After the 2016 season Aristides Aquino took home the Chief Bender Award as the Cincinnati Reds Minor League Player of the Year. That season, in the pitcher friendly Florida State League, Aquino hit .273/.327/.519 with 26 doubles, 12 triples, and 23 home runs. The power output was very impressive given the league – which is notorious for sapping the power of nearly everyone.
The next two seasons, though, both in Double-A, were a struggle. The power certainly played for Aristides Aquino. He hit 40 doubles, 8 triples, and 37 home runs over the two seasons with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. But he also hit just .227 and posted a .293 on-base percentage in his time through the Southern League.
At the end of November the Cincinnati Reds non-tendered Aquino a contract, removing him from the 40-man roster and making him a free agent. The outfielder almost immediately re-signed with the organization on a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
Following spring training the Reds sent Aristides Aquino to join the Triple-A Louisville Bats. With the struggles he’s had in Double-A the promotion may have suggested he would have some struggles at a higher level of competition. WRONG. At least so far it’s proving to be wrong. The 25-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic has been tearing the cover off of the baseball.
On Thursday night he would rack up three hits, including his fourth home run of the season. He’s played in a total of 12 games this season. To go along with his four home runs he’s also added five doubles. That’s given him a line of .298/.346/.660. It’s early in 2019, but when you go two weeks and are slugging .660, it’s going to catch some eyes. It’s going to turn some heads. And right now, Aristides Aquino is turning the heads of outfielders as they watch the ball go over them and into the seats.
Tyler Stephenson has stopped striking out
Cincinnati Reds catching prospect Tyler Stephenson is coming off of what is arguably the best offensive season of his career. The Florida State League, which as noted above is very pitcher friendly, probably is hiding his steps forward a bit. He hit .250/.338/.392 for the Daytona Tortugas last season. He struck out 21.8% of the time he came to the plate. The year before he had struck out 16.7% of the time. Both of those rates are fine – and in fact, the 16.7% rate is above-average.
This season the catcher from Georgia moved up to Double-A. With the Chattanooga Lookouts he’s come to the plate a total of 37 times. That’s not a lot, so small sample size alert here, but it’s also not nothing. Tyler Stephenson has struck out a grand total of three times in that stretch. That’s a strikeout rate of 8.1% this season. He’s also walked three times this season. It’s unlikely that he’ll maintain such a high rate of contact – that’s an absolutely elite rate of contact, even for the Double-A level.
But if we are going to see an improved rate of contact for Tyler Stephenson, things could get real interesting rather quickly. Stephenson has some real pop in his bat, and while it’s still developing into game power, if you mix that in with a bunch of contact, you are looking at one intriguing prospect at the plate.