Cincinnati Reds Farm System Overview – 2010
Overview
It’s been 14 years since the Cincinnati Reds have been to the playoffs, but the team has been building a foundation over the past few years and it seems like they’re on the verge of finally breaking out.
The team has a young core in which it is building around. Joey Votto is becoming an All Star level first baseman at age 26. Jay Bruce has now had a year to adjust to big league pitching. Drew Stubbs is now established in center field. Todd Frazier, Yonder Alonso, Chris Heisey, and Juan Francisco are all Major League ready and as a result, some roster decisions will eventually have to be made.
The team’s pitching has come along at a similar rate. Homer Bailey finally broke through last year and Johnny Cueto has now had two seasons to establish himself. He had a sophomore slump, but the team hopes he takes a step up in performance in 2010. Aroldis Chapman has lived up to the hype thus far in Spring Training and gives the team a potential No. 1 starter, while Mike Leake is an excellent contrast in styles to many of the other pitching prospects the team has assembled over the years.
If Edinson Volquez was healthy, this team would like big time sleeper to contend for a playoff spot this season.
The team hasn’t had one draft that you can point to as the tipping point for this franchise. The team has mostly had steady drafts, slowly accumulating talent over the years. The Reds have had a strong presence in Latin America, signing Cueto and Francisco in recent years, while also signing the likes of toolsy, but extremely raw outfielders Yorman Rodriguez out of Venezuela and Juan Duran of the Dominican Republic, not to mention Chapman.
While the team is under pressure to win and some prospects will likely have to be dealt since many spots are already filled for years to come, trades like the one that involved sending Zach Stewart, Edwin Encarnacion, and Josh Roenicke to Toronto for Scott Rolen need to be avoided. That was the worst trade any team made last year and made no sense at the time for the Reds and it still doesn’t make sense today.
Still, the Reds will continue to build on the young core they’ve built up over the last few years and while we can classify them as a sleeper team for 2010, it seems like 2011 is the year where a playoff run will be made.
Reds Top-15 Prospects
Key Links1. Aroldis Chapman | LHP | Age – 22 | Grade – A-
2. Yonder Alonso | 1b | Age – 23 | Grade – B
3. Todd Frazier | 2b/3b | Age – 24 | Grade – B
4. Mike Leake | RHP | Age – 22 | Grade – B
5. Chris Heisey | OF | Age – 25 | Grade – B/B-
6. Juan Francisco | 3b/1b/LF | Age – 22 | Grade – B-
7. Travis Wood | LHP | Age – 23 | Grade – B-
8. Matt Maloney | LHP | Age – 26 | Grade – C+/B-
9. Brad Boxberger | RHP | Age – 21 | Grade – C+
10. Yorman Rodriguez | CF | Age – 17 | Grade – C+
11. Josh Fellhauer | OF | Age – 22 | Grade – C+
12. Donnie Joseph | LHP | Age – 22 | Grade – C+
13. Zack Cozart | SS | Age – 24 | Grade – C/C+
14. Billy Hamilton | SS | Age – 19 | Grade – C
15. Neftali Soto | 3b | Age – 21 | Grade – C
› Prospect Primer (Grading Criteria Explained)
› Team Page Listings
› Index of 2010 Top-15 Prospect Lists
› Index of 2009 Top-15 Prospect Lists
Reds Links
› Reds Team Page
› 2009 Reds Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5
› 2009 Reds Top Prospects, No’s 6 – 15
