Cincinnati Reds Prospect Report (June 2025)

We are reaching the mid-season mark which is always a great time to check in on the minor leagues. For the Cincinnati Reds, their system has been a bit up and down. The top talent is mostly in Double-A, and performing, while a few interesting names are still in Low-A and below.

Today we will work through a few top 100 list, highlight the Reds top 30 prospects, and cover a few sleeper prospects as well.

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Prospects

Top 100 MLB Prospects for 2025

MLB

Cincinnati Reds To Call Up Top Prospect Chase Burns

Top 100

The Reds have a good presence across top 100 list. Chase Burns, who just debuted this past week, is still eligible but remember, he’ll likely graduate this season which will change the Reds numbers on these lists. We will dive into Just Baseball’s top 100 along with MLB Pipeline’s. While other outlets do fantastic work, I want to respect their paywalls.

Just Baseball Top 100: Chase Burns (no.13), Sal Stewart (no. 72), Rhett Lowder (no. 75), Chase Petty (no.88), Tyson Lewis (no. 94)

MLB Pipeline Top 100: Chase Burns (no.11), Rhett Lowder (no. 27), Sal Stewart (no. 63), Cam Collier (no. 68), Edwin Arroyo (no. 69), Chase Petty (no. 83)

Chase Burns – SP – Burns is the best pitching prospect in baseball for my money. You saw his stuff in his debut recording six strikeouts in the first two innings. He’s going to be heavy fastball/slider which works considering his fastball grabs triple digits with good movement and the slider works well off of it.

Burns not only has disgusting stuff, but the command is ahead of where many thought it would be. Being able to locate 99 mph on the edge of the zone and break a slider off that pitch is going to give batters fits. Through 13 minor league starts this season he had a 1.77 ERA and 2.16 FIP while striking out 12.14 per nine.

A healthy rotation of Greene, Burns, Abbott, and Lodolo is a very good front four. I’m sure we’ll see batter get to Burns fastball at times but I think the learning curve will not be too drastic for him. He’ll be a huge part of the Reds not only this season but well into the future.

Sal Stewart – 3B/2B -Stewart has done nothing but hit since he joined the Reds organization. He’s cruised through the minors and at only 21 is slashing .324/.389/.488 with eight home runs and a 154 wRC+ in Double-A. He’s also sprinkled in 13 stolen bases.

Although the power has been somewhat modest, I think there’s more to come. Stewart already has plus bat to ball skills and as he develops more of those deep doubles will turn into home runs. There’s truly not a major hole in his game offensively. Defensively, I’m not sure where he ends up. I’d like to see if he could be an answer to the outfield woes but first/third could be more likely.

Rhett Lowder – SP – The Reds’ 2023 first-round pick has dealt with a couple of injuries to start his career but has flashed at times. Personally, I think Lowder profiles more as a high-floor, steady number three or four than a higher end frontline starter. Which is not a knock, those players carry value.

Lowder has great command and should rely heavily on inducing groundballs, which would work out great for his home ballpark. Hopefully he can bounce back from injury and claim a rotation spot next season. He’s going to pick this season, but I think it would take an injury for him to truly claim a rotation spot for more than just a stint.

Cam Collier – 3B/1B – I’m not sure if I am reading the situation right or not but it feels like Collier is already a bit underrated. Keep in mind, he’s going to be 20 years old this entire season and is already in Double-A. Through his first 10 Double-A games he’s slashing .382/.512/.441 good for a 181 wRC+.

Collier’s power is going to come. I love the fluidity in his swing from the left side and he has the ideal bat path and makes good enough contact to believe power will come. He has some growing to do and I’m sure the Reds will allow him plenty of time in Double-A to do so.

Like Stewart, I’m not sure where Collier ends up. If I had to bet I would say 1B/DH but I guess we’ll need to wait and see.

Edwin Arroyo – SS – I’ll admit I’ve always been lower on Arroyo than most. His defense is good enough to stay at short but I have my questions about his bat. Missing the 2024 season due to injury had to play a role in his development so I am not writing him off or anything close to it.

Arroyo has spent the entire season in Double-A where is is slashing .265/.325/.330 with one home run and a 90 wRC+ across 57 games. A disappointing season, but again, he’s 21 and recovering from injury. We’ll give him some time. If Arroyo can be around a league average bat and provide plus defense as a switch-hitting shortstop I’d say that’s a good outcome.

Chase Petty – SP – For many the prospect shine is wearing off of Petty due to a brutal start to his major league career. Yes, six total innings. Not too much to take away if you ask me. However, his fastball is pretty pedestrian despite the velocity and I wonder if he will eventually lean heavier on his sinker.

He was great in 2023 and still solid in 2024. With other starters perhaps passing him on the depth chart I do wonder if he becomes a trade piece for the Reds. Regardless, he has some things to work on but talent alone is still a player with value.

Tyson Lewis – SS – The Reds 2024 second-round pick has been a hot name in the prospect world. A lefty bat that has flashed elite exit velocities with a 6-foot-2 frame with room to grow. It’s always hard to make much of what a player does at the complex with so little access, but plenty of people in the know are buzzing about Lewis.

Through 29 games at the complex Lewis is slashing .339/.383/.517 with four home runs, 12 stolen bases, and a 127 wRC+.

MLB Pipeline Movement

As you know, these prospect list are constantly changing. They will continue to change as the deadline forces player movement and the draft enters a new crop. While these list do not tell the full story monitoring the player movement can be an indication of who is performing well or not.

