The Cincinnati Reds will be adding plenty of new players over the next few weeks as they draft, and eventually sign 25-30 players before the end of June gets here. Every year around this time the organization has to release players in order to fulfill the roster requirements for players on each roster. That began on Saturday as the Reds released two former Top 30 prospects in the organization when they let go of outfielder Gabriel Rosa and right handed pitcher Pedro Diaz.
Gabriel Rosa is still just 21-years-old and was a 2011 2nd round draft pick. Rosa tantalized with his tools, showing above-average speed, power and athleticism. He was never able to take those tools and translate them into on-field production. Rosa ranked as high as 16th in my own rankings and 20th in the Baseball America rankings, both after the 2011 season. In his four years with the Reds he hit .202/.285/.323. He was ineligible to play in rookie ball this season, so he would have had to make the jump back to Dayton once the rookie league seasons began.
Pedro Diaz turned 22 at the end of April, though he, like Rosa, hadn’t appeared in a game yet this season. His release comes as a surprise given that I had heard good things on him from spring training. The right hander ranked as the Reds 17th best prospect by Baseball America after the 2012 season and ranked as high as 27th in my own rankings. He showed good arm strength, but he struggled to find consistency over several seasons, posting a 5.34 ERA with the organization in 92 appearances.