Brian Rey's winter league performance warrants a major league opportunity in 2022

One of the Cincinnati Reds most unheralded prospects, Brian Rey, is excelling in the Puerto Rican Winter League. The 23-year-old is hitting .324/.375/.351, collecting 12 hits in 10 games and has struck out just four times in 37 at-bats.

Rey had a stellar performance in the minor leagues last season. Vaulting all the way to Triple-A Louisville to end his 2021 campaign, the Reds infield prospect hit .289/.368/.425 while making stops in Dayton, Chattanooga, and the Derby City.

Reds prospect Brian Rey is excelling in the PRWL.

You're not going to find Brian Rey's name among any outlets "top prospects" lists, but by golly you should. A 13th round selection of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2018 MLB Draft, all Rey has done is put the bat on the ball.

No one is going to confuse Rey for a power hitter. In 216 games in the minor leagues, the Florida native has just 20 round trippers. However, his career OPS of .745 is a testament to his keen ability, not only to put the ball in play, but to get on base.

Rey hardly needed to draw many walks at High-A Dayton last season. In 13 games with the Dragons, Rey owned just a 3.5% walk-rate, but a .423 batting average. Rey's strikeout-rate was only 5.3% in his 57 plate appearances while playing in Dayton.

The jump to Double-A proved to be a bit of challenge for Brian Rey, but the infielder saw a great surge in production during the month of July when he hit .364 in 16 games. Rey had multiple hits in nine of those 16 contests.

Rey finally made it to Triple-A Louisville at the tail end of the 2021 season and hit .385 in 13 at-bats. It's a very small sample size, but a 184 wRC+ is nothing to sneeze at.

Brian Rey's performance in the Puerto Rican Winter League warrants a longer look when spring training begins. Primarily a second baseman, Rey can handle himself just fine in the outfield as well, having played right field while part of Indios De Mayaguez’s roster in the PRWL.

Rey shares a similar profile to last year's minor league sensation Alejo Lopez. Hopefully Rey will be able to follow Lopez's path and end up on the Cincinnati Reds active roster at some point next season.