here\u2019s a link to the Google Form where you can vote<\/a>, though it should be embedded at the end of the list if you\u2019d rater read first and then vote on-page after digesting all the glorious information on these up and coming future Cincinnati Reds. I\u2019ll nuke the link and remove the poll when voting closes, so if you show up on this post after said window, the previous sentence won\u2019t make a ton of sense!<\/p>\nHere\u2019s how the list has materialized so far:<\/p>\n
Sal StewartAlfredo DunoRhett LowderHector RodriguezEdwin ArroyoCam CollierSteele HallTyson LewisChase PettyArnaldo LantiguaJose FrancoZach Maxwell<\/p>\n
A large list of talented names exists below for spot #13. Have at it with the votes!<\/p>\n
Adolfo Sanchez, OF (19 years old)<\/p>\n
2025 at a glance: .339\/.474\/.504 with 2 HR, 10 SB in 154 PA with DSL Reds (Dominican Summer League)<\/p>\n
Pros: Left-handed hitter who profiles to have a plus hit tool and potentially plus power; arm good enough to play RF if he doesn\u2019t stick in CF; shaved 20% off his K% year over year; plus runner<\/p>\n
Cons: Questions whether he\u2019s already physically matured to the point where projecting him to be much better exist<\/p>\n
The Reds signed Sanchez for $2.7 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2024 and kept him there to ply his trade professionally in the Dominican Summer League. Things went quite poorly for him there during his age 17 season, and he subsequently stuck around there to repeat in 2025 – though this time, things went swimmingly.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll undoubtedly play in the States in 2026, but the question now is just how quickly the Reds might try to move him up if he hits the ground running. At 6\u20193\u201d and 200 lbs already, he\u2019s not the kind of prospect where you say he\u2019s X now, but when he gets bigger and stronger he\u2019ll be Y in two years. In other words, if he looks the part now, he needs to be challenged immediately, and my hope is that he gets time with Daytona right off the bat.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s got a hit tool that comes with all-fields power, excellent patience at the plate, and I really do think his swing will continue to play. Still, it\u2019s likely he ends up in a corner spot in the OF, which means the power\u2019s going to need to continue to show up for him to project as an everyday regular – at least vs. RHP.<\/p>\n
Leo Balcazar, SS\/2B (22 years old)<\/p>\n
2025 at a glance: .263\/.339\/.381 with 12 HR, 8 SB in 560 PA split between A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest League) and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (AA Southern League); .277\/.340\/.340 in 103 PA with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)<\/p>\n
Pros: Good strike zone judgement and plate discipline (52\/75 BB\/K in 2025); well-rounded tools, continuing to improve off ACL surgery<\/p>\n
Cons: Not a ton of power yet; some question whether he\u2019ll be able to stick at SS long term<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to forget just how good of a start Balcazar had to his pro career after signing with the Reds for $100,000 out of Venezuela. He posted an .882 OPS in 2021 in Dominican Summer League play, an .886 OPS in 2022 with the Arizona Complex League Reds, and was off to a wicked start (.897 OPS) across the first 18 games of his 2023 season with Class-A Daytona before he tore his ACL.<\/p>\n
2024 was a bit of a rough year for him, however, as the layoff and working back from the surgery clearly impacted his performance (.264\/.295\/.354 in 410 PA). However, 2025 saw him look a lot more like his former explosive self – both at the plate and in the field – and he clearly was healthy enough once again as he logged a combined 663 PA across all leagues.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s still just 21 years of age (22 in June of 2026), and if he\u2019s shaken the rust off completely and enters this season after a normal winter, there\u2019s a chance we see a whole lot more from him, too.<\/p>\n
Aaron Watson, RHP (19 years old)<\/p>\n
2025 at a glance: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Trinity Christian Academy (FL); signed overslot $2.7 million bonus to forego commitment to the University of Florida<\/p>\n
Pros: 6\u20195\u201d frame; potential 60-grade slider; fastball that runs up to 96 mph from a three-quarter arm slot and already has a solid three-pitch mix with his change rotated in<\/p>\n
Cons: Did not pitch professionally after being drafted, so he\u2019s a complete unknown<\/p>\n
One glimpse of Watson on the mound and you immediately think yep, I bet that guy can turn into a pretty dang good pitcher. He\u2019s got an ideal frame to produce downhill offerings, and his fastball\/slider mix is already something on which he can hang his hat.<\/p>\n
However, command of all three of his pitches – specifically a very developmental changeup – will be what he needs to work on to begin to move quickly through the ranks. He possesses a good \u2018feel\u2019 at the moment in terms of what pitches to throw, which part of the zone to attack vs. which hitters, etc., but how well he can build in more deception with his offerings will be vital.<\/p>\n
Carlos Jorge, OF (22 years old)<\/p>\n
2025 at a glance: .251\/.342\/.355 with 6 HR, 40 SB in 469 PA with High-A Dayton Dragons (Midwest League)<\/p>\n
Pros: Plus speed; former infielder moved to CF in 2023 and in 2025 looked like a natural there; plus speed; shaved 12.5% off K-rate from down 2024 season; 60-grade arm strength a weapon in CF<\/p>\n
Cons: ISO declined for third straight year, this time precipitously; prone to extreme streakiness<\/p>\n
