Will 2025 truly be his breakout year?
No player in the minor league system of the Cincinnati Reds logged more arby-eyes during the 2024 season than Cam Collier. His 74 paced the farm, as did his 72 runs scored. He also ranked in the top five in each of homers (4th), hits (4th), walks (2nd), sac-flies (2nd), and wRC+ (4th).
Not bad for a kid plying his trade in the Midwest League at just 19 years of age.
Collier has long been lauded as being advanced beyond his age, and that began to truly play out in a rock solid 2024 campaign. In a system perilously devoid of hitters that look the part of a middle of the order bat, Collier is a beacon, and showed the kind of advanced approach last season that gives optimism that a further breakout is in store as he grows into his frame.
He’s the #5 prospect in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings here at Red Reporter because of it. On to the voting for spot #6!
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Sal Stewart, 3B/2B – 21 years old
2024 at a glance: .279/.391/.454 with 8 HR, 10 SB in 338 PA split with the Dayton Dragons (High-A Midwest League)
Pros: As many walks (138) as strikeouts (139) so far as a professional, advanced strike zone command; raw power
Cons: In-game power still developing; still a defensive nomad despite reasonable showing at 2B; wrist injury ended season early (and required surgery)
The Reds selected Sal Stewart out of high school in Florida with the 32nd overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, doing so despite knowing he was committed to baseball powerhouse Vanderbilt University. Perhaps they knew something, or had some inside info from former Vandy pitching coach Derek Johnson, since they managed to get Stewart signed for just the 40th highest bonus of the draft class despite that strong commitment.
He’s done nothing but be an offensive machine in his pro career, sporting one of the best K/BB ratios of any minor leaguer while pairing it with emerging power that’s playing up as he advanced out of the hitter hell that is the Florida State League. His 144 wRC+ with Dayton ranked as the 5th best among the 87 hitters who logged at least 300 PA there.
Unfortunately, an off the field wrist injury in July ended his season and required surgery, though as of October he was reportedly swinging a bat again and is on-track to face AA pitching for the first time in 2025.
Alfredo Duno, C/DH – 19 years old
2024 at a glance: .267/.367/.422 with 3 HR, 2 SB in 139 PA with Daytona Tortugas (Class A Florida State League)
Pros: Plus arm and agility at the catching position paired with plus raw power and elite bat speed
Cons: We’ve still barely seen him play, let alone catch (just 21 G as a C in his pair of pro seasons within the Reds organization)
A rib issue cut short Duno’s first full season of pro ball in 2024, though he flashed precisely what the scouting report suggested in his limited time with the Tortugas: an advanced offensive approach, some big projectible pop, and athleticism behind the dish.
I’d like to think that over 100 or so games with Dayton in 2025, the world would see enough of that to be convinced he’s the heir apparent to the Cincinnati catching position, and a clear-cut Top 100 overall prospect. Of course, he’s so far 0 for 2 in staying healthy enough to show that to the world, so we’ll have to hope he bats .333 in that category by season’s end.
Sammy Stafura, SS – 20 years old
2024 at a glance: .270/.387/.412 with 8 HR, 31 SB in 421 PA split between ACL Reds (Arizona Complex League) and Daytona Tortugas (Class A Florida State League); named Reds Minor League Hitter of the Year
Pros: 65 grade speed and plus baserunning acumen; 15.2% walk rate evidence of great patience and eye at the plate; plus defender who profiles as capable of sticking at short
Cons: In-game power hasn’t showed up just yet, though he spent the bulk of his year in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League (where he had a .124 ISO and .379 SLG)
You don’t have to squint too hard to see in Stafura a guy who hits leadoff for the Cincinnati Reds for a long time. He gets on base, he swipes bases, and so far looks very much the part of an up-the-middle piece that was well worth the ~$2.5 million signing bonus he got to skip Clemson University and sign with the Reds as a 2nd round pick in 2023.
There’s truly a chance we’ve not even scratched the surface with him yet, either. Drafted out of New York, he’s one of those classic ‘high schoolers from cold weather’ whose stats before being drafted don’t typically show what he’s truly capable of doing, and his lone ‘full’ season in 2024 featured the suppressive offensive environment that is the FSL. If he gets to Dayton and the power emerges, we’re looking at a guy with a Sal Stewart-esque approach at the plate who can also be a plus shortstop.
And he just turned 20!
Tyson Lewis, SS – 19 years old
2024 at a glance: Hit .496 with 8 dingers and 14 doubles in 38 games for Millard West High School in Omaha, NE; drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 2024 MLB Draft; signed for an above-slot $3.05 million to turn pro in lieu of attending the University of Arkansas
Pros: Well rounded athlete with 60-grade speed and potential for good power from the left side of the plate
Cons: Defense is solid, yet not spectacular at SS, and it’s likely he ends up moved off the position; not exactly from a baseball hotbed
Tyson Lewis has above-average ability across the board, and if you squint you can see a potential five-tool guy. Right now, it’s more that he’s something of a B+ student in all five tools instead of a guy who’s got two A’s and a trio of Cs.
That can be a good thing! It’s just that we need to see how it translates level by level, since it doesn’t appear he’s shown anything yet that has people already convinced one particular skill is way beyond his level.
He’s just 19, of course, and there’s ample opportunity for that to be shown, he’s just not yet played a professional game since being drafted. So, Lewis gets to play the role of mystery team in this year’s CPR – let’s see who among us is already convinced!
Ricardo Cabrera, SS/3B – 20 years old
2024 at a glance: .253/.331/399 with 11 HR, 19 SB in 456 PA with the Daytona Tortugas (Class A Florida State League)
Pros: 60 grade arm (rated as Best Infield Arm in the Reds system by Baseball America); advanced hitting approach with developing power
Cons: Defense is iffy at SS, and he may already be a permanent 3B already
The Reds swung big to sign Cabrera in the 2022 international signing period, doling out $2.7 million to get the deal done. At the time, he was touted as a guy whose bat did a lot of loud talking, and that’s largely been the case ever since he made his pro debut in the states.
His surface numbers above seem slight, but that’s taken with a giant grain of salt given that he spent the entire year plying his trade in the extremely pitcher-friendly environment that is the Florida State League. All told, that .730 OPS equated to a 111 wRC+, or 11% better than league average – and he did that at age 19, or 1.9 years younger than league average.
His 6.8% walk rate needs to improve, but he’s a hitter whose strikeout rate so far rates better than average, too. In other words, overall selectivity is what he needs to work on, as he’s taking a lot of swings. If he refines that, though, he sports the kind of bat that should play plenty well at 3B, which is where he moved to primarily in 2024 and is likely to remain.