Mar 20, 2024; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder against the Texas Rangers during a spring training baseball game at Goodyear Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Rising stars who could shape the Reds’ future
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 — Mining homegrown talent by drafting and developing players is the key for the Reds to try and stay competitive, because they know as a small-market club, they can’t overspend their way to success.
After having 16 players reach the big leagues in 2023, nine more players made their Major League debut for Cincinnati in ’24. Among the prospects were starting pitchers Rhett Lowder (Reds’ No. 2 prospect, No. 33 overall) and Julian Aguiar (Cincinnati’s No. 11 prospect) and outfielder Rece Hinds.
MLB Pipeline ranked the Reds’ farm system at No. 14 in baseball, after it entered the year in the No. 10 spot and finished 2023 at No. 5. Part of it is because many of the system’s best players are still extremely young and still playing below the Double-A level.
Here’s a look at how a few of the Reds’ prospects fared in 2024.
3 players who forced their way onto the radar
2B/LF Tyler Callihan (unranked)
A lefty-hitting second baseman and left fielder, Callihan was Cincinnati’s third-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and is a former Top 30 prospect. A right elbow strain wrecked most of his ’21 season at Single-A Daytona, and he was left exposed to the Rule 5 Draft last winter. Despite missing two months, things clicked more this season. In 69 games at Double-A Chattanooga, the 24-year-old batted .271 with a .758 OPS and eight homers before finishing the season with four games at Triple-A Louisville and going 5-for-14 with a homer. Given the opportunity to play in the Arizona Fall League, there’s a good chance that Callihan will be added to the 40-man roster and protected from the Rule 5 Draft this time around.
RHP Zach Maxwell (Reds’ No. 21 prospect)
Cincinnati’s sixth-round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, Maxwell’s size stands out at 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds. The right-hander began ’24 at Chattanooga and had a 1.23 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 14 games before getting moved up. At Louisville, there were some adjustments needed as Maxwell had a 3.89 ERA over 39 appearances and his WHIP jumped to 1.60. The organization felt he was getting used to more advanced hitters and the automated balls and strikes system. Over his final 10 games, Maxwell appeared more dialed in, with a 1.64 ERA.
