Reds double down on this development model for top prospects

The Cincinnati Reds have become one of the best organizations in baseball when it comes to identifying and developing talent in the infield. Six of their current top 10 prospects according to MLB Pipeline are infielders, five of which were either signed or drafted by the Reds.

Dating back to 2021 when Jonathan India won the National League Rookie of the Year award, to now having Elly De La Cruz putting up video game numbers, the Reds have put together a nice track record of developing home grown infielders into everyday, big league ballplayers.

The good news for Reds fans is that they should have a lot more to be excited about beyond what De La Cruz has done for them. While it is quite the ask for a prospect to match a 25 home run and 67 stolen base season as a shortstop at the age of 22, there's still a lot you can dream on with the current crop of Reds top prospects.

In the last three drafts, the Reds have added four infielders within their first three picks that have become top organizational prospects. Third basemen Cam Collier and Sal Stewart were selected with back-to-back picks in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, while the two shortstop prospects we're going to break down right now were both selected in the second round in 2023 and 2024. Those two prospects would be Sammy Stafura and Tyson Lewis, the Reds eighth and ninth-ranked prospects right now.

Sammy Stafura is one of the premier athletes in the Reds farm system

Stafura is a toolsy shortstop prospect and one of the better all-around athletes in Minor League Baseball. The 43rd overall pick in the 2023 draft to the Reds, Stafura was a second-round selection out of Walter Panas High School in New York. Stafura's selection was the third in what is now a four year stretch of the Reds taking a prep bat with their second round pick. That trend points to a specific strategy the Reds have deployed in order to add a number of high-ceiling prospects into their system.

While he did have one of the better offensive skill-sets in the 2023 prep class, Stafura's impact at the pro level really comes from his athleticism. His speed is his premier tool. It's 65 grade speed that was highlighted by his 31 steals last year, 27 of which came in a Low-A Daytona uniform. To this point in 2025, he's up to 19 steals, on pace to match his total from 2024.

The athleticism allows him to play an above-average shortstop as well. It's a 55 grade glove and arm - both of which have the potential to push past a 60 grade in the future. He has shown no signs of having to move off the position in the near future, so he's going to get plenty of pro experience at short, and there's still some projection in his six foot frame, so the arm strength might take another step.

It's tough to pair his athletic profile to a big league shortstop, simply because there are so much of them that share a similar profile. Obviously guys like Bobby Witt Jr. and Francisco Lindor come to mind at the top end of shortstops with skill-sets like that, while guys like Anthony Volpe and Masyn Winn are a lot more realistic comps to Stafura when you account for the entire profile.

The bat certainly has some work to do, but that's the bright side to drafting prep bats — you have a lot more time to let them marinate in the lower levels, and really allow them enough time to adjust to pro pitching. It wasn't a memorable professional debut for Stafura in 2023 at the Arizona Complex Leauge as he posted a whopping wRC+ of 3 over 53 plate appearances. Fortunately, he was able to bring his numbers up to an above league-average level in 2024 following his first offseason in a big league organization. After 15 games in the Complex League, he earned a promotion to Low-A where he kept stride, posting a 121 wRC+ over 352 plate appearances.

The biggest question when it comes to Stafura's offensive production comes from the strikeout rate. He came into the system with a 45 grade hit tool, and he's still striking out 25% of the time. He does have a refined approach that allows him to walk comfortably over 10% of the time, and he also has an optimized swing that helps him tap into pull-side power. There isn't quite enough raw power in his bat to be able to sell out for power, so if the hit tool is exposed further as he advances into the upper levels, he might have a really hard time reaching his offensive ceiling.

Regardless of the concerns with the bat, the Reds have an exciting young player that doesn't turn 21 until November, and can impact the game in more ways than one. That has become a trend with plenty of players they have added into their system in recent years, including our next shortstop prospect, Lewis.

