Reds: 3 surprise prospects whose hot starts are worth watching

The minor league season is officially underway, and while we’re barely a week into the action, several young prospects within the Cincinnati Reds organization have already gotten off to blazing hot starts. Who are some of the surprise players that are worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses?

The Reds reshuffled two of their minor league affiliates over the winter, with the Daytona Tortugas now earning the designation as the club’s Low-A franchise and the Dayton Dragons joining the ranks of High-A ball. The Louisville Bats still represent the Reds Triple-A affiliation and the Chattanooga Lookouts are Cincinnati’s Double-A affiliate.

Just last week, many of the rosters were filled out with some of the best prospects from within the Reds’ farm system. Top pitching prospects Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene headed down to the Tennessee, while former first-round pick Austin Hendrick is starting his professional career with off the Atlantic Coast in Florida.

While fans certainly expect big things from the trio of Lodolo, Greene, and Hendricks, who are some of the lesser-known prospects who’ve made their mark during the first week of the minor league season?

1. Brian Rey, Reds outfield prospect

Reds outfield prospect Brian Rey has began the 2021 season with a bang. In four games for Advanced-A Dayton, Rey has four home runs, nine RBIs, and a 1.188 slugging percentage. Not surprisingly, all those stats lead the High-A Central Division.

But who exactly is Brian Rey? The Florida native was a 13th Round pick of the Reds in 2018. Having gone to school at Miami Dads Community College, Rey wasn’t on a lot of scouts radars. During his first professional action in 2018, Rey hit .269/.347/.345 at Rookie-Level Greenville.

The following season in then Low-A Dayton, Rey posted a .789 OPS and was promoted later that season to Advanced-A Daytona. The right-handed hitting Rey didn’t fair as well while playing for the Tortugas, as he hit just .146 in 16 games to close out the 2019 season.

Rey can hit; he’s proven that. The question has always been if he can hit for power. Well, four home runs in 16 at-bats seem to answer that question with a resounding yes. If Rey continues to pound the baseball into oblivion, the Reds will have no choice to move the 23-year-old up to Double-A rather quickly.