tools to be an above-average defender at shortstop. He plays with lots of energy with great range, short-area quickness, reliable hands and above-average arm strength that will allow him to make all the necessary throws.
Best Fastball: Ole Miss RHP Mason Morris (3) has an above-average fastball that averaged 96 mph this spring and has been up to 99. The pitch has solid riding life and a bit of cutting action.
Best Secondary Pitch: In addition to his fastball, Morris (3) has a slider and a cutter that both have above-average potential. The cutter was a new tweak to his arsenal this spring and sits in the low 90s, while the slider is thrown in the mid to upper 80s with some tilt and gloveside movement.
Best Pro Debut: Only four Reds draftees made their official pro debuts after signing. Vu (9) had the most impressive performance of the group. He hit .273/.371/.532 with four home runs and eight doubles in 23 games with Low-A Daytona. Among 160 hitters who debuted from the 2025 class, his 41 total bases were good for 12th best.
Best Athlete: Hall’s (1) athletic testing made him one of the most impressive athletes in the entire 2025 class. He’s a close to being an elite runner, and he also had a great offseason leading into the spring that had him come out with much more strength and bat speed. He’s not the largest player at just 6-foot, 180 pounds, but he’s got lots of twitch, speed and pop packed into his frame and plenty of physical development still coming.
Most Intriguing Background: RHP Bryce Archie (14) is a talented multi-sport athlete who played baseball, football and basketball in high school. He played football for Coastal Carolina and then South Florida, and in the 2024 season he started eight games as the team’s quarterback and threw for 1,914 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns. On the mound, Archie is a projectable righty with arm strength to dream on and a fastball that’s been up to 96 mph.
Closest To The Majors: Morris (3) was the earliest-drafted collegian in a 2025 class headed by a pair of preps—Hall in the first round and righthander Aaron Watson in the second—and has experience pitching as both a reliever and starter in college.
Best 11+ Round Pick (Or UDFA): Archie (14) is an intriguing flyer as a multi-sport athlete who could have some low-hanging developmental fruit, College of Charleston RHP Jake Brink (11) is polished righthander with a three-pitch mix and strong strike-throwing ability and RHP Carson Latimer (12) has a big arm with a fastball that’s been up to 99 mph. His strikes need to improve, but he did show signs of that in four starts in the West Coast League after his spring season with Sacramento State.