Reds shortstop Tyson Lewis can be a top 100 prospect by the end of the year

In his brief professional career thus far, Lewis has caught the attention of some baseball people. He was drafted just a year ago in the second round as the 51st overall pick to the Reds out of Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska. As they did with Stafura a year prior, the Reds paid first-round money to land Lewis in the second round. In fact, Lewis's signing bonus was $3.05 million compared to the assigned slot value of just $1.08 million. The Reds really believed in Lewis, and he looks to be returning the favor early on.

The scouting report on Lewis coming out of high school was similar to Stafura's. He's a plus-athlete with multiple skills that impact the game. He has plus speed that isn't as high end as Stafura's, but he utilizes it well through his aggression on the base paths. He does stand in at a wiry 195 pounds, so you can really dream on the power projection. With that being said, he might slow down closer to average speed as he matures physically. He's still only 19 years old and doesn't turn 20 until January.

Defensively, the expectation coming out of high school was that Lewis would eventually move over to third base due to the physical profile and projection, but a year later, it is believed that he is going to stick around at shortstop for at least the near future. His athleticism of course allows him to hold his own at the position, and he has a strong arm that helps him make plays deep in the hole. If the Reds really want to lean into his bat they might move him over to third anyway, but if he can continue to play short, they have options in how they want to develop him long-term.

While Lewis has proven to be a plus-athlete, the bat is looking like it could be his premier tool. He didn't make his pro debut last year following the draft, but is raking at the Arizona Complex League thus far in 2025. In 93 plate appearances, he's up to a .341/.387/.447 slash line, good for an .834 OPS. He has a very smooth stroke from the left side of the plate, and does a good job of peppering the ball all over the field with line drives.

Although the slash line would lead you to believe Lewis is a contact hitter that gets on base at a high rate, it's really the power that seems to be peaking through. He only has one home run so far this year which is large in part due to the fact that he has had a hard time getting the ball in the air. However, his lone long ball traveled 434 feet with an exit velocity of 114.8 mph. On top of that, he also popped a max exit velocity of 119.4 mph. If he gets the ball in the air more, there is a lot of game power to be tapped into.

The concern for Lewis seems to be the same concern for most toolsy prep shortstops including Stafura, and that is the hit tool. His approach at the plate is still very raw. He's swinging over 60% of the time (MLB average is 47.3%), and he's also making contact less than 70% of the time (MLB average is 77.1%). Believe it or not, that has only resulted in a 22.6% strikeout rate, likely due to the fact that he's very aggressive early on in counts, avoiding a lot of two-strike counts. These type of plate discipline numbers do tend to be a trend among recently signed or drafted teenagers at the complex league, so there's hope those numbers normalize upon his soon-to-be call up to Low-A.

It is kind of rare that an organization would keep a higher draft pick in the complex league nearly a year after being drafted. However, they did the same with Stafura to work through some of his kinks in the bat, and it follows what the Reds have done in really taking their time with younger prospects. As the approach comes together and he grows into more power, Lewis really looks like a player with the upside of a top 100 prospect, potentially by year's end.

The Reds have reason to continue with this trend of players

Stafura and Lewis are both pretty good depictions of what most big league shortstops started off as. They typically enter organizations at a young age out of high school with a skill-set that features a lot of upside, but in need of a lot of polish.

The younger a player is when he enters a system, the more time he has to reach his ceiling within a reasonable time frame. The more tools a player has entering a system, the more skills that organization has to fall back on if another tool doesn't play at the professional level. With that being said, when you add a young, toolsy middle infielder into a farm system, you can typically count on both a high ceiling and a high floor for that player if the player development department does its job right.

Given the early returns on Stafura and Lewis, as well as earlier prospects such as Sal Stewart and Cam Collier, it's safe to say the Reds have found something that works for that demographic of players. There is a strategy set in place for adding those pieces, and with the depth of high school talent in this year's draft, it's very likely they return to the well for more.

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