Risers/New

• Ethan O’Donnell
• Luis Mey
• Adam Serwinowski
• Leo Balcazar
• Tyler Callihan
• Liberts Aponte
• Adolfo Sanchez

The big riser here is Adam Serwinowski, the Reds 15th-round selection in 2022. The lanky lefty made a name for himself last season in Daytona and has made the jump to Dayton this year pitching to a 4.53 ERA and 4.62 FIP. While he has strikeout stuff locating it can be a problem. No rush with Serwinowski who is still a few years away.

There’s been great reports on Sanchez, who is slashing .305/.453/.508 in the DSL, while also clashing his strikeout rate in half. Promising signs but I rarely read too much into the DSL. There’s tools there. O’Donnell came onto radars after posting a 123 wRC+ in Dayton last season but he’s struggled in Double-A, which isn’t all that unusual.

Fallers/Off List

• Cooper Bowman (returned R5)
• Tyson Lewis
• Peyton Stovall
• Tristian Smith
• Cole Schoenwetter
• Carlos Sanchez
• Naibel Mariano
• Kyle Henley

I don’t read too much into the teenagers who fall off the list. Especially the ones in the back 5-10 slots. The Tyson Lewis drop will be corrected so I won’t even spend time on that. Stovall dropped a considerable amount and has struggled to the tune of a 57 wRC+ in Dayton. He’s still looking of his first professional home run. Smith was a college arm who hasn’t pitched enough to really draw many conclusions.

Carlos Sanchez was an international free agent who made some buzz in 2023 before falling flat last season. Well, he could be back. He is now in Dayton after slashing .308/.429/.449 in Low-A. Yet another young player with a ways to go but worth noting his bounce back.

Notes on Top 30

Alfredo Duno – C – Duno is a big body with a ton of power potential. He’s back in Daytona where he’s slashing .269/.422/.453 with seven home runs and a 150 wRC+. He’s put up some eye-catching exit velocities and is far and away the best catching prospect in the system and is headed towards top 100 list. Some questions about how much contact he’ll make but when he does it’s loud.

Hector Rodriguez – OF – I’d personally have Rodriguez in the five or six range on this list. The 21-year-old is slashing .310/.375/.502 with 10 home runs and a 152 wRC+ in his first look at Double-A. He’s always put up elite contact rates and now the power is starting to grow. Biggest improvement has been cutting down on chasing out of the zone. I’m high on Rodriguez.

Sheng-En Lin – P/INF – The idea of a two-way player is fun, but I think Lin has a better shot as a pitch at this point. To put it as simply as possible, few batters strikeout at a 30% clip at the complex and work out. There’s still plenty of intrigue and we are years away from him being an option.

Ty Floyd – SP – Floyd has been a ghost since being selected 38th overall in 2023. Injury sidelined him until this season and he’s already back on the shelf. However, the eight starts we saw caught my eye. The ball jumps out of his hand and something about his delivery is difficult for batters to pick up. Hard to say what will happen with a player dealing with this many injuries but I have hope.

Sammy Stafura – SS – Stafura was great last season and has picked up where he left off this year. He has the tools necessary to make it to the majors and can do a bit of everything. Like so many young players power will be a question but he has enough speed to add value elsewhere.

Names to Know Outside the Top 30

Hunter Parks – P – Parks caught my eye in Double-A this season, his first year out of the rotation and in the bullpen. His K/9 jumped from 8.78 to 12.13 while he also dropped his walk rate drastically. It hasn’t been a great start to his Triple-A debut but I like the stuff and think he could be a middle relief option.

Austin Hendrick – OF – Oh yes, that Austin Hendrick. The 2020 first-rounder deserves a shoutout even if I still think there’s a small chance he’ll make it to the big leagues. Hendrick has improved his contact rate and for the first time in his career has a K% under 30%. He’s clubbed seven home runs and has a 119 wRC+.

Jose Acuna – P – You won’t convince me there are 30 players better than Acuna in this system. He flashed last season in Chattanooga (0.81 ERA, 22.1 IP) and has pitched to a 3.29 ERA and 4.06 FIP this year. I think he could be better out of the bullpen than rotation which would (hopefully) help his stuff play up like we saw in his relief appearances.

The Reds landed both Acuna and Rodriguez in a deal for Tyler Naquin. That could do go as one of the better steals.

Anthony Stephan – OF – Stephan has dealt with some injuries but has looked great since joining the Reds organization as a 13th round pick in last seasons draft. Only a 38-game sample in High-A with a .286/.387/.462 slash and 134 wRC+. He’s stance looks a bit “generic video game player” but he has quick hands and a compact swing that might just work.

Esmith Pineda – OF – Pineda might be the longest shot on this list but the outfielder from Panama is one of the better defenders in the organization. The bat might be coming around, too. He’s upped his contact rate this season and is currently putting out his best offensive numbers. Because of his defense, the bat doesn’t have to be great for him to become an option.

Notable December 2025 Rule 5-Eligible Players: Hunter Parks, Ryan Cardona, Zach Maxwell, Edwin Arroyo, Hector Rodriguez, Austin Hendrick, Jose Acuna, Jose Franco, Leo Balcazar, Carlos Jorge, Yerlin Confidan, Nestor Lorant, Anyer Laureano

Final Thoughts

Cincinnati’s system is in a weird spot. There’s very little in Triple -A (not unusual) and not much in High-A, either. Luckily, the crop in Double-A is looking better than I would have expected and could be the next wave of talent joining the Reds in the next year or two. Low-A and below has some prospects but they are too far away to truly know the likelihood of becoming a major leaguer.

Of course, those lower level prospects could blossom over the next year and prove the system is deeper than one might think. The Reds are playing at a level that should demand upgrades at the deadline. Will any of the top prospects be on the move? Time will tell.