Rising stars who could shape the Reds' future

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon's Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- Mining homegrown talent by drafting and developing players is the key for the Reds to try and stay competitive, because they know as a small-market club, they can't overspend their way to success.

After having 16 players reach the big leagues in 2023, nine more players made their Major League debut for Cincinnati in '24. Among the prospects were starting pitchers Rhett Lowder (Reds' No. 2 prospect, No. 33 overall) and Julian Aguiar (Cincinnati's No. 11 prospect) and outfielder Rece Hinds.

MLB Pipeline ranked the Reds’ farm system at No. 14 in baseball, after it entered the year in the No. 10 spot and finished 2023 at No. 5. Part of it is because many of the system's best players are still extremely young and still playing below the Double-A level.

Here's a look at how a few of the Reds’ prospects fared in 2024.

3 players who forced their way onto the radar

2B/LF Tyler Callihan (unranked)
A lefty-hitting second baseman and left fielder, Callihan was Cincinnati's third-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and is a former Top 30 prospect. A right elbow strain wrecked most of his '21 season at Single-A Daytona, and he was left exposed to the Rule 5 Draft last winter. Despite missing two months, things clicked more this season. In 69 games at Double-A Chattanooga, the 24-year-old batted .271 with a .758 OPS and eight homers before finishing the season with four games at Triple-A Louisville and going 5-for-14 with a homer. Given the opportunity to play in the Arizona Fall League, there's a good chance that Callihan will be added to the 40-man roster and protected from the Rule 5 Draft this time around.

RHP Zach Maxwell (Reds' No. 21 prospect)
Cincinnati's sixth-round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, Maxwell's size stands out at 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds. The right-hander began '24 at Chattanooga and had a 1.23 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 14 games before getting moved up. At Louisville, there were some adjustments needed as Maxwell had a 3.89 ERA over 39 appearances and his WHIP jumped to 1.60. The organization felt he was getting used to more advanced hitters and the automated balls and strikes system. Over his final 10 games, Maxwell appeared more dialed in, with a 1.64 ERA.

RHP Chase Petty (Reds' No. 8 prospect)
Petty went 10-5 with a 4.39 ERA in 26 starts at Chattanooga. He allowed 116 hits and 56 walks while striking out 123 in 127 innings. He reached Louisville by the end of the 2024 season and posted a 1.80 ERA in two starts. After turning 21 in April, the right-hander showed some endurance down the stretch when three of his last five starts were seven innings. If the big league rotation depth is again tested by injuries in 2025, Petty could get a shot to make his debut.

2 breakout players to watch in 2025

SS Edwin Arroyo (Reds' No. 3 prospect)
If you've committed all of the past Reds newsletters to memory, you might recall I had Arroyo listed here as a breakout player to watch in 2024. Then on March 13, he lost a full year of development when he tore the labrum in his left shoulder diving back on a pickoff play and needed season-ending surgery. The No. 65-ranked prospect in baseball, the 21-year-old Arroyo is making up for some lost at-bats by playing in the Arizona Fall League. If he can catch up and hit the ground running next season, Arroyo could move up quickly.

3B/2B Sal Stewart (Reds' No. 4 prospect)
It's a shame that a wrist injury from an off-field accident required surgery and ended Stewart's season for High-A Dayton in mid-July because he was well on his way to a strong year. The No. 76 prospect in baseball, the 20-year-old batted .279/.391/.454 with 46 RBIs and following a trend of stability from the previous season, drew almost as many walks (50) as strikeouts (57) over 80 games and 338 plate appearances. He slugged eight homers, including a reported 454-foot homer over the batter's eye at Fifth Third Field in June. Stewart is expected to open 2025 at Double-A.

1 big prospect question for next season

Will Chase Burns follow the Lowder blueprint?
The second overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest and the organization's No. 1 prospect (No. 21 in baseball), Burns signed for $9.25 million and did not pitch professionally this year, instead building up his arm at the team complex in Arizona. Lowder also did not pitch his first summer. Then, he zoomed through the system from High-A to the big leagues within 22 starts over three levels.

Once he was called up to Cincinnati near the end of the season, Lowder posted a 1.17 ERA in six starts. If there is a need later in 2025 like there was in '24, the Reds could have a similar decision to make with Burns if he shows he is ready.