Did this Reds prospect do enough in 2023 to earn a 40-man roster spot this offseason?

The 2023 Rule 5 Draft is a little over a month away, but you can be sure that Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall is already formulating a list of prospects the team plans to protect this winter.

At a certain point in their professional career, prospects become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. In order to keep opposing ball clubs from poaching a highly-touted, young player, teams are required to add them to the 40-man roster.

Last winter, the Reds added Noelvi Marte and Elly De La Cruz to the 40-man roster. You can be sure that Rece Hinds will added later this month as well as Jacob Hurtibise. But what about Tyler Callihan?

Did Reds prospect Tyler Callihan do enough in 2023 to earn a 40-man roster spot?

Tyler Callihan is a former third-round pick. Taken with the 85th overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, Callihan was seen as a hit-over-power prospect. Oddly enough, that's exactly the opposite way that fellow 2019 draftee Rece Hinds is viewed.

Where Hinds has big power without much plate discipline, Callihan has all the plate discipline in the world, but don't expect much power. For his career, Callihan has a slugging percentage of just .405.

Callihan has been severely hampered by injuries throughout his entire professional career, the biggest of which was an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.

Reds prospect Tyler Callihan took off in Double-A Chattanooga

Tyler Callihan was healthy for the first time in his career and played in 131 games split between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga. Combined, Callihan hit .249/.327/.389 with a wRC+ of 101 according to FanGraphs.

While those numbers are very deserving a roster spot, once Callihan made the step up in competition, his numbers showed dramatic improvement. At Double-A Chattanooga, Callihan slashed .310/.396/.460 with a wRC+ of 130, a walk-rate of 12.9-percent and a strikeout-rate less than 20.0-percent.

While limited defensively, Callihan's bat is his carrying tool. Once he finally had consistent, uninterrupted playing time, the 23-year-old was able to thrive.

It's fair to say that Tyler Callihan is on the roster bubble, but the Cincinnati Reds would be wise to thoroughly investigate the idea of adding the infielder to the roster rather than risk losing him to the Rule 5 Draft.