Greene up 44 spots in Top 100 Prospects list
RHP Reds' new No 1; Lodolo, Barrero among others in Top 100
CINCINNATI -- MLB Pipeline revealed its revised midseason Top 100 Prospects list on Thursday, and it included some jostling among members of the Reds organization.
Cincinnati has a new No. 1 prospect in pitcher Hunter Greene, one of five Reds prospects in total named in the overall Top 100 list.
Greene, 22, was one of the biggest risers in the new rankings. The right-hander moved up 44 spots, from No. 71 to No. 27. Left-handed pitcher Nick Lodolo, who previously held the top prospect spot for the Reds, is now their No. 2 prospect and No. 32 overall.
In 17 combined starts for Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, Greene is 8-6 with a 3.16 ERA and 124 strikeouts over 88 1/3 innings. After not pitching competitively since 2018 because of Tommy John surgery, he is back throwing consistently over 100 mph.
Lodolo, 23, is still having a strong season despite missing some time with a blister on his pitching hand. Recently moved up to Louisville, he was 2-1 with a 1.84 ERA in 10 starts for Chattanooga and is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in two starts at Triple-A.
Shortstop Jose Barrero, who was recalled from Louisville on Monday, is ranked No. 3 in the organization and No. 33 overall.
Cincinnati’s 2021 first-round selection, shortstop Matt McLain, is ranked fourth in the organization and broke into the Top 100 at No. 99.
The Reds’ 2020 first-rounder, outfielder Austin Hendrick, is ranked fifth in the organization.
Naquin gets his groove back
During his 2-for-4 day in Wednesday’s loss to the Cubs, center fielder Tyler Naquin slugged a second-inning solo home run to center field. It was Naquin’s 15th homer of the season, a new career high. Twice in his career, he hit 14 homers in a season.
“I plan on hitting a lot more, but 15 is cool,” said Naquin, who also extended his hitting streak to a season-high eight games.
Naquin slugged 10 homers and 35 RBIs over 47 games in the first two months of this season before cooling considerably. He batted .218 with one homer over 25 games in July, but picked up the pace again this month.
“I’m just getting back to being me. The first half was pretty good being me,” Naquin said. “It’s the preparation stuff and how can you get out of it the quickest. Just keep on working, keep on grinding and stick to your roots. Don’t try to do nothing crazy. I’m just being me up there and looking for good stuff to hit. Just putting the barrel on the ball, man, and letting it go.”
During the hitting streak, Naquin came into Thursday batting .419 (13-for-31) with two homers. As a result of his surge, Naquin was moved up to bat second in the lineup vs. the Marlins in Thursday's series opener.
“He’s constantly made adjustments, just like all of our players. That’s the challenge, really, when you get off to a good start or you’re going well for a little while,” Reds manager David Bell said. “You hit a spell where you’re not having much success. You constantly have a choice to make. Probably in anything, but I know in this game, it takes a lot of toughness to stay with it. You have to keep working, keep going. Usually, when you do and you’re talented like Tyler, things come around.
“That’s why knowing players, knowing character, all of that is so important. It’s also why it’s important to look at the big picture sometimes and look at the larger picture without overreacting to parts of the season where guys are struggling. When you can trust they’ll come out of it and you’re seeing all the work put in, it’s nice when you get rewarded like that. I think that’s exactly what Tyler is experiencing right now.”