Welcome back to the Reds Beat newsletter! MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo is pinch-hitting for this edition. |
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. |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Who is the only Reds prospect to ever rank No. 1 overall in the Minors? A. Hunter Greene
B. Elly De La Cruz C. Jay Bruce D. Nick Senzel |
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There isn’t a scouting department in baseball that doesn’t hope it can get value with each pick it makes in a Draft. Looking at the top of the Reds’ selections in 2026, it certainly looks like they did just that with each of their first three selections especially, all college hitters. Now, MLB Pipeline Draft rankings aren’t the be-all, end-all, but we think they are a very fair reflection of the industry’s thoughts about the class. So using a very simple “formula,” we can see the difference between picks and where they were ranked. 1st round: Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama. Rank: 9; Pick: 18; Difference: +11 2nd round: Eric Becker, SS, Virginia: Rank: 41; Pick: 58; Difference: +17 Competitive Balance Round B: Mulivai Levu, 1B, UCLA: Rank: 62; Pick: 70; Difference +8 That’s a cumulative difference (in the positive) of 36. And all three have signed with the Reds, all in/around the slot value (Lebron and Becker were a little above slot; Levu a little below). But rather than just use the rankings vs. the picks as a measuring stick for finding value, I went to Reds scouting director Joe Katuska to see if I was right in theorizing the team thought they were getting value with each of these picks. “Absolutely,” Katuska said. “We thought Lebron would go off the board in front of us, but we were prepared to take him. Maybe we were ahead of the industry, but we thought Becker was a first rounder and we were surprised he slid to 58. We didn’t think Levu would get to 58 – we thought he might go somewhere in that range – let alone be there when we picked again at 70.” |
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