There are times when players are locked in and then there are times where whatever is a few levels above that. That’s where Alfredo Duno is at right now. On Sunday evening he had another big game in Daytona, going 3-4 with a walk, two home runs, and he drove in five for the Tortugas in their 12-7 win over Jupiter.
For Alfredo Duno, his two home run night was just a continuation of him crushing the ball over the last eight games. On May 23rd he went 2-3 with two walks and had been beyond locked in ever since. In his eight games he’s gone 11-23 with two doubles, two home runs, 12 walks, and four strikeouts. That’s led to him hitting .478/.667/.826 during that span. His OPS has gone from .777 entering the day on the 23rd to .896 after the game on Sunday.
Overall on the season the 19-year-old catcher is hitting .268/.406/.490 with 12 doubles, two triples, and six home runs. He’s walked 32 times and has 40 strikeouts in his 192 plate appearances. His .406 on-base percentage ranks 6th in the Florida State League, his .490 slugging percentage and his .896 OPS both rank 4th in the league, and he’s tied for 8th in the league with 28 runs batted in.
Duno is leading the league in doubles, he’s 9th in the league in home runs, and he’s second in the league with 20 extra-base hits. He’s not just showing power for his age, he’s showing big time power for anyone in the league.
Sunday saw him pick up three hits. His single came off of the bat at 112 MPH. His two home runs went 400 and 431 feet. While big time power has been in his scouting report since he signed, it has taken very little time to start showing up in games.
The Dominican Summer League starts up
On Monday morning the 2025 Dominican Summer League gets started. The Cincinnati Reds have two teams in the league – the DSL Reds and the DSL Rojos. The rosters between the two teams are at times flexible and we’ve seen the organization have guys play for both teams during the same season.
The season is 56 games and will run through August 19th. There are six divisions in the Dominican Summer League. The DSL Reds will be playing in the DSL West, while the DSL Rojos will be playing in the DSL Northwest. The two teams will face off three times during the season.
Who to watch for
Realistically, everyone. For the most part we’re talking about guys who will be 17 or 18-years-old. That’s still a time in an athletes career when things can change in a hurry and a guy who didn’t get a big bonus can have turned into a real prospect in the time since they agreed to that deal.
While the rosters aren’t out yet and we don’t know if anyone is injured and will miss some time this year, there are a few guys to keep a close eye on who look to be returning to the DSL this season who were there last year.
In the 2024 international signing class the Reds had two 7-figure signings. The top bonus was given to Adolfo Sanchez. The next biggest bonus went to Naibel Mariano. Both guys showed flashes, but both guys also struggled at the plate in 2024. Following the season, Sanchez made some changes to his swing. We’ll see how those go for him when the 2025 season begins.
The two guys who performed well at the plate but didn’t get brought stateside this year are Jirvin Morillo and Jaset Martinez. Morillo, a switch-hitting catcher, hit .254/.442/.447 with 17 extra-base hits in 39 games last year while walking nearly twice as often as he struck out. Martinez played 40 of his 41 games in the field at first base. He hit .261/.405/.428 with 16 extra-base hits in 45 games and had 30 walks with just 25 strikeouts.
The 2025 international signing class only had one 7-figure signing and that bonus went to Liberts Aponte. The shortstop is known for his outstanding defense and athleticism. Scouting reports from his signing had his bat are more of a hit over power profile, but a guy who could develop some more power down the line as his frame fills out.
A few other guys to keep an eye on who will be making their pro debut this year would include catcher Enry Torres out of Venezuela, outfielder Isaac Garcia out of Venezuela, and infielder Angel Salio out of the Dominican Republic. The link above for the scouting report on Aponte also has reports on these three players.