Reds' top prospect Duno having no trouble with promotion to Double-A

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- The move from High-A to Double-A hasn't appeared to be that much of a jump at all for the Reds' No. 1 prospect, catcher Alfredo Duno.

Duno, who is ranked No. 22 overall by MLB Pipeline, was promoted from Dayton to Chattanooga on June 30, and his hitting numbers only improved.

"He’s continued to improve upon some of the offensive strengths he’s shown so far through the A-ball levels," said Jeremy Farrell, the Reds' director of player development. "Controlling the strike zone, continuing to take his walks and he’s cut down some of the strikeouts in Double-A, even while facing better competition.”

Duno, 20, batted .260 with a .902 OPS and 16 home runs over 65 games with Dayton and entered Friday batting .326 with a .921 OPS and three homers in 25 games for Chattanooga.

That was despite missing nearly a month from July 30-Aug. 25 with a right hamstring strain.

“He worked really hard in Arizona to take care of the lower body injury he had," Farrell said. "I saw him last weekend, and he looked physically strong, in good shape, and he came back with a ton of energy -- not only at the plate but also behind the plate. He’s in a good spot right now.”

Duno, who hails from Miranda, Venezuela, and resides in the Dominican Republic, received a $3.1 million bonus when he signed with the Reds as a teenager in January 2023.

The quick adjustments the 6-foot-2 Duno made to Double-A have been typical of his trajectory since he first signed with the organization.

“He’s kind of shown that from Day 1, not only displaying the physical presence and raw power that he possesses but an ability to control the strike zone, understand what he wants to swing at and do damage in the situations he does get a pitch to hit," Farrell said. "And understanding, moving forward, the times where he does need to cut down his swing and the times where you’re taking more a B or C swing to drive in a run.

"Those are going to be the next steps in his development, the closer he gets to the big leagues.”

As for the highly important other side of his game -- his defense as a catcher -- Duno also has made improvements this season. He's always displayed arm strength but has gotten better.

“He continues to get more accurate with throws the more he works on it," Farrell said. "The receiving and the blocking end of it, he takes a lot of pride in it. Now it’s just about translating the work he’s putting in pregame and the offseason and getting it to play more regularly in the game."

The Reds’ big league catching situation could be in flux this offseason as the club heads into 2027. Longtime catcher Tyler Stephenson will be a free agent. The club's main backup, Jose Trevino, is signed through next season with a club option for 2028.

In the short term, there is a chance Duno plays winter ball in Venezuela to get more reps. It remains to be seen if he could factor into Cincinnati's big league plans at some point next season.

“There’s a lot of variables to that. But from a player development perspective, he continues to work on his craft and he’s showing signs of improvement day over day, week over week, month over month," Farrell said. “We’ll send him into the offseason with a plan to continue to work off the field but also try to integrate some of those things on the field if he does play winter ball.”