TL;DR: The strength of the system-- and largely its hope for regaining relevance. Deeeeeep with upside and interesting guys, particularly in the lowest levels. No pressure, shortstops. Good luck!
Top Five Prospects
Elly De La Cruz
De La Cruz has a package of tools rarely seen in baseball. That would probably be enough to get him on most top 100 lists by itself. Add to that his youth, level, and "gamer" mentality, and you might get a couple more experts to add him to that august list. More than that, he showed relative dominance in production. De La Cruz won the Red Minor League Triple Crown and was second in stolen bases. That's... a lot of production. He's also a legitimate SS defensively. There are warts, of course. He K's too much and doesn't walk enough, so he may be prone to better pitching or big slumps. But he's moving in the right direction. The biggest Red minor league star since... Jay Bruce? Maybe ever? There's an argument to be made there.
Matt McLain
McLain is another gamer. (Not sure if that was a cognizant choice by Red brass, but it's nice to see the top prospects in the system all get tagged as baseball "lifers.") He was supposed to be a 60 hit tool questionable power guy, but he's turned the other way. He seems to be a bit of a Derek Dietrich clone presently-- except he's probably going to be really solid defensively at 2B. (I assume he'll play 2B. He might end up in CF or at SS.) Old man skills aren't the greatest tools to have-- I'd love to see him change his swing a bit to take advantage of his college ability to square the ball up. We'll see more of him next year in Louisville. And likely in Cincinnati.
Edwin Arroyo
I was most excited about Arroyo, who was mashing in A Ball as an 18-year-old. At the time of the trade, he was sporting a 900 OPS as a legitimate SS. Once dealt, he really struggled offensively for most of the last month. His overall numbers are still exceptional, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly worried about whether he was a bit of a California League mirage. He should start out next season in Dayton at 19. That'll be an interesting club. (Or at least it has a chance to be interesting. It'll depend on how things shake out in the off-season.)
Ricardo Cabrera
Cabrera is a DSL high-dollar wunderkind. He really struggled defensively-- as in nearly unplayable. That suggests he'll get moved relatively quickly. (Might I humbly suggest CF?) Coming in, he was supposed to be a hit tool guy, but Cabrera showed a bit more pop than hit tool. Cabrera's splits are fascinating. He was horrid early in the season, hitting a putrid .120/ .274/ .200/ .474 in the first month of the season. He found his stroke in July and mashed to the tune of a near 900 OPS after that. Cabrera will be in Arizona for 2023 and his age 18 season.
Victor Acosta
Coming over from the Padres for Brandon Drury, Acosta will well thought of by a variety of would-be experts, but I'm not sure why. His tools don't scream that he can handle the position offensively at all. He is apparently very good defensively. But good gloves fall out of trees or something something. He's here because others like him. On my personal list, he's below Jose Torres.
Keep and Eye On:
Carlos Jorge
Johnny Ascanio
Leonardo Balcazar
I'm lumping them together because I can't decide amongst them. Jorge, Ascanio, and Balcazar all passed their first professional tests with flying colors, putting up monster numbers in the DSL in 2021 as youngsters. Last year, all three hit well in Arizona. This season, all three should see the bulk of the time in the middle infield in Daytona. Jorge looks like he might end up as a power/ speed guy who plays a slick 2B. His slugging percentage was among the ACL league leaders after doing much of the same last year in the DSL. He strikes out a bit too much, steals a ton of bases, and hits the ball hard. Believe it or not, there's value there. Ascanio hit well enough to be moved up to Daytona early. (They thought enough of him, I suspect, for him not to get lost in the Cam Collier/ Sal Stewart shuffle.) He's a capable middle infielder who also played some 3B. He's a hit tool guy, with a lifetime BA of .314. (I'm a sucker for that .300+ BA.) Balcazar OPSed 880 as the primary SS in Arizona. All three deserve both plaudits and more eyeballs. They might get both next year in Daytona.
Super Sleeper
Jose Torres
Torres was a monster the first couple of months of the season. He and EDLC paired up to terrorize opposing pitchers. He cooled off considerably before rebounding slightly late in the year. So why is he here? Torres has the reputaiton of being able to field the ball. He's supposed to be a legitimate defender across three infield positions. He's also got some thunder in that bat. A two-tool backup middle infielder like Torres is a nice depth piece. The Reds can afford to be patient with him and let him develop more patience or a slightly better hit tool as he plays the SS position in Chattanooga. (Marte will likely be moved to 3B, remember.) I could see an avenue for lots of playing time across the infield for Torres as early as 2025. He might be able to stick for a rather lengthy career too.
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Originally Posted by krazzy
