Reniel Ozuna entered the 2017 season as a relatively unknown prospect. To be fair, he probably ended the 2017 season on that same note for most people. By the end of this article though, hopefully all of that will have changed.
The Cincinnati Reds signed Reniel Ozuna in July of 2015 as a 16-year-old. As is the case in most international signings, the contracts are actually for the next season. In 2016 the Reds sent Ozuna to the Dominican Summer League where he hit .268/.332/.419 with 11 walks and 39 strikeouts in 51 games played as a 17-year-old.
Reniel Ozuna was impressive enough in 2016 that the Cincinnati Reds brought him stateside in 2017. He got out to a slow start with the Arizona League Reds. In the first three weeks of the season the outfielder played in just six games and hit .143 in that span. Over the next two weeks, finishing out the month of July, his performance improved. He would only play in eight games, but hit .259/.333/.407 in Goodyear for the Reds.
When August began, Reniel Ozuna started to see much more playing time. The right handed hitter played in 21 games the rest of the season and went to the plate 86 times. In that span he would hit .321/.372/.436. He would also steal six bases in that time. The strong finish would push his season line to .286/.348/.395 on the season with 11 walks and 30 strikeouts in 132 plate appearances.
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Reniel Ozuna Spray Chart
Reniel Ozuna Scouting Report
Born: 9/30/1998 | Height: 6′ 2″ | Weight: 180 lbs. | B/T: R/R
The average 18-year-old in the Arizona Rookie League in 2017 hit .249/.323/.366. Reniel Ozuna topped all of those marks with a .286/.348/.395 line. His walk rate was almost exactly the league average (8.4%) and his strikeout rate was slightly better than the league average for his age (23%).
He’s able to use the entire field, but in 2017 went the other way quite a bit more often than he pulled the ball. At least when he put the ball in the air. He went to right field 23 times, center field 16 times and left field just 11 times. He did pull the ball on the ground a bit, though.
His power, at least during 2017, was to the opposite field. Only one extra-base hit was hit to the pullside of dead center. The other eight extra-base hits were all to the opposite side of dead center. From a scouting perspective, though, he’s said to have power to all parts of the field. That showed up in the 2016 season, when a majority of his power was to center or the pull side.
Scouting reports relayed to me said that he showed a good understanding of the strikezone. They also seemed to like his hit tool and speed. He was one of the younger players for the Reds in the US this season and he performed well. Couple the age and performance with good scouting reports that like his all-around game and he’s a guy to really keep an eye on in 2018.