If you threw out every other stop of Carlos Jorge\u2019s pro career and just focused on the good ones, he\u2019d already be ranked by now. The good parts of the best of his years have been quite tremendous, all told. He\u2019s flashed great speed (40 steals in 2025), good pop for a small-ish CF (12 HR in 2023 and 2024; .483 SLG in the cavernous Florida State League in 2023), and the ability to play pretty elite CF defense (as recently as 2025).<\/p>\n
However, he\u2019s added some real clunkers in there, too. He hit just .220\/.291\/.394 with a K-rate over 31% at Dayton in 2024, and that came on the heels of hitting just .239\/.277\/.398 in 23 games once he reached Dayton at the end of 2023.<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s just Dayton, where he was again in 2025 in a much better all-around year, even though his power dried up again. He\u2019ll surely begin with AA Chattanooga of the Southern League in 2026, and at 22 (with his position in CF now settled) the former 2B might finally have a one-track shot to focus on his all around game in a new locale. After acing his move on defense, shaving off a ton of strikeouts, and bumping his walk rate back up over 11.1% (where it\u2019s been for most of his career), perhaps 2026 will have a lot more in store for him.<\/p>\n
Liberts Aponte, SS (18 years old)<\/p>\n
2025 at a glance: .247\/.368\/.461 with 7 HR, 9 SB in 193 PA for DSL Rojos (Dominican Summer League)<\/p>\n
Pros: 29\/35 K\/BB showed greatly improving strike zone awareness; already a plus defender at short where he projects to be excellent both with range and arm long-term<\/p>\n
Cons: Still not viewed as a potential plus with the bat, though early returns are already better than original scouting reports; has a long way to go in terms of physically maturing<\/p>\n
The Reds doled out $1.9 million to sign Aponte last January, and that marked the single largest contract they doled out in that particular international signing window. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the #18 player overall in that class, noting he was \u2018one of the most skilled defenders in his class\u2019 and \u2018offers solid wheels\u2019 with \u2018magic in his hands\u2019 while doling out a 65 grade on his fielding ability.<\/p>\n
The rest, we knew, would take time, as he was just liked at 6\u20190\u201d and 160 lbs, and that even felt like a slight exaggeration. To his credit, though, he mashed 7 homers as a 17 year old in DSL play while showing more power than anticipated, and if that aspect of his game grows to match what\u2019s already known the Reds have found themselves a gem.<\/p>\n
It will be interesting to see if the Reds push him up to Arizona Complex League play at all in 2026 or give him another year in the DSL seeing as he just turned 18 years old in November.<\/p>\n
Luke Holman, RHP (23 years old)<\/p>\n
2025 at a glance: ER, 2 H, 10 K, 4 BB in 9.0 IP with Daytona Tortugas (Class-A Florida State League<\/p>\n
Pros: Two plus breaking pitches (slider, curve)<\/p>\n
Cons: Not a ton of velocity on his fastball, which sits 91-94 mph<\/p>\n
Luke Holman threw 109 pitches for LSU in a 6-2 loss to North Carolina on June 1st, 2024, a game in which he yielded 4 ER in 6.2 IP with 7 H, 11 K, and a lone walk. Since then, he\u2019s thrown just 9.0 IP on a mound, total.<\/p>\n
Holman, Cincinnati\u2019s 2nd round pick in 2024, sat out the remainder of 2024 after being drafted, finishing his calendar year with 91.2 IP of 2.75 ERA ball that included a wonderful 0.98 WHIP and 127\/33 K\/BB. When his 2025 began in Daytona, all signs looked promising in his first pair of starts only for an elbow issue to subsequently sit him down and require Tommy John surgery, and we\u2019ve not seen him since.<\/p>\n
He sat 91-94 with his fastball (and touched 96) before, and has a pair of wicked breaking balls that he uses as his out pitches. If he returns to form in 2026 the way he ways before (or even better!), he still profiles as a back-end starter who should move quickly through Cincinnati\u2019s system after dominating SEC play in stints first with Alabama and later with LSU.<\/p>\n
Mason Morris, RHP (22 years old)<\/p>\n
2025 at a glance: 9.00 ERA, 7\/1 K\/BB in 4.0 IP with Class-A Daytona Tortugas; 3.29 ERA, 78\/31 K\/BB in 54.2 IP with University of Mississippi<\/p>\n
Pros: Fastball that can touch 100 mph; four-pitch mix<\/p>\n
Mason Morris landed with Ole Miss in 2023 primarily as a corner infielder, and the now 6\u20194\u201d 225 lb righty only recently became a full-time pitcher prior to the Reds selecting him with their 3rd round pick in 2025. He\u2019s got projection through the roof, though, with a 100 mph heater, plus cutter, and a pair of other breaking balls that look like they\u2019ve also got the juice.<\/p>\n
The question, though, is how Cincinnati plans to use him.<\/p>\n
Morris only got a pair of outings as a pro after being drafted, and it appears the Reds have intentions on seeing if he can develop into a starting pitcher. That\u2019s something he\u2019s never really done before, however, and he\u2019ll turn 23 years old in August of 2026. So, we\u2019ll see how long of a leash the Reds give him with that avenue, since if they want to simply keep him in the bullpen there\u2019s very little reason why he shouldn\u2019t rocket through the minors and give them a legit relief arm at the big league level in short order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zach Maxwell and his 100+ mph heater landed at spot #12 on this year\u2019s Community Prospect Rankings, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2400],"tags":[5,535,50,4259,67081,4,536],"class_list":{"0":"post-545736","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-reds","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cincinnati","10":"tag-cincinnati-reds","11":"tag-cincinnatireds","12":"tag-community-prospect-rankings","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-reds"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115983900135935774","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}