Last week I unveiled my Cincinnati Reds Top 25 Prospects for the 2016 season over at my site. Over the next 100 days I will be releasing a season review, video (for most guys at least) and a scouting report (this part is only for subscribers) on the Top 100 prospects in the organization. On Monday the guys over at Baseball America (mostly JJ Cooper) released their version of the Cincinnati Reds Top 10 Prospects. The lists from Keith Law at ESPN, John Sickels at Minor League Ball and the guys/gals at Baseball Prospectus will be coming later this offseason.
For now though, we have two lists. My list and the list put together by JJ Cooper at Baseball America. As I was working on my list I had a general idea of where I figured guys would rank before I started. Some quick background information on how I create my list is to open up an Excel spreadsheet and rank players by their position in each column. Once all positions are ranked, I can start comparing only the guys on the top line for the next overall spot on the list. It makes things go much more smoothly for me. Once I began to reach the spots in the teens things became much more difficult as I began seeing names that I was certain would rank in that range falling outside of that range rather easily. There were several players left outside of my Top 25 who were absolutely in there when the list began, at least in my “this guy goes here” thinking.
In the chat over at Baseball America about the Reds prospect list, Cooper seemed to run into the same thing.
J.J. Cooper: And beyond that, there is some very solid depth. This is a year where I was leaving out guys I wanted to rank in the Reds Top 30 for the Handbook.
With how the Cincinnati Reds season played out in 2015, it’s easy to understand why there is plenty of talk out there among fans that the farm system stinks. The guys that they called up, for the most part, simply weren’t ready or weren’t good. That, of course, isn’t a reflection on the system as a whole, simply a reflection that the Triple-A squad wasn’t chock full of prospects that were ready to make the jump into the big leagues in 2015.
Despite that, the Reds did have plenty of rookies who did step up in 2015. Anthony DeSclafani and Raisel Iglesias stepped into the rotation. Brandon Finnegan and John Lamb both showed things at times that were impressive. Eugenio Suarez technically wasn’t a rookie entering the season, but he was certainly a young player who stepped up when called upon and more than held his own. Tucker Barnhart also showed that he’s going to be a solid big league back up catcher at the very least, if not a chance for more.
The organization seems to have a lot of young talent right now. Between the guys that stepped into roles in 2015 with the big club and the depth that the minor league system is beginning to show, a year or two down the road could really start to see things turn around. And things could be even brighter if the Reds are able to flip some of the guys they are rumored to be listening in on over the offseason. Oh, and they also have the #2 overall pick in the 2016 draft. It may take a year or two before the Reds are truly competitive again, but the parts seem to be lining up.