Top Reds Prospects Who Could Make An Impact in 2026

As the offseason has dragged on, with more star players signing with teams like the Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Mets, several fan bases have been left wondering how their teams will be reinforced to compete with the league’s star-studded rosters. One such team is the Cincinnati Reds; although they managed to earn a playoff spot in 2025, they’ve been relatively quiet this offseason.

While free agency offers the opportunity for roster additions with a strong history of producing, the Reds don’t necessarily need to turn to the open market. Their farm system is among the league’s best, with a plethora of young talent ready to contribute to a playoff push.

Chase Burns has already graduated from prospect status, and Rhett Lowder already looks like a surefire addition to Cincinnati’s already strong rotation. Even so, there are plenty of other young names waiting in the wings. Without further ado, here are four Reds’ top prospects who could make an impact in 2026:

Rankings listed next to each player highlight where they appear on the Just Baseball Top-100, and where they appear on our latest Reds Top 15 prospect list. 

Sal Stewart – INF (No. 28/No. 4)

Major League Baseball had its first taste of Sal Stewart in 2025, after the 22-year-old had a monster 18-game stretch to close out the season, and was a major factor in Cincinnati’s playoff push. Even so, Stewart hasn’t yet graduated from his prospect status and looks to be a key player for the Reds in 2026.

Stewart first earned his call-up after dominating in the minors, where he spent his 2025 splitting between Double- and Triple-A. Through 118 games, he hit .309/.383/.524, while also bashing 20 homers en route to a 152 wRC+.

There was no slowdown for Stewart after reaching the majors, where he boasted a 124 wRC+ in 18 games. Although the sample size was small, his loud contact was no small feat. If he maintains anything remotely similar to the quality of contact in his brief major league stint–95.4 MPH average exit velocity and 30.0 Pull-Air%–Stewart will be the middle-of-the-order bat that the Reds have so desperately needed.

As the roster construction currently stands, we can expect to see Stewart with the major league club right out of spring training. A clear pathway exists for him to split time between 1B and 3B in rotation with Ke’Bryan Hayes, Spencer Steer, Matt McLain, while also spending time at DH. Oh, and don’t be shocked if Stewart adds a nice piece of hardware to his collection come year’s end, as he looks to be a strong contender for NL ROY.

Zach Maxwell – RHP (NR/Honorable Mention)

Through just 10 MLB innings pitched, Zach Maxwell has already become known as one of baseball’s hardest-throwing pitchers. In 2025, the 6-foot-6 flamethrower sat 99.6 MPH with his four-seamer, landing in the 99th percentile among all qualified pitchers.

Maxwell brings a three-pitch mix to the table– four-seam (used 57.6% of the time in 2025), cutter (23.6%), and slider (18.8%)– with each offering boasting elite swing and miss stuff. What’s currently holding Maxwell back is his command issues, which have been present since the beginning of his professional career in 2022.

These issues were prevalent during Maxwell’s Triple-A tenure in 2025, where he struggled with a 4.17 ERA and 4.57 xFIP in 49.2 innings pitched. He struck out 59 batters, but also issued 32 free passes, leading to a concerning 5.80 BB/9. Maxwell’s 30.2% strikeout rate does inspire some confidence, and led a to a respectable 20.9 K-BB% in 2025.

Even through the struggles, Maxwell is an intimidating opponent and will be a key component to the Reds’ bullpen. In fact, barring any setbacks, “Big Sugar” looks poised to be the ninth-inning option for the Reds as their competitive window continues growing into 2026.

Héctor Rodríguez – OF (NR/Honorable Mention)

Just 21 years old, Héctor Rodríguez is one of the youngest Reds prospects knocking on the door of a major league promotion. The smooth swinging lefty dominated the minor leagues for the majority of 2025, before eventually slumping in the season’s final 33 games.

Rodríguez, who split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, finished the season with a .283/.336/.450 overall slashline, while blasting 19 homers in 135 games played. The majority of his success came down in Double-A, though after his first 20 Triple-A games, it looked like Rodríguez could potentially earn himself a September callup.

Even though Rodríguez finished his season down in Triple-A, slashing .260/.304/.405, his contact abilities were encouraging, as he struck out just 16.5% of the time. That 33-game stretch in 2025 was just a blip on Rodríguez’s resume and doesn’t seem to reflect his major league readiness.

At the moment, the Reds’ opening day outfield seems set with Will Benson, TJ Friedl, Noelvi Marte, and JJ Bleday, but Rodríguez could easily make a case for an opening day roster spot with a strong spring training. Regardless, Rodríguez will almost surely be a bat that spends time with the major league club in 2026.

Jose Franco – RHP (NR)

After a successful minor league campaign in 2025, Jose Franco looks to be another key factor in the Reds’ plans for 2026. Standing at 6-foot-2, the 25-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic is one of the organization’s top pitching prospects. Primarily attacking with the four-seam fastball, Franco’s four-pitch mix appears to be nearly major league-ready.

This past season, Franco sported a 3.11 ERA through 110 innings pitched, while striking out 118 opposing hitters. Advanced metrics didn’t fare as well for Franco, with a 4.21 xFIP raising some concerns. Similarly to Maxwell, one of the earlier players on our list, Franco also struggles with limiting the free pass.

In 2025, opposing batters walked 11.5% of the time with Franco on the mound. The same group of hitters mustered a measly .209 batting average against, meaning the vast majority of Franco’s foot traffic came from walks. Scouts have deemed his command to be 45 FV, hopefully indicative of lower walk rates in 2026.

As things currently stand, Franco projects to start the season in Triple-A. He’ll likely have the chance to crack the opening day roster in a long relief role, but the Reds’ rotation is just too crowded at the moment. Barring significant injury to a current starter, Franco will almost definitely be a reinforcement arm down the stretch for a young and hungry Cincinnati team.