3 under-the-radar Reds prospects no one is talking about

3. Justice Thompson, Reds OF prospect

In my opinion, one of the Cincinnati Reds best draft picks from a year ago, other than the obvious selection of Matt McLain, was former North Carolina outfielder Justice Thompson. Thompson's raw ability alone might be enough to get him to the bigs, but if he's able to develop into just an average hitter, the 21-year-old will force his way onto the Reds roster soon enough.

Let's face it, center field is a veritable black hole within the Reds organization. Nick Senzel is not the answer. Michael Siani, though he played well in the Arizona Fall League, has yet to show consistency with his bat. And the jury still out on whether or not Austin Hendrick is capable of playing center field at the major league level.

Defensively, Thompson can cover a lot of ground. His plus-speed is his best attribute. While he may have a fringe arm for the position, it's not as if Great American Ball Park has the expansive outfield that one would find at Petco Park or Coors Field.

The issue with Thompson, as it seems to be for an overwhelming majority of Cincinnati center field prospects, is his ability to hit. In his 54 games at UNC, Thompson hit .304/.386/.444 with eight doubles and seven homers, but could only muster a .239/.362/.375 at Low-A Daytona last season.

I'd expect to see Justice Thompson begin the 2022 season back in Florida with the Tortugas, but rest assured that the right-handed hitting outfielder will move through the Cincinnati Reds farm system rather quickly if he proves that he can hit.