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    Reds land 4 players in the MLB Top 100 Prospect list

    Doug Gray 38

    MLB Pipeline has updated their Top 100 Prospect List, as well as their organizational Top 30 Prospects list. Let’s start by taking a look at the Top 100 Prospect list, where the Cincinnati Reds landed four players.

    Taylor Trammell remains at the top of the list for the Reds, coming in at #30 overall. The outfielder has had some inconsistency this season. The 21-year-old had an OPS of .846 in April, but his OPS in the three months since have been .637, .635, and .650. Overall he’s hittign .236/.351/.339. The walks are up, significantly, while his strikeout rate is roughly the same as it was last year. But the power is way down in 2019 as he’s battled through several injuries but remained on the field and played through them. He’s also stolen 17 bases in 21 attempts.

    Hunter Greene cracks the list at #53. While he hasn’t pitched this season due to the fact that he underwent Tommy John in early April after tearing his UCL in late March during spring training. The #2 overall draft pick in the 2017 draft was trying to rehab a previous tear in his UCL that was suffered in July of 2018 while he was pitching the the Dayton Dragons.

    Another pitcher is next on the Top 100 list representing the Reds. Nick Lodolo, the 1st round pick this season, comes in at #61 on the list. So far the results for the left-handed pitcher have been outstanding, though in a limited fashion. He’s only thrown 14.1 innings over seven starts between Billings and Dayton, but his ERA is 2.51. He’s yet to walk a hitter and he has struck out 26 of the 59 batters that he’s faced.

    The final Reds prospect to make the list is 2018 1st round pick Jonathan India. The third baseman comes in at #96 on the list. He’s spent most of his season in the pitching friendly Florida State League, but was promoted from Daytona to Chattanooga just over a week ago. Between his two stops this season he’s hitting .254/.349/.398 through 94 games this season.

    The Cincinnati Reds Top 30 List

    The crew at MLB Pipeline also updated their Top 30 Prospect list for the Cincinnati Reds. There’s some changes on the list from the start of the season. The top five prospects aren’t surprising. After that is where we start to see things get a little different from the other lists. 2019 draft picks Tyler Callihan and Rece Hinds are ahead of Tyler Stephenson, Michael Siani, and Jose Garcia – who rounds out the top 10.

    The most underrated player on the list, in my opinion, is Joel Kuhnel. The right-hander has dominated out of the bullpen in 2019 for both Chattanooga and Louisville. He has a 2.02 ERA in 49.0 innings with 12 walks (3 IBB) and 45 strikeouts between his two stops. And he can throw triple digits. He’s got the stuff, the numbers, and he’s doing it in Triple-A. Being rated 25th on the list seems a bit low at this point, especially since he was ranked 26th when the season began on this list.

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    38 Responses

    2. If you’re a pitcher getting it done in AAA this year, then my interest is piqued. Do you think we might see Kuhnel in the bigs this year?

      1. I think we very well could, yes. I’m almost to the point that I’m surprised we haven’t seen him yet. I’d have swapped him out for Peralta by now.

        2. Saw Joel Kuhnel last night and can see why your so impressed, I think he threw at least one pitch at 98 mph and had very good control. More importantly, I was impressed with his mound presence, not the kind of fellow I’d want to meet in a dark alley. Big, strong guy and looks 35 years old. They should bring him up in September at the latest.

      2. Exactly my sentiment, too. Is Alex Powers worthy of a call up in Sept? Is his age (27) hurting him at all in that he’s seen more as AAAA? Or he just doesn’t have overwhelming stuff?

        1. I’d rather he be playing to to his draft pick. Is that too much to ask?

          1. Mize 2
          2. Bart 21
          3. Bohm 37
          4. Madrigal 43
          5. India 95
          6. Kelenic 24

          What’s the outlier here? Hmm

      3. DocBB-

        Haven’t seen you around before. I was like you until I learned that very precious few first rounders even get a cup of coffee in the majors.

        Where did I learn that? By reading Doug Gray. Perhaps Doug can remind us of that statistic, and then you will feel a little less disappointed.

        Cheers.

      4. More India hate…..lol

        I just don’t get it.

        Cannot wait until he makes everyone eat their words.

        1. Your average Reds fan does things like hate on Nick Senzel for leaving a game in the first inning due to illness.

          They are like spring break…no class.

      5. I’m not saying India was the wrong pick, but he does only have 8 homers and 15 doubles for a power hitter. That is a bit concerning for sure and without a track record like Trammell or Santillan have of success in minors.

        Across the board in AA down top hitting prospects have been struggling more than succeeding so it’s not overly alarming but surely worth a grumble or two. Doesn’t mean anyone is writing him off…..

    4. Remember that one time the Phillies passed on Nick Senzel in favor of Micky Moniac……. Man sucks to suck LOL.

      1. It’s a shame every player drafted before Trout hasn’t out preformed him too lol.

        2. Or (Indians) took Ray Fosse in 1965 and passed on Johnny Bench. Six other teams took C ahead of Bench.

    5. Nick longhi and even alfredo Rodriguez got back on the list but not Aquino? Does that seem right?

    6. I couldn’t agree more with you about Kuhnel, Doug. I’ve been kind of following his progress since early on and he’s done nothing but impress. I guess some guys just have to blow EVERYONE away before they want to acknowledge being wrong about anything.

