3 prospects rocketing up the Reds' rankings this season

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo is pinch-hitting for this edition. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

In advance of the Trade Deadline on Aug. 3 (6 p.m. ET), MLB Pipeline has done some renovations, updating all of its team Top 30 lists so that when prospects invariably get dealt between now and the Deadline, everyone can have a more current understanding of the quality of prospects moving from one system to another.

The Reds’ Top 30 was shuffled around to reflect some of the strong performances from its prospects. Three in particular made jumps of 10 or more spots and are now sitting in the top half of that list. Here’s some more information on the trio of prospects “with helium” in the system:

Jirvin Morillo, C (No. 18 to No. 8)
It used to be that repeating the Dominican Summer League was a bad sign for a prospect’s development. That sentiment has changed in recent years, partially because the lack of short-season teams limits roster spots for organizations. Signed for $420,000 in January 2024, Morillo had a solid enough debut after signing (.889 OPS, 40/21 BB/K rate), but given that he had just turned 17 after signing and catchers have a lot more responsibilities to learn, he spent a second year in the DSL. The time served him well: Morillo came to play in the United States for the first time this year, at age 19, and has been dominating Arizona Complex League pitching. The switch-hitter is tied for tops in the ACL in homers (13), sits second in slugging percentage (.652) and third in OPS (1.101). His 148 wRC+ is fourth in the circuit and his arm strength has helped him throw out 32 percent of potential basestealers.

Angel Nuñez, OF (No. 22 to No. 11)
Maybe we’re going in a little early on this one, but it’s hard not to be excited about this left-handed-hitting outfielder who didn’t turn 17 until three months after signing this past January. He was No. 6 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 international prospects list when this year’s signing period opened and the Reds paid him accordingly, doling out a bonus of $3 million to add him to the organization. He’s handling his pro debut in the DSL very capably, with a robust .946 OPS over his first 151 plate appearances. He’s drawing walks (19.9 percent BB rate) and limiting the strikeouts (12.6 percent) while using his speed well (19 steals). DSL stats should always be taken with a grain of salt, but the performance has been impressive.

Carlos Sanchez, SS (No. 23 to No. 13)
Sanchez is the old man of this group, at age 21, having signed back in January 2022 for just $70,000. He really struggled in 2024 (.608 OPS), but made some adjustments to his swing path from the left side of the plate to right the ship last year, when he upped that OPS over 180 points and reached High-A for the first time. A .913 OPS over 69 games back with High-A Dayton to start this year earned him his first trip to Double-A. He’s getting his legs under him there, but if his history tells us anything, it’s that he’s going to adjust. He’s also been given the opportunity to play shortstop every day and the Reds have seen continual progress on that side of the ball.