It’s not quite the Fibonacci sequence, but there’s been an interesting pattern atop the Reds' Top 30 list over the years.

Going back to 2012, hitters and pitchers have been trading off as the No. 1 prospect, and it’s been a bat or an arm for at least two years in a row before passing the baton to the other player group.

2012-13: Hitters (Devin Mesoraco, Billy Hamilton)
2014-15: Pitchers (Robert Stephenson both times)
2016-19: Hitters (Jesse Winker, Nick Senzel three years in a row)
2020-22: Pitchers (Nick Lodolo twice, Hunter Greene)
2023-24: Hitters (Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte)

And now it’s the pitchers’ turn again, thanks to the Reds' recent efforts in the first round of the Draft. Rhett Lowder, the 2023 first-round pick now No. 2 on the list, will graduate soon enough while Chase Burns, last year’s top pick for the organization, has claimed the top spot. The streak could be broken, though, since Burns isn’t expected to take too long to get to Cincinnati, and the next three on the list -- all Top 100 guys -- are hitters in Sal Stewart, Cam Collier and Edwin Arroyo. In fact, after the dynamic mound duo, seven of the next eight are position players.

Regardless of who’s next, the Reds have shown an ability to keep adding talent to a fairly well-regarded farm system from a variety of areas. The top 10 is a microcosm of that, with six drafted players, a pair signed from the international market and two talented prospects acquired via trade.

Here’s a look at the Reds’ top prospects:

1. Chase Burns, RHP (MLB No. 26)
2. Rhett Lowder, RHP (MLB No. 35)
3. Sal Stewart, 2B/3B (MLB No. 83)
4. Cam Collier, 3B (MLB No. 90)
5. Edwin Arroyo, SS (MLB No. 91)
   Complete Top 30 list »

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2024 preseason list to the 2025 preseason list:

Jump: Adam Serwinowski, LHP (2024: 30 | 2025: 12)
A 15th-round pick in '22, Serwinowski was a project who was going to need some time to figure things out. He had size and left-handedness in his favor and the rest was pretty raw. He still has a ways to go but he keeps adding strength and velocity, now touching 97 mph, to go along with a very good power breaking ball that misses bats.

Fall: Lyon Richardson RHP (2024: 14 | 2025: NR)
Richardson came back from missing the '22 season (Tommy John surgery) and was throwing so well at instructs that fall, he was added to the 40-man roster. He’s shown some ability to miss bats with his stuff and even touched the big leagues the past two seasons, but he walked 5.4 per nine at Triple-A last year to bring his career rate to 4.3/9 and has walked 8.3/9 in five big league outings.

Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools – 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 55 -- Sal Stewart
Power: 60 -- Cam Collier
Run: 65 -- Sammy Stafura
Arm: 60 -- Ricardo Cabrera (Cam Collier, Edwin Arroyo, Alfredo Duno, Sheng-En Lin)
Defense: 65 -- Liberts Aponte
Fastball: 70 -- Luis Mey (Zach Maxwell)
Curveball: 60 -- Chase Burns
Slider: 60 -- Chase Burns
Changeup: 55 -- Rhett Lowder (Chase Burns, Tristan Smith, Cole Schoenwetter)
Control: 65 -- Rhett Lowder

How they were built
Draft: 17 | International: 8 | Trade: 5

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Breakdown by ETA
2025: 7 | 2026: 8 | 2027: 8 | 2028: 4 | 2029: 2 | 2030: 1

Breakdown by position
C: 1 | 2B: 3 | 3B: 2 | SS: 5 | OF: 5 | RHP: 13 | LHP: 1