1 Reds prospect whose stock will skyrocket and 1 whose stock will plummet in 2022

Reds OF prospect Allan Cerda's stock will skyrocket in 2022.

It should come as no surprise that Allan Cerda is my choice to skyrocket up through the Cincinnati Reds farm system this season. After a solid showing in the minors last season, Cerda was promoted to the Reds 40-man roster earlier this offseason.

It is strange to see a player who's yet to play above A-Ball join added to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. But, that should show you how much faith the Reds have in Cerda's ability. Last season, Cerda played 66 games at Low-A Daytona and slashed .242/.362/.524 with 14 home runs, 42 RBIs and a wRC+ of 136.

That performance earned the 22-year-old a promotion to High-A Dayton where he continued to punish opposing pitchers. Cerda appeared in 21 games for the Dragons and hit .273/.356/.519 with three round trippers and 13 runs batted in.

The Cincinnati Reds have a nice group of young outfield talent in the minor leagues, but Allan Cerda might be the most complete player in the group. Where Michael Siani is a glove-first centerfielder with a light bat and Austin Hendrick has power, but struck out 37.6% of the time, Cerda has a mix of power, speed, and athleticism that could make him a star at the next level.

Allan Cerda saw time in both right and center field last season. While Cerda definitely has the arm to play right field, the Cincinnati Reds would do best to let him continue to play up the middle until he proves otherwise. Can Cerda build on last year's success and vault up the Reds prospect rankings in 2022? I sure as heck wouldn't bet against him.