2020 Red Reporter Community Prospect Rankings: Hunter Greene Is Your #2 Prospect!

While we wait for his arm to fully heal we will wish the best wishes for Hunter Greene. We want his arm to turn to baseball gold. We want him to be healthy forever. We want him to throw 105 MPH heaters throughout a game. We want him to develop a devastating slider and change up. We want him to win fifteen Cy Young awards. We want. We want. We want. Oh, the dreams that we can have. But, for now we wait. Hopefully, Greene gives us something to be excited about this year. I think Reds fans have shown they have plenty of patience. We just hope things are good and Hunter Greene gonna be good. On to #3.

Jonathan India, INF, 23

Highest 2018 Level: AA Chattanooga

Eye-Poppingest Fact: 15.2% BB% and 17.9% K% in 145 PA in AA. Decent career power.

Most Worrisome Fact: Laid and egg in the AZL, power evaporated in AA, and his future position is murky.

Alias(es): Bollywood, Johnny Baseball, The Delhi Dinger

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Jonathan India was drafted 5th overall by the Reds in the 2018 Amateur Draft. So, he’s automatically going to be a top prospect. That’s how this works, duh. But, since becoming a Cincinnati Reds, India, has been nothing but stable and reliable in the minors. He’s walked a decent amount (>10%) and hit for decent power (ISO > .150) and played mostly third base. There have been some small trials at short stop, I believe, but those have mostly been scrapped due better defenders at the position. Right now third looks like India’s position, which blocks him, but he could also likely handle second. Consider the levels and leagues that he’s hit in he’s fared very well, but we expect that from a guy drafted where he was.

The one thing that India has going for him is the improvements he’s made in plate discipline. With each level, he’s increased his walk rate and decreased his strikeout rate. That’s good. I mean his .414 OBP in AA is outstanding. But, it also coincided with a drastic drop in his ISO by about fifty points. He also hit .133/.254/.333 in 71 plate appearances in the Arizona Fall League though that was likely pretty unlucky. A knock against him from scouts is his ability to make contact going forward. I would expect to see him get another year in AA and hopefully with a mid season promotion to AAA.

Tony Santillan, 22, RHP

Highest 2018 Level: AA Chattanooga

Eye-Poppingest Fact: 8.1 K/9, 0.7 HR/9 in 102.1 IP

Most Worrisome Fact: Control: 4.7 BB/9 Hittable: 9.7 H/9 WHIP: 1.603

Alias(es): Santigold, Tony The Tiger, Sizzillan

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This is where the talent of the farm system starts to grow some question marks while staying very interesting. Tony Santillan is one of those pitchers that has all kinds of potential. He throws hard (sitting 93-97 with good movement), and has arguably pretty decent off speed pitches. But, control has been a struggle most of his career. He’s seemed to dial it down a bit to try and get it over the plate. That worked for him 2018 where he had ERAs of 2.70 in Daytona and 3.61 in Pensacola. Those came with much lower walk rates that helped keep runners off the bases even if it was coupled with lower strikeout rates. Basically, he was learning to be a better pitcher. This got his K/BB ratios above three which is always really good to see. It also made him much more hitable, but he did a good job limiting that damage.

Obviously, his 2019 wasn’t one to write home about. His WHIP was atrocious and won’t keep him around for long if he can’t figure that out. He was able to limit the damage a little bit. He didn’t give up a ton of deep balls and kept his ERA below 5.00. Those are crappy silver linings, I know. However, based on his 2019 season, you’ll likely see a repeat in AA to see if he did figure it out. He also didn’t have the healthiest of seasons last year, which is evident in his numbers and innings pitched. But, like I said, he’s still an exciting pitcher who was cracking Top 100 lists just last year. He’s slid a great deal but is only 22, and I see no reason to sour on him yet.

Tyler Stephenson, 23, C

Highest 2018 Level: AA Chattanooga

Eye-Poppingest Fact: .285/.372/410 slash line in 363 plate appearances in AA. .347/.418/.908 slash line in the Arizona Fall League.

Most Worrisome Fact: No much power. Only six dingers.

Alias(es): Bat Flips, Kennesaw Mountain, Too Tall Tyler

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Tyler Stephenson was drafted in the first round by the Reds in 2015 11th overall. He’s had an up and down career so far but probably put up his best ball in 2019. He’s still only 23 years old and is looking to supplant the current catching scenario in Cincinnati. Obviously, the numbers he showed in 2019 look very good. It also ups the value he could bring in a trade if the Reds feel so inclined. Stephenson has always been renowned for his power from the catching position, getting comparison to Matt Wieters. He’s a tall guy (6’4) after all.

But, Stephenson is also a catcher that shows good defensive skills behind the plate with a good arm. As of right now he looks to be a rather safe prospect that will make his way to Cincinnati eventually. The best thing we can see from him is the growing advancement in his approach at the plate. With his size and strength I don’t think there is much concern about his power going forward. He’ll square the ball up but he needs to continue to find ways on base. Stephenson should find himself as the starting catcher in AAA Louisville with a possible promotion to Cincinnati if there is an injury. Hopefully, he can stay healthy himself because when he’s done so he’s looked like a real good player.

Jose Israel Garcia, 21, SS

Highest 2018 Level: A+ Daytona

Eye-Poppingest Fact: .280/.343/.436 slash line in 452 plate appearances in Daytona. 37 doubles, 1 triple, and 8 dingers.

Most Worrisome Fact: Didn’t fare as well in the Arizona Fall League

Alias(es): Cherry Garcia, Hip Hip Jose, No Way Jose

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Jose Garcia became a member of the Reds organization in 2017 when he defected from Cuba. At the time it was a wonder if he was a real person or not because really there was a just a report of his signing. There was very little information about the guy other than that. We didn’t know if he was good. We didn’t know if was near major league ready. We just knew he’d probably get a start in the minors. In the end, we found out the Garcia was a slick fielding short stop that would probably take a decent amount of time before he would be ready for big league ball. That’s not a bad thing, but it was a struggle to hear that after the blow up of the signing of Alfredo Rodriguez.

2018 wasn’t a great year for Garcia, but 2019 surely was. In 2018, Garcia was getting his first taste of American professional ball and struggled with the learning curve. He was also probably really rusty because he hadn’t played in a while. In 2019, Garcia showed an ability to get some hits, get on base a little, while also hitting for some decent gap power. He had a higher ISO than Tyler Stephenson if that means anything. He didn’t have quite the same performance in the Arizona Fall League but that’s fine. Garcia is a rangy kind of kid with a good arm and everyone is hoping that his bat follows. It’s also really nice to see a middle infielder have a good season. I have heard some rumblings that with a good season the Reds could speed up his path to the bigs and he could rocket prospect lists. He’s a scout’s dream but needs to figure it all out.