Reds' farm features high-end talent, depth
Last time we checked in on the Reds' farm system, they were in full-on rebuild mode. How's that going so far?
• MLB's Top 10 farm systems | Reds Top 30 Prospects list
In most ways, it's gone according to plan. The Reds still have one of the top 10 farm systems in baseball, coming in at No. 8 on this year's list. There's some serious high-end talent coming, with five landing on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, and there is a good amount of depth up and down the Reds' new Top 30.
:: Team Top 30 Prospects lists ::
It all starts, of course, with the guy at the top, Nick Senzel. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 Draft has been even better than advertised, if that's possible. He's shown all five tools and has proven to be athletic enough to at least get a look at shortstop this spring. There's a reason why he's in the top 10 overall and could be the first elite-level impact player to hit Cincinnati since the overhaul began in 2015.
Reds fans will have to wait longer for last year's No. 2 overall pick, Hunter Greene, to get to the big leagues. But he has as much ceiling as perhaps any pitching prospect in baseball and the Senzel-Greene combination belongs in any conversation with top hitting-pitching prospect duos in baseball (with a nod to the White Sox tandem of Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech).
:: Top 10 Farm Systems ::
There are other high-ceiling players like Taylor Trammell (No. 43 on the Top 100) and Jose Siri, and there are guys who touched the big leagues last year who should contribute on a larger level this season, like Jesse Winker and Tyler Mahle. The trio of Senzel, Greene and Trammell ranks higher than any the Reds have had since Jay Bruce, Homer Bailey and Joey Votto were Nos. 1, 9 and 34 on our 2008 list.
And that's just the top 10. There are role players and relievers up and down the top 30 who will help the Reds win more games now, with prospects with more impact potential on the way. That's been especially helped by the organization's aggressive efforts on the international market, bringing in a number of Cuban players -- Vladimir Gutierrez, Jose Israel Garcia and Alfredo Rodriguez -- who dot the Top 30 this year.
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2017 preseason list to the 2018 preseason list.
Jump: Jose Siri, OF (2017: NR | 2018: 9)
Fall: Nick Travieso, RHP (2017: 21 | 2018: NR)
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: 70 -- Nick Senzel
Power: 55 -- Senzel (Aristides Aquino)
Run: 70 -- Jose Siri (Taylor Trammell, TJ Friedl)
Arm: 70 -- Aquino
Defense: 65 -- Alfredo Rodriguez
Fastball: 80 -- Hunter Greene
Curveball: 60 -- Vladimir Gutierrez
Slider: 60 - Tanner Rainey
Changeup: 55 -- Tony Santillan
Control: 60 -- Tyler Mahle
How they were built
Draft: 21
International: 5
Trade: 3
Free agent: 1
Breakdown by ETA
2018: 11
2019: 8
2020: 7
2021: 4
Breakdown by position
C: 2
1B: 2
2B: 2
3B: 1
SS: 4
OF: 7
RHP: 10
LHP: 2