2025 MLB Farm Review: Cincinnati Reds

The Reds’ next wave of prospects may very well revolve around Alfredo Duno, the young catcher who could be the team’s top prospect one year from now.

Now 20 years of age (he spent all of 2025 as a 19-year-old), Duno led the Tortugas in home runs (18), as part of a season that saw him crack 52 extra-base hits over 113 games. Additionally, the Reds’ catching prospect walked 95 times and posted a 24% CS% from behind the plate.

The bat & the eye may be the calling cards for the 20-year-old. Duno showed advanced control when it came to not expanding on sliders & sweepers. He only hacked outside on those pitches 17.9% of the time last season, a figure that put him in the top 10 of that category among FSL hitters.

Duno wasn’t the only notable catcher on the Tortugas last season. Jacob Friend, a sixth-round pick from Davidson in 2024, slashed only .194/.424/.348 with five home runs and 11 extra-base hits over 67 games. Very bizarre numbers from Friend, who had a lot of swing-and-miss (32.9%) but also walked 50 times.

The Tortugas’ offense was very deep in terms of talent on the team throughout the year. Sammy Stafura spent most of the year with Daytona before he was flipped to the Pirates midseason. Cincinnati’s Low-A team also hosted several 2025 MLB Draft picks, including Mason Neville (4th) and Kien Vu (9th).

Neville, a slugger from Oregon, had a miserable run in terms of swing-and-miss. The outfielder posted a sky-high Whiff% (40.8%) with Daytona.

Another player who had a lot of swing-and-miss was Tyson Lewis, who received over $3MM in signing bonus money in 2024. Lewis had a good overall year, one where he spent most of it in the ACL. His numbers were mostly fine, as Lewis slashed .268/.347/.417 with 12 extra-base hits across  35 contests. However, Lewis struck out 51 times and had the fifth-highest Whiff% (42.4%) among FSL hitters.

Moving to the pitching staff, it was a good year for Kenya Huggins. Huggins, a fourth-round pick from 2022, struck out 57 over 63 innings and limited opposing hitters to a .196 opponents’ batting average. Huggins also ranked slightly above the league median in Whiff% (27.3%). The right-hander, who can gun it up to 96-97 MPH, is now an Athletics prospect, as Huggins was traded for Miguel Andujar.

Former LSU pitchers Ty Floyd (27.9% Whiff%) and Luke Holman (12.5% Whiff%) also saw abbreviated action. The two were taken in the 2023 and 2024 MLB Drafts, respectively.

Dayton Dragons

We’ll start with the Dragons’ group of hitters, which had several notables.

One was Peyton Stovall, a former Arkansas Razorback taken in the fourth round in July 2024. Stovall struck out a good amount in the SEC but that wasn’t the case in High-A. The infielder walked 43 times over 69 games and struck out just 53 times. High take (61.6%) hitter.

However, Stovall only slashed .191/.315/.279 with 16 extra-base hits. The good news was that Stoval’s Whiff% (17.8%) was the lowest in the Midwest League last season.

Leo Balcazar (22.7% Whiff%) did enough to get on the Reds’ 40-man roster. With the Dragons, the 21-year-old slashed .262/.333/.413 with nine home runs and 27 extra-base hits over 75 contests. Aggressive hitter and one who made a lot of errors (19 in 97 games) at short. 

Myles Smith, taken in the seventh round in 2024, posted one of the highest take rates (63.7%) in the Midwest League. However, he slashed .128/.273/.173 over 50 games.

As for the pitching staff, we’re going to gloss over Chase Burns. Burns, who blew through the Minors after the Reds took him second overall in 2024, used Dayton as a temporary stop on his path to the Majors. The right-hander struck out 20 over 11 innings, along with an absurd 44.6% Whiff%.

Luke Hayden, an eighth-rounder out of Indiana State from 2024, walked 72 and struck out 79 over 101.1 IP. Hayden only allowed eight home runs, and opposing batters hit just .228 off him. High groundball (47.4%) pitcher.

The big standout from the Dragons’ pitching staff was Adam Serwinowski, who struck out 92 over 74 innings and posted one of the better swing-and-miss rates. However, the Dodgers – adept at picking up lower Minor League players to deepen out the farm – grabbed him as part of the Ben Rortvedt trade last summer.

