1 sleeper prospect who could be added to the Reds 40-man roster

By this time next week, the fanbase should know which prospects the Cincinnati Reds intend to add to the 40-man roster. Doing so will protect some of the club's most valuable assets from being selected during next month's Rule 5 Draft.

Last year, it was a given that the Reds were going to add hard-throwing right-hander and former first-round pick Hunter Greene to the 40-man roster. Fans should not be surprised to know that Elly De La Cruz will be added next week.

But it's unlikely that many fans had heard names like Daniel Duarte and Alexis Diaz prior to last fall. Both were sleeper additions to the Res 40-man roster, and while Duarte spent most of his rookie season on the IL, Diaz asserted himself as Cincinnati's future closer. Who might be a sleeper addition this year?

Don't be surprised if Nick Quintana is added to the Reds 40-man roster.

Shortly after last year's World Series ended, the Cincinnati Reds traded longtime catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers for an infield prospect. The Reds were unwilling to pay Barnhart's $7.5M team-option, and chose instead to trade him to the Motor City.

That infielder was Nick Quintana. The former second-round pick struggled mightily with the glove during his time in the Tigers organization and also hit below .200 during his last stop at Low-A Lakeland.

But Quintana turned things around a bit during his first season in the Cincinnati farm system. In 59 games at High-A Dayton, Quintana slashed .257/.372/.421 with a wRC+ of 125. Quintana also greatly reduced his strikeout-rate from previous years and increased his walk-rate.

Jumping from High-A to Double-A, however, proved to be a bit challenging in terms of the power numbers. Quintana slugged just .354 in 53 games with the Chattanooga Lookouts. But his walk-rate and strikeout-rate remained about the same.

The Cincinnati Reds have a ton of infield prospects within the organization and, soon enough, both Noelvi Marte and Elly De La Cruz will be added to the 40-man roster. Matt McLain may not be far behind. But, if you're looking for an outside-the-box name to be added to the Reds roster next week, don't sleep on Nick Quintana.