In this ongoing series that will last most of spring training, we’re going to look at each player that will be in Major League camp with the Cincinnati Reds. Each post will have some information on the player. There will be some background information, profiling, projections, and more. To see all of the posts in the series, you can click here. Today we are going to look at outfielder Aristides Aquino.
Aristides Aquino’s Background
Acquired: Signed as a non-drafted free agent with Cincinnati in January of 2011.
Born: 4/22/1994
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Height/Weight: 6′ 4″ / 220lbs
Years of MLB Experience: One.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Aristides Aquino wasn’t eligible for the draft. The Reds picked him up as a free agent signing as a 16-year-old back in 2011. He worked his way up through the Reds farm system, making his Major League debut in 2018 – getting into one game during the season. He was released and removed from the 40-man roster on November 30th, but immediately re-signed with the Reds on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training the next day.
Aristides Aquino’s 2018 Season
The 2018 season began for Aristides Aquino in Double-A for the second consecutive season. The year would turn out to be a tale of two halves for the 24-year-old outfielder. In the first 62 games of the season he managed a .231/.288/.417 line in 234 plate appearances. He walked just 6.4% of the time in that stretch, and he struck out 28.6% of the time. Over his final 53 games of the season he hit .249/.325/.481 for Pensacola. His walk rate jumped to 9.4% and he cut his strikeout rate to 21.7%. The overall season was one where he struggled, posting a .754 OPS in the Southern League – but he was better in the second half and made some adjustments.
Aristides Aquino’s Playing History
As noted above, Aristides Aquino signed with the Reds as a 16-year-old back in 2011. He’s been around the system ever since and worked his way up. He spent two seasons in the Dominican Summer League as a teenager before coming to the United States. He struggled early in his career, but came into his own a bit when he was 19 and arrived in the US. Since then he’s had his ups-and-downs. The power has played well, but his plate discipline and contact has been something he’s had struggles with at times.
Projecting Aristides Aquino for 2019
With two seasons in Double-A, and one game in the Major Leagues two of the projection systems felt comfortable having projections listed. The two systems, however, see things quite differently for Aristides Aquino if he were to get some playing time in 2019.
ZiPS Projections | Steamer Projections | Marcels Projections
How could Aristides Aquino fit in Cincinnati in 2019?
It’s a tough fit for Aristides Aquino in Cincinnati during 2019. He’s a corner outfielder on a team that is flush with corner outfielders. And that doesn’t account for the fact that he’s struggled in the upper minor leagues during his career. That’s not to say it’s impossible that he could find time in Cincinnati in 2019. He’s got legitimate pop in his bat. And he’s got a big time arm that would play very well in right field. If he goes out in 2019 and puts things together offensively, there’s a chance that he could find his way into the outfield in Cincinnati in the second half if a spot opens up for one reason or another.
Not sure what is really going on behind the scenes of RLN but this site is quickly becoming my “no more go to” Reds information source.
Care to expand on that? What is going on that is pushing you away?
I find myself going to RLN first for reds news all the time this off season. More articles and I’m a big fan of the old Cossacks comments always intelligent and thought provoking. Keep up the good work and never stop improving
I agree with you, it’s looking more like org depth for him but you never know. I think there’s a good chance he will start out at AA if the the FO decides to keep Senzel down to start the year.
There seems to be a log jam of outfielders happening in the farm system but it seems like most are considered 4th OF types besides Trammel. Hopefully it works out better than all the pitching we thought was coming but hasn’t really panned out.