Chattanooga Lookouts

Two of the Reds’ standout prospects spent most of the year in Double-A: Sal Stewart and Cam Collier. However, only one saw his stock soar.

That was Stewart, whom we will get more into in the next section. Stewart had a great year in Tennessee, as he slashed .306/.377/.473 with 10 home runs and 29 extra-base hits over 80 games. Low swing-and-miss (20.6%), and also contributed on the basepaths with 13 stolen bases.

As for Collier, he was able to get a lot of line drives. However, Collier’s home run power was his main calling card. Across 74 games, the corner infielder only had two home runs on the year.

It was also a tough 2025 for infielder Edwin Arroyo. Arroyo (50% GB%) slashed .284/.345/.371 with Chattanooga, as he only picked up three home runs and 30 total extra-base hits over 120 contests. The infielder is usually in attack mode; Arroyo had one of the five lowest take rates (44.1%) in the Southern League.

Very little swing-and-miss (21.6%) from him. Nonetheless, a sharp dip in offensive production for a hitter who picked up 13 home runs and 52 extra-base hits the year before, and with more under contact.

Hector Rodriguez (21% FB%) didn’t get under too many baseballs. However, he made enough of an impact to put up a good year in Double-A. Rodriguez slashed .298/.357/.481 with 12 home runs and 30 extra-base hits over 82 contests.

As for the pitching staff, flamethrower Chase Burns was the standout. A 35% Whiff%, and 55 strikeouts over 42 innings, along with just four walks with the Lookouts.

Louisville Bats

Even though Sal Stewart only played 38 games in Louisville last season, the impact he made with the Bats was tremendous. Stewart, after his promotion from Double-A, slashed .315/.394/.629 with 10 home runs and 25 extra-base hits in that span.

It was an other-worldly stretch from Stewart, who posted a Barrel% north of 20%, which put him in second in that category among all Triple-A players. Sure, Stewart expanded out of the zone at times, northwards of 30%. However, it didn’t stop Stewart from seeing a lot of action outside of the zone, as he walked 19 times. And given how well he hit with Louisville before he moved to Cincy, is that a shock?

Aside from Stewart, a lot of ex-MLBers were with the Bats at one point or another. Edwin Rios (26) and Rece Hinds (24) were the leading home run men, although Hinds (34.2% Whiff%) still had a lot of problems when it came to swing-and-miss in Triple-A.

Ryan Vilade, Will Benson, and Blake Dunn also saw significant time with the Bats.

Additionally, Christian Encarnacion-Strand played 62 games with Louisville last season. Encarnacion, once thought to be the heir apparent to Joey Votto, still hit for power with 33 extra-base hits. However, he still expands out of the zone a lot, a tendency that’s hurt him at the MLB level. In Triple-A, his Chase% was 39%, among the worst.

Moving to the pitching staff, former first-rounder Chase Petty did not have a good year. Opposing hitters had way too much well-hit contact (11.8% Barrel%) off Petty, who posted a 6.39 ERA last season. 

Even though Petty made his MLB debut last season, a span that saw him concede three home runs and 13 earned runs over six innings, it’s hard to argue that he’s anywhere in the same position he was heading into 2025. Those numbers, given his arsenal and prospect status, aren’t near where they should be.

The real intrigue from the Bats’ 2025 pitching staff was the relievers. New Mariners pitcher Yosver Zulueta was a high whiff rate pitcher, while hard-thrower Luis Mey struck out 46 over 40 and made an impact. The same can be said for Connor Phillips (31.2% Whiff%), who was pivotal for the Reds down the stretch.

Early Projected Top 5 for 2026

1. Sal Stewart
2. Rhett Lowder
3. Alfredo Duno
4. Steele Hall
5. Tyson Lewis

Aside from Stewart obviously being the top guy here, #2-#4 can be arranged in several different ways. We have Lowder ahead of both Duno and Hall.

Even though Rhett Lowder didn’t pitch much last season, it’s hard to penalize him too much for that. Injuries kept him from pitching in Cincinnati last season. However, the good news is that Lowder came back strong in the Arizona Fall League this past fall, and it’s hard to ignore what he did in the Majors late in 2024.

At #5 is Tyson Lewis, one of the best high schoolers available two years ago, who performed very well. It would not be a shock to have him even higher this time next year. However, it also wouldn’t be a shock to not see him there at all, given how much swing-and-miss is in his game.