Reds prospect Steele Hall losing top-100 status raises the wrong alarm

Steele Hall was the Cincinnati Reds first-round draft pick in 2025 and quickly made a name for himself in the Arizona Complex League. Hall made his professional debut this year and hit .288/.387/.518 with 10 home runs, 42 RBI, and 24 stolen bases in the ACL.

Scouts raved about Hall's speed even before the 2025 draft, but few believed he possessed the type of power to launch double-digit home runs during his first pro season. Hall quickly appeared on a number of top-100 prospects lists, and was viewed by many as a fast riser.

But it all came crashing down during the second half of the season. Hall moved from the ACL Reds to Low-A Daytona and struggled against the opposition. His power was muted, and he hit just .189/.355/.284 in 28 games with the Daytona Tortugas. Combined, Hall posted a .259/.377/.449 slash line with a 100 wRC+ in 2026.

Hall's struggles over the final month-plus were enough to motivate the contributors at MLB Pipeline to push him out of the top-100. They cited his in-zone contact rate as a major reason for his subsequent drop, and now Alfredo Duno (20) is the lone Reds' representative among the top-100.

Reds fans shouldn't be discouraged by Steele Hall removal from the top-100

As MLB Pipeline appropriately notes, Hall is a long-term prospect. He was only 17 years old on the day the Reds drafted him in 2025, and he just turned 19 this past July. Though so many stars in today's game make their Major League debuts much earlier than ever before, the Reds have a several cases that prove it takes time to properly develop prospects — and even then you don't always get it right.

Two easy examples for the Reds are Edwin Arroyo and Chase Petty. Both players were former top-100 prospects in their own, but they've struggled making the leap from the minors to the majors. Arroyo had a 50-game audition this season, but hit just .223/.266/.264 with a 46 wRC+. Petty appeared in 16 games this season for the Reds, but posted an underwhelming 4.83 ERA and 5.75 FIP.

But both Arroyo and Petty are still just 23 years old. Neither player is anywhere close to their arbitration window, and both have multiple minor-league options remaining heading into next season. In short, there's plenty of runway remaining for these players to live up to their lofty prospect status.

The same holds true for Hall — and then some. Look for the Reds to send the teenager back to Daytona next spring and give him a full season against Low-A competition. If he shows enough promise midway through the season, there's no reason to believe he won't make the jump to High-A.

Hall is extremely athletically gift. Seeing as how Elly De La Cruz's free agency timeline is creeping ever closer, it would behoove the Reds to take their time and develop Hall properly. He could be the team's shortstop of the future.

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