MLB executives' poll surprisingly debunks common complaint among unhappy Reds fans

Building a baseball team from the inside-out, as the Cincinnati Reds have attempted to do, requires great scouting and development. In recent years, the Reds have stuck to their guns of drafting and developing talent, and have amassed a rather robust farm system.

That's a credit to Nick Krall, Brad Meador, Joe Katuska, and the Reds front office as a whole. So many of the organization's top prospects — Elly De La Cruz, Hunter Greene, Matt McLain, and Nick Lodolo — have become key pieces of the current Reds roster, and there are many others who are knocking on the door.

MLB Pipeline recently conducted a poll of numerous executives from across Major League Baseball. The questions delved into various topics surrounding prospects, farm systems, etc., and among the questions asked was, which team hoards prospects the most? While this will be rather shocking to most Reds fans, Cincinnati was nowhere near the top of the list.

MLB executives claim that the Reds do not hoard prospects

According to the top execs in the game, the Baltimore Orioles are tops when it comes to hoarding prospects. Right behind them are the Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Even teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Toronto Blue Jays are mentioned before even coming close to the Reds. In fact, the Reds are only mentioned in passing as "also received votes".

This flies in the face of the narrative that the Reds hoard prospects and never want to make any trades involving their young talent — a claim many of the Cincinnati faithful have clung to for years.

Many Reds fans lament the fact the Cincinnati appears to passively sit back and let other teams make blockbuster deals, all the while envisioning Krall and Co. sitting on their hands. This poll would seem to reveal the exact opposite.

But if that's true, why haven't the Reds made any blockbuster trades in recent years involving some the team's top prospects? I mean, if Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain are the future up the middle, why are Edwin Arroyo and Sammy Stafura still in the farm system? Couldn't they be moved to get a big bat? Quite frankly, that's a good question, but it takes two to tango. Krall isn't just going to give away top prospects for a perceived need if the value doesn't line up.

So while many Reds fans like to claim that Cincinnati overvalues and hoards prospects, other front office executives seem to disagree. Does that mean the Reds will pull off that blockbuster trade this offseason that the fanbase is craving? Based on past history that seems unlikely, but there are definitely some holes on the current roster that a big-time trade could help fill.

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