3 Reds prospects with the most to gain in the Arizona Fall League

3. Reds RHP prospect Christian Roa has the most to gain in the Arizona Fall League.

Injury seems to be a theme here, and that's a not a good thing. But, what Christian Roa did once he returned from the injured list was very good. The Texas A&M alum worked his way up through the Aggies system from the bullpen to the starting rotation and the Reds are convinced that Roa can be a starter in the major leagues.

After seeing the numbers the right-hander put up this season, the Reds seem to have good reason to be optimistic. Though he only made three starts at Double-A Chattanooga, Roa went 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 19 punch outs over 17 innings of work.

Prior to the three starts with the Lookouts, Roa had appeared in 17 games for the Dayton Dragons. Roa was 4-3 with a 4.14 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 74 innings. Roa did, however, walk a lot of batters this season. The former second-round pick posted a 14% walk-rate according to FanGraphs.

The high number of free passes will no doubt be something that the Glendale Desert Dogs' coaching staff will be working on. Minnesota's minor league pitching coach will have the pleasure of being Christian Roa's pitching coach during AFL play.

The Cincinnati Reds are also sending Noelvi Marte, Sam Benschoter, Jake Gozzo, and Vin Tampenelli to the desert this fall. Nick Krall and the Reds front office are hopeful that the additional work will pay off and help accelerate the growth of these seven prospects.