Reds Prospect Update: Ethan O'Donnell heating up, Sammy Stafura honored, Rece Hinds

While the Cincinnati Reds are fighting to get back into the playoff picture, a number of the club's minor league affiliates will be wrapping up their respective seasons in the coming weeks.

The Daytona Tortugas, the Reds' Low-A affiliate, have a little over a month left until their season comes to an end. Cincinnati's High-A affiliate, the Dayton Dragons, close out their 2024 campaign in less than four weeks as well.

It'll be interesting to see if the Reds' brass makes a handful of late-season transactions in order to give some added at-bats and innings to some of the blossoming young prospects. Which Reds prospects had success this week down on the farm, and who is falling out of favor?

Reds Prospect Update: Ethan O'Donell is on fire

Ethan O'Donnell made a name for himself rather quickly last season after being taken by the Reds in the sixth-round of the 2023 MLB Draft. O'Donnell hit .350/.447/.600 in 23 games with the Tortugas and began this season at High-A Dayton.

O'Donnell didn't have that same level of success early, but over the past few weeks, the former Virginia Cavalier has been on fire. O'Donnell is hitting .393/.426/.714 since July 27th, and is staring down a late-season promotion to Double-A Chattanooga if he keeps up his hot hitting.

Reds Prospect Update: Sammy Stafura named Player of the Week

If there's one Reds prospect that's bound to get more attention heading into next season, it's Sammy Stafura. Many Reds fans scoffed at the idea of drafting yet another shortstop last season, but Stafura has shown why Cincinnati's scouting department was so high on the 19-year-old.

In 55 games at Low-A Daytona, Stafura is hitting .260/.378/.418 with six homers and 33 RBI in 55 games. Stafura was named the Florida State Player of the Week on Monday after going 5-for-18 with three round-trippers and eight RBI in five games.

Reds Prospect Update: Rece Hinds is striking out at a ridiculous rate

While O'Donnell and Stafura enjoyed a terrific week in the minor leagues, Rece Hinds continues to struggle. Reds fans were puzzled when Hinds was optioned back to Triple-A in favor of TJ Friedl earlier this season, but Hinds is showing exactly why the athletically-gifted outfielder needs more seasoning in the minor leagues.

This past week, Hinds was 3-for-19 with 10 strikeouts. The slugger now has 144 punch outs on the season which leads all International League players this season. Hinds is striking out nearly 40% of the time and has just a .685 OPS on the season. The 23-year-old has unmatched power, but if he's unable to get those swings and misses under control, his future in the big leagues is cloudy at best.

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