Reds Top 25 Prospects Update: 16-20

All week long I’m going to unveil the Cincinnati Reds midseason update of the Top 25 prospects. Every day will have five new additions to the list as we work through things until Friday’s completion. You can see the entire list here (once completed).

16. Aristides Aquino | OF | Previous: #22

When I finalized my rankings last week, Aristides Aquino was hitting .258/.319/.434 on the season for the Daytona Tortugas. Since then he’s hit .500, going 15-30 with six extra-base hits and raised his line on the year to .283/.339/.476. The outfielder is having a season very reminiscent of the one he had with the Billings Mustangs in 2014, at least when we factor in the different hitting environments (The Pioneer League is extremely hitter friendly, while the Florida State League is extremely pitcher friendly). Hie walk rate is up a tad since then, but his strikeout rate is nearly identical and he’s showing off good power as well. He’s also got 11 outfield assists in right field for the Tortugas. Stock: Up

17. Chris Okey | C | Previous: College

The Cincinnati Reds tabbed Chris Okey as their 2nd round pick out of Clemson earlier this month. The 21-year-old has played in just nine games since the draft, all coming with the Billings Mustangs. It’s been a slow start, hitting just .162 in that span. The Reds don’t seem concerned by the slow start, nor should they be, as they just promoted him to Low-A Dayton. He projects to be solid across the board in all aspects of the game, which as a catcher makes several of those areas big strengths, particularly at the plate. With the Mustangs he controlled the running game well in his short time, throwing out 40% of attempted base runners.

18. Jose Lopez | RHP | Previous: #19

The season started out well for Jose Lopez, allowing just one run in 5.2 innings in his first start, but the next two didn’t go nearly as well. He allowed 10 runs in 9.1 innings over those two starts. Since then, he’s been lights out for the Dayton Dragons. Over his 12 starts since that point he’s posted a 2.81 ERA in 67.1 innings with 18 walks and 70 strikeouts and allowed just one home run. For the season he’s got a 3.50 ERA in 82.1 innings and he’s struck out 86 batters with just 22 walks. Stock: Same

19. Alex Blandino | 2B/SS | Previous: #9

To say it’s been a tough season for Alex Blandino would be an understatement. He began the year on the disabled list after an injury late in spring training while participating in a World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament with Nicaragua. When he returned a few weeks later he joined Pensacola and he’s never really gotten things going at the plate. He’s hitting .192/.296/.310 this season.  After striking out just 16% of the time in the 2015 season that rate has jumped up to 27% this year. His power output is also down. His walk rate is still strong, sitting at 11.4%, but his game has taken a step backwards this year. At 23 there’s time to turn things around, but the big jump in his strikeout rate is concerning. Stock: Down

20. Calten Daal | SS/2B | Previous: Unranked

Injuries have kept Calten Daal out of the lineup in 2016, limiting him to just 33 games played this year. When he’s been on the field though, he’s produced. He’s hitting .330/.387/.381 so far this year to go with four stolen bases. All of his starts have come at shortstop in 2016, though he’s also seen action at second base in the past. There’s not much power to his game, he’s only hit one home run in 967 career plate appearances and the extra-base hits in terms of doubles or triples aren’t piling up either. What he can do though is play up the middle, do some damage on the base paths and make contact with the ball. Stock: Up slightly

Scouting Reports

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16. Aristides Aquino | After a lost 2015 season that saw Aquino suffer through a broken bone that cost him the first half, and a poor showing in the second half, he’s rebounded very well in 2016. Plate discipline is still his biggest weakness, but he’s made strides in this area. It will be something to continue to watch as he moves up the ladder, but the improvement has been real. The outfielder has good tools across the board with above-average power potential thanks to good leverage and strength being his best one. Defensively he profiles best in right field where his arm plays well and his speed gives him good range in both corners.

17. Chris Okey | The biggest weakness for Chris Okey may be that he doesn’t have anything that stands out in his game. He doesn’t have what we call a “carrying tool”. At the same time nothing in his game stands out as a true weakness either. It’s early in his career, so that is certainly subject to change as we get more data on how he handles the transition to facing other professionals, but the scouting reports all seem to suggest he’s average to a little better across the board with the exception of his speed – which doesn’t matter much as a catcher. At the plate he should hit for a solid average and he’s got some pop in his bat that should play well for the position. Behind the plate nothing stands out, but he’s got a good enough arm and is noted to be a strong leader of a pitching staff.

18. Jose Lopez | The biggest weakness for Jose Lopez is his third pitch, a change up. It just isn’t as good as his fastball and slider combination and is a pitch he’s going to have to continue to work on. On the flip side, his fastball and slider are both quality offerings. His velocity is down a tick from where he ended the season at last year, but it’s worth noting he threw harder as the year progressed in 2015 – so we may see something similar this year as well. If not, he’s still in the low 90’s with good movement. He’s had a few outings where he’s just had that one inning he couldn’t get past that led to most of, or all of his struggles within that particular outing. Those have been happening less as we’ve moved forward in the season though.

19. Alex Blandino | The biggest weakness for Alex Blandino used to be that he seemed a little bit too much like a tweener. A guy who may not have enough defense to play up the middle but not enough bat to play at the corners. This season though, the biggest issue has been his ability to simply put the bat on the ball. His strikeout rate has nearly doubled from his rates in 2015.  Defensively he looks like he can handle second base for a while, though he’s not a standout defender there.  The questions are all about his bat at this point, and hopefully the injury and late start to the season have just led to a spiraling in 2016 and he can recover to where he was at prior to the season. He’s got double digit home run power to work with, and if he can start to make more contact he should be able to have a high enough average to work at second base.

20. Calten Daal | The biggest weakness for Calten Daal is his strength. He’s a singles oriented hitter who slaps everything the opposite way. There are concerns that he’s not strong enough to handle hard, inside offerings and continue to hit enough. With enough defense to play shortstop and second base, combined with above-average running speed, he could still profile as a utility infielder down the line if those concerns about his strength prove to be true.

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