This afternoon the MLB Pipeline crew released their Top 100 Prospect list. Much like the Baseball America list that we saw earlier this week, the Cincinnati Reds landed just two players on the list.
The two players were the same, but both were rated higher on the MLB Pipeline list. Nick Lodolo was the Reds top rated prospect on this list, coming in at #48 on the list, with a listed ETA of 2021. Hunter Greene was just a few spots lower, coming in at #53 on the list with an ETA of 2022. Baseball America had the two prospects rated back-to-back on their list, at #76 and #77 – with Greene being rated ahead.
As was noted earlier this week, it’s not the best showing from the Reds organization. It’s probably the worst it’s been on a top 100 list in quite a while. No franchise in the division is head-and-shoulders above anyone else. Tee Milwaukee Brewers didn’t have a single player on the entire list – the only team in baseball without a representative. The Reds had their two players, coming in at #48 and #53. The Chicago Cubs had four players on the list, but all four came on the bottom half of the list. The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates both had three players make the list.
The Cardinals Dylan Carson was easily the highest rated prospect in the entire division, coming in at #17 on the list. The next highest rated prospect from the National League Central was Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller. The division as a whole only had seven Top 50 prospects, and it was quite heavy at the back end of that.
With regards to the Reds, here’s what was said about the organization:
It always hurts when your top prospect goes down with Tommy John surgery, but Greene will be back soon enough, and rest assured, he won’t be outworked on his path to recovery. In the meantime, the Reds added Lodolo in the 2019 Draft, giving them an advanced college lefty who should move quickly. The rest of the system has thinned out a bit with graduations to the big leagues and some trades. A healthy season from 2018 first-round Draft pick Jonathan India would be a help.
While there is something about the organization thinning out due to trades and graduations – Jeter Downs, Josiah Gray, and Taylor Trammell all made the list – the mention of only Jonathan India beyond the two Reds to make the list feels like it’s missing a few guys. Tyler Stephenson, who has somehow missed both of the major prospect lists this year, didn’t get a mention here and at least from where I stand, he’s the third best prospect in the organization. And Jose Garcia continues to be the most underrated prospect in baseball.