Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects to Know

You are reading the free version of the Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects. In this version, you will get the full writeups on the top prospect in the system, the biggest sleeper, and a player I could see breaking out in 2025.

In this edition, you will see what I offer in the full team reports. For every farm system, you will get my top 50 ranked players and detailed reports on the top 30. Each report includes advanced player data, traditional scouting thoughts from live and video looks, plus thoughts from scouts around the league.

Let’s dive in on what you get in the full report!

Glossary:

FFG = Future Fantasy Grade - essentially, what is the likely long-term outcome for the prospect? This is always going to be more conservative. Handing out ace tags is not something I like to do. So, this is a realistic outcome.

90th Peak = If the player hits their best-case outcome, what does it look like?

Variance = How risky is this player’s profile, and how likely are they to hit their likely outcome? Low variance is good; high means more risky.

Format for report: Name/Position/Age on 2025 Opening Day/Height/Weight/Highest Level

Cincinnati Reds Top Prospect

1. Chase Burns, RHP, 22, 6’3”/210, NCAA

Burns spent two seasons at Tennessee, the 2024 National Champs, before transferring to Wake Forest, where he entered one of the best pitching labs in baseball. Burns traded in a national title, but he made himself a huge payday in the process.

Tossing 100 innings this year in 16 starts, Burns posted a 2.70 ERA with 191 strikeouts and 30 walks. His 49 percent strikeout rate went toe-to-toe with Hagen Smith, but the walk rate was a much more palatable 7.7 percent.

Entering the year, Burns utilized just a fastball and slider, but he added a changeup and curveball, giving him four weapons in the arsenal. The fastball averaged 98 mph and touched 101 with 20 inches of IVB on average. It is relatively flat, having just three inches of horizontal movement from a 6’5” release height. He blows it by hitters with the velocity and ride, having a 36 percent whiff rate on the pitch.

The slider is his second most used pitch, checking in in the upper 80s, reaching up to 92 last season. It has some late depth and eight inches of sweep on average, missing bats at an elite clip of 65 percent.

The added curveball gives him a pitch with nine north-to-south movements but also maintains the sweep. It registered at -7 IVB compared to his -1 IVB slider, but kept the eight inches of horizontal movement. It sits in the low 80s.

A changeup was a distant fourth offering for Burns but could develop into a solid pitch. Sitting in the low-90s, Burns’ changeup has a nice ride and 13 inches of horizontal movement regularly.

Burns is built like a high-end starting pitch and certainly has the repertoire to back it.

FFG: High Strikeout SP2

90th Percentile Peak Outcome: 170 IP/3.30 ERA/210 K

Variance: High

Buy/Sell: Buy

Cincinnati Reds Sleeper Prospect

18. Arnaldo Lantigua, OF, 19, 6’2”/200, DSL

Lantigua is a DSL repeater and that will be a deterrent for some, but it is actually something that is becoming more common. After 2023 saw him mash seven home runs in 29 games but struggle with contact, Lantigua returned to the DSL in 2024 and dominated. He hit 11 home runs in 49 games and posted a slash of .301/.430/.575, and walked as often as he struck out.

Considering the rather large frame while having a big leg kick and rather aggressive swing, Lantigua actually has good timing. His hips clear early, but he has shown the ability to wait back, even on breaking balls. The adjustments in the box are good.

Lantigua made contact on nearly 80 percent of pitches he swung at in 2024 with an in-zone rate north of 88 percent. The chase rate improved from 2023 and sat at 16 percent, which led to walking as often as he struck out.

The power really stands out, though, as Lantigua posted a strong 104 mph 90th percentile exit velocity. His swing is geared for loft, as he posted an air percentage north of 70 percent with a pull rate of 55 percent. It is no surprise that Lantigua was able to hit some big home runs.

If the contact translates as Lantigua comes stateside, he could vault toward the top of this list.

Cincinnati Reds 2025 Breakout Prospect

8. Tyson Lewis, SS, 19, 6’2”/195, HS

Power, speed, and athleticism? Lewis checks all three boxes while having a strong 6’2”/195 frame. The lefty generates natural loft in his swing and registered exit velocities as high as 108 mph which easily tops his class. Not to mention, he clocked a 6.4-second 60-yard dash, which is plus or better speed.

Lewis is known as one of the harder workers in the class and has undergone a swing change over the last year. He now looks much more natural with his swing. While he already has a great frame, he still has room to fill out and add more power. Among the prep shortstops, he already has some of the best power in that group.

There are some concerns about swing and miss against secondary pitches right now, but the results spoke for themselves. Lewis slashed an impressive .496/.579/.912 with eight home runs and 29 extra-base hits. He stole 31 bases as well. This is a profile I’m very intrigued by.

FFG: Toolsy MI

90th Percentile Peak Outcome: .270/.340/20 HR/20 SB

Variance: Very High

Buy/Sell: Buy