    7. I can see how the Reds farm system is now ranked #20. With the exception of Lodolo, every Reds prospect has dropped, and dropped significantly. Trammell was talked about as being a near top-10 prospect ranking before the season, but now comes in at #30. Hunter Greene is what he is, a lot of hype. But that hype is dying out. Not even in the top 50 anymore. Lodolo may end up as the Reds #1 prospect by season’s end. India at #95 is hardly something to crow about since he came into the season as a top 50. What a crap pick India has been. Kelenic, drafted one spot behind India, will be a top 5 prospect this time next year, while India will struggle to stay in the top 100. Santillan has fallen way out of the top 100. Siri doesn’t even get any top 100 honorable mentions anymore. Callihan and Hinds at #6 and #7 on the Reds is just a bad, bad joke. Hinds cannot even take the field since being drafted.
      MLB Pipeline did a terrible job ranking these Reds prospects. Just terrible. There must be 5 or 6 players listed here that have no business being ranked in the Reds top-30. Gutierrez, Mella, Heatherly, Ivan Johnson, Jared Solomon, and James Marinan should not be listed here, unless the Reds farm system is truly that bad.
      Not impressed by MLB Pipeline.
      The Reds 2019 draft was a head scratcher, other than Lodolo. The Reds new scouting and drafting brain trust was no better than the previous lame regime.
      It is easy to see how the Reds fell from a top-10 farm system to #20 now. Graduations, poor performances from many top prospects, and injuries have definitely led to such a sizeable downgrade.

      1. India is going to be fine. Trammell is going to be fine. We can’t compare everyone to Nick Senzel, he’s a stud and not ever top pick is going to be that good. I’m much more worried about the pitchers on the list than the position players. The Reds seem to be unable to develop their own pitching.

      2. Where are you reading that Kelenic will outshine India by next year?

        Their slash lines and K:BB aren’t that dissimilar. Furthermore, Kelenic hasn’t made it out of A yet, whereas India made it to AA already.

        1. I saw 7 games with Kelenic playing at the A level this year. The kid is a stud. He is going to be a very good player for the M’s.
          Kelenic was 19 years old at A level and just turned 20 after his promotion to A+. Kelenic hit .309/.394/.586/.980 at A ball earlier this year, when he was 19. He has had some small struggles at A+.
          India was 21 when he was at the A level and hit a meager .229/.339/.396/.735. India’s OPS was .245 points lower at the A level. India is a .250 hitter, nothing more, nothing less.
          Whenever or wherever India puts up a line like .309/.394/.586/.980, please get back with me.

    8. The Reds could land a top 100 player for any of their projected trade pieces, just have to find the right team desperate enough to win now. The Braves reportedly want an outfielder, the Phillies, Twins, Dodgers, Yankees, Braves, Brewers, Cubs and Astros all need pitching help. Time to cash in some chips.

    9. Doug,

      Do you think the turnover on the farm, the new culture, and direction has anything to do with the struggles of some of the higher prospects this year? If you remove the new draft picks from the top 15, there are only a couple that have had better years than last year……Packy, Siani, Garcia, and probably Stephenson.

      2. I think stick with at least one MK-like pearl of wisdom, that being the jump to AA is often considered the most difficult to make. Makes perfect sense, too — all of those A leagues and teams funneling into just three. I’ve been able to lots of AA teams here in CT, and the athletes are better, the game is faster, etc. so, for Santillan, Trammell, perhaps India, and others to struggle at AA should almost be expected. Plus, do we not want our kids to struggle and learn some failure in the minors as preparation for the majors? Overcoming adversity. Man, if I had a metric for that I’d be raking in some do re mi. Here’s something of an aside, at least from the epic rant and rag above, how about Tyler Stevenson doing what he’s doing at AA. If not else, he’s been very, very consistent all year and last as well. What was the big issue with him prior to? Oh yeah, consistency (sure related to health but still). Whoever said it above, yes, Trammell and the others will be just fine.

    10. Just throwing this out there.
      If i am the Reds i am trading Nick Senzel as a centerpiece in a big trade. ”Nick reminds me so much of David Wright”, not just with the bat but with the injury prone issues . I would trade him as fast as i could before that injury prone continues and his stock drops. I mean, it’s so obvious to me that this kid is a Lemon with injury bug along with his vertigo .

      I would also trade Trammel in a big trade as a centerpiece. He is looking more and more like Billy Hamilton with the bat. Trade now while there is some value.

      I would also trade India who looks like nothing more than just a average player who might make it in the big leagues as such. A All star no. He was overrated when the reds drafted him. He just happened to have a good year during the year he was eligible for the draft with no track record before then.

      1. You could package all three for a top prospect. Moniac? Blake Rutherford? Brien Taylor?

    11. It’s been a long, long time since so many from one draft came out ranked so high as this draft. MLB must be real high on this class! Or a perfect storm of a slew of graduates and under-performers.

    12. From Heyman:
      “Braves and A’s join Yankees with interest in Tanner Roark.”

      I thought the Yankees were not interested in a rental starter.

    13. Brand new from Heyman:
      “Braves have shown some interest in Yasiel Puig, one of many OF available. They do not, however, appear engaged on Reyes, Castellanos, Dyson or Peralta.”

      Can we get a package deal here on ailse 1?

      1. Kyle Wright and Gohara for Roark and Puig?? I think Reds can keep Roark on a one year raise and puig extension if they choose too….

        Reds will be worse off in 2020 for sure but that’s a decent return.

    14. Mid season trades. Acquired Edd Roush (HOF and best Reds hitter ever) in 2016. Acquired Don Newcombe from LAD in 1958. Acquired George Foster from SFG in 1971. Acquired Fred Norman from SDP in 1973. Acquired Tom Seaver from NYM in 1977.

      I’d like more of those mid-year trades, please.

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