The Cincinnati Reds landed four prospects in the ESPN.com Top 100 prospect list that was released this morning by Keith Law. That’s the fewest Top 100 prospects we’ve seen on a national list thus far, with five or six prospects making the other lists. You will need to be an ESPN Insider to read the list and the scouting reports though.
Right handed pitcher Robert Stephenson ranks as the top Reds prospect, making the list at #31 overall. Law liked some of the steps forward he took in 2015, but notes there’s still some work to do.
Outfielder Jesse Winker is the next Reds prospect to show up on the list. Winker finds himself 10 spots further down the list than Stephenson did, coming in at #41. Law believes that Winker would help the offense out right now at the big league level, but he’s going to start in the minors to begin the year and continue to develop skills on both sides of the ball.
Left handed starter Cody Reed finds himself as the next Red on the list, coming in at #54 overall. Law likes a lot of what Reed brings, but wants to see some more consistency from the offspeed stuff. He also notes how strong he’s been against left handed batters.
Left handed starter Amir Garrett wraps up the Reds representation in the Top 100 list, coming in at #86 overall. Law notes the improvements he’s made with his three pitches over the years and a continued need to improve his change up, but really likes the steps forward he’s made.
It was a solid, but unspectacular showing for the Reds system here. Notably missing from the list was Jose Peraza, who ranked inside of the Baseball Prospectus, MLB.com and Scout.com Top 100 lists. Law addressed Peraza in his chat, which you can read in it’s entirety (for free) here.
As for Peraza, a second baseman with no power and a .316 OBP is not someone who belongs on a top 100. The reports from the past year were worse than the year before, and now with two years gone from shortstop, the odds of him being able to return there seem quite slim.
I can’t say that I disagree with him too much, though I do think there’s possibly enough value tied up in his base running and defense to be valuable enough to make up for the lack of power and on-base percentage. Whether he can actually do that, I don’t know, but Billy Hamilton has shown what defense and speed can do for your value even if you can’t hit your way out of a wet paper bag. And I think most believe that Jose Peraza is going to hit more than Billy Hamilton has hit thus far in his career.