5 Reds prospects off to hot starts in the Arizona Complex League

Far away from the glitz and glamour of the big leagues, a new generation of Reds is just getting their season underway in sun-splashed Arizona.

The Rookie-level Arizona Complex League club opened its campaign this month and is off to a fast start, posting the best run differential on the circuit (+38) entering Thursday. That number can largely be attributed to a 30-4 victory the club secured May 19, only the seventh occasion since 2005 across all of the Minor Leagues where a team reached the 30-run plateau.

Let’s take a look at some of the bigger names and how they’re performing at the club’s facility in Goodyear.

Steele Hall, SS (CIN No. 2/MLB No. 65)
After a 3-for-19 start to his pro career, Hall has been red-hot, collecting a hit in 11 consecutive games from May 12 through Tuesday. From May 16 through Saturday, he enjoyed a six-game stretch in which he notched at least one extra-base hit in every contest and nine in total. His top exit velocity of 110.9 mph (on his first pro homer) ranks among the 10 hardest-hit balls recorded on the circuit this year.

Selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2025 Draft, Hall was one of the younger players in his Draft class and the Reds believed they were getting a player with 1-1 upside. It's only 85 plate appearances, but the Alabama native, who models his game after an impressive group of MLB shortstops, was leading the ACL in extra-base hits (14) and is near the top in a whole host of offensive categories, including total bases (43) and OPS (1.077), while also having nine steals to his credit.

Aaron Watson (CIN No. 8)
When the Reds selected Watson – and subsequently ponied up an overslot bonus of $2.75 million to sign him away from his University of Florida commitment last July – he became the first high school pitcher to join the organization in the first two rounds since Lyon Richardson in 2018.

Watson has gone at least four innings in each of his first four ACL appearances, consistently sitting 92-94 mph with a fastball that displays a solid amount of sink. The pitch plays up when combined with the near 7 feet of extension that the 6-foot-5 Watson gets from his delivery. His best secondary offering at this stage is his 84-86 mph slider, which has added a tick or two of velocity since his high school days.

Adolfo Sanchez, OF (CIN No. 13)
Sanchez was the Reds’ gem of the 2024 international class, ranking No. 6 overall. After a tough go at the Dominican Summer League that year, he crushed his repeat of the level and became a DSL All-Star in ‘25.

Making his U.S. debut in the ACL, Sanchez also got off to a slow start (1-for-13) before heating up with a pair of homers during his seven-game hitting streak. The lefty-hitting outfielder was running a 26.3 percent line-drive rate (tops on the club entering Wednesday) and has a .395 on-base percentage.

Eli Pitts, OF (CIN No. 29)
The Reds made something of an upside play when they nabbed Pitts in the fifth round of the 2025 Draft, banking on his long-term talent after his senior year of high school was sidetracked by a hamstring injury. The 19-year-old has hit the ground running in his first five contests, using his 65-grade wheels to swipe a pair of bags, while collecting four extra-base hits, including his first pro homer.

Reps at premium positions are usually a good indicator of how an organization feels about a prospect – particularly at the lower levels, where talent is crowded together – and to that end, Pitts has seen all of his defensive reps in center field thus far.

Juan Brown, 1B (unranked)
A cousin of 14-year big leaguer Xander Bogaerts, Brown joined the Reds with a $300,000 signing bonus in January 2024. His numbers didn’t jump off the page in two separate DSL stints, but the 6-foot-3 righty swinger has brought some early thump in his first taste of stateside ball.

His four home runs are tied for second on the circuit, and he accounts for four of the Reds’ 14 hardest-hit balls to have been tracked, all of which came at 102.6 mph or harder. His top EV of 110.7 mph had been topped by only five Major League Reds in 2026. A former pitcher in his native Aruba, Brown began his career at third base and then shifted primarily to the outfield last year. The 18-year-old has spent all of his time defensively at first this season.