Latest prospect rankings offer Reds clear trade targets ahead of the deadline

Baseball America's latest prospect rankings (subscription required) just dropped, and they don't paint a pretty picture for the Cincinnati Reds. According to BA, the Reds' farm system has plummeted from No. 19 to No. 25, and the organization's pitching depth has become highly questionable.

Alfredo Duno (51) and Edwin Arroyo (81) are the only Reds players to crack the top-100, and oddly enough Cincinnati's minor-league catching depth received rave reviews from BA. But that was where the accolades stopped.

The outlet called the Reds' pitching depth the organization's most prominent weakness, and cited injuries to Ty Floyd, Luke Holman, and Hunter Hollan as one of the biggest reasons why Cincinnati is ranked so low. Those three hurlers have combined to log just 28⅓ inning all season, and Holman is on the 60-day IL.

This should be a wake-up call to Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall and the front office. With the MLB Draft just a couple days away and the trade deadline quickly approaching, Cincinnati's strategy over the next few weeks should be painfully obviously — acquire more pitching prospects.

Reds must target pitching prospects at the MLB trade deadline

Chase Petty is currently the Reds' top pitching prospect, and that's not necessarily a good thing. While Cincinnati's brass still has high hopes that the young right-hander can turn into an MLB-caliber starter, his recent transition to the bullpen raises some serious questions about his future with the organization.

Beyond Petty, the Reds have arms like Sheng-En Lin, Mason Morris, Edgar Colon, and Stharlin Torres down on the farm. None of those pitchers, however, are anywhere close to being Major League-ready. Jose Franco, Julian Aguiar, and Jose Acuña might offer Cincinnati something down the road, but all three are highly suspect.

The Reds should turn their attention to some high-upside arms at this year's trade deadline. With players like Brock Burke, Nathaniel Lowe, and Caleb Ferguson all likely to be traded, Cincinnati must ask for pitching prospects in return.

The same ideology should hold true at the draft this weekend. The Reds currently have the 18th pick in Round 1, and should use it to take the best arm available. Pitchers like Cameron Flukey, Hunter Dietz, and Liam Peterson could all fall to Cincinnati at No. 18.

Obviously the Reds can't neglect other aspects of the farm system either, but what was once a stength for Cincinnati has quickly turned into a weakness. A major reason for that, of course, was the quick ascension of Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder to the Major League roster.

Nevertheless, with Brady Singer set to leave via free agency next season, and Nick Lodolo sure to draw some attention at the trade deadline, Cincinnati has to focus on rebuilding their rotation from within the organization.

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