There’s no denying that the 2024 Arizona Fall League season was historic. There was a little bit of everything in the desert, with record books being rewritten during the 32nd year of prospects putting their skills on display. It’s always difficult to gauge just how significant six weeks' worth of

CINCINNATI -- Ahead of Tuesday’s deadline to protect players from exposure to next month's Rule 5 Draft, the Reds added two players to their 40-man roster. Right-handed reliever Luis Mey and infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan were protected, and Cincinnati also announced the signing of Nick Martinez to his one-year, $21.05 million

For six more weeks again this year, some of the best prospects in baseball shined in the Arizona Fall League, the game’s most elite prospect circuit. Now it’s time to give out some hardware. The Fall League annually awards the Joe Black MVP Award to its top performer, and since

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- A rough second start in the Arizona Fall League on Oct. 16 looked like it might derail the bounceback journey of Connor Phillips, but the Reds’ No. 15 prospect had other ideas. Phillips closed a disastrous regular season at Triple-A Louisville with a strong five-start stretch, and

GLENDALE, Ariz. – One reason why teams send players to the Arizona Fall League is because a decision has to be made about putting them on the 40-man roster or leaving them exposed to December’s Rule 5 Draft. This last stretch of performances, and how a player responds to the

This fall, for the first time, the majority of Arizona Fall League stadiums are outfitted with Statcast technology. That enables us to peek under the hood and get a better sense of how some of the game’s best prospects are performing on the annual elite prospect circuit. With that in

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- After missing the entirety of the 2024 season following left shoulder surgery, Matt McLain needed at-bats. Even though the Reds infielder had 365 big-league at-bats in 2023 and received Rookie of the Year votes, he opted to come back to the Arizona Fall League, where he played

Week 3 of the Arizona Fall League featured another spate of strong performances from some of baseball’s best prospects. These two stood out from the rest. Salt River infielder Caleb Durbin (Yankees) sprinted his way to AFL Hitter of the Week honors and Glendale right-hander Jose Acuna (Reds) used an

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The last time Edwin Arroyo had a four-hit game in a professional setting was with Single-A Modesto on June 3, 2022. That feels like a lifetime, or maybe even two, ago in the career of the 21-year-old shortstop. Arroyo was traded from the Mariners to the Reds

CINCINNATI – The Reds have named their new manager in Terry Francona to lead what is expected to be a younger roster headlined by Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain and others. When it comes to offseason player moves, president of baseball operations Nick Krall will likely make efforts to

Here are the top performers from the second week of AFL action:

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The world looked a lot different the last time Matt McLain and Sean McLain started in the same lineup on Aug. 10, 2020. No longer with their college teams at UCLA and Arizona State, the Orange County natives joined the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California Collegiate

When the Mariners and Reds swung a blockbuster Trade Deadline deal in July 2022, the first name mentioned wasn’t Edwin Arroyo. Nor was it the second. Luis Castillo, then a two-time All-Star, and Noelvi Marte, then MLB’s No. 18 overall prospect, were the headliners, even if many evaluators were thinking

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon's Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The 32nd season of the Arizona Fall League is a week old, and already, there are top prospects standing out amid the field of, well, top prospects. Here are the top performers from the first week of AFL action:

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Connor Phillips went from the top of the Reds organization to the bottom in nine months. After making his big league debut last September, he found himself reassigned to the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League this June. Because Phillips posted a 9.92 ERA with as many walks as

CHICAGO -- Regardless of how he performed on Saturday vs. the Cubs, Reds rookie starting pitcher Rhett Lowder already made his case for next year. At minimum, it meant that an inside lane should be carved out for Lowder in the battle to make the 2025 rotation. “I think he’s

CINCINNATI – Already eliminated from the postseason, the Reds can still use the remaining games in 2024 to take stock of what they have and what they might need for 2025. When it comes to Cincinnati's rotation, there's both certainty and fluidity. Julian Aguiar wants to be included in those

MINNEAPOLIS -- While it's a tad early to project the Reds' 2025 rotation, rookie Rhett Lowder is making a case that his name should be written in pen and laminated through four big league starts. Until the bottom of the sixth inning, Lowder mostly cruised through his Sunday afternoon at

ST. LOUIS -- Rhett Lowder has had an impressive start to his career for the Reds, but one thing had eluded him -- a win. He pitched just four innings in his debut and left with the game tied in the seventh inning in his second big league start. But

Good pitching can be hard to find -- look at the flurry of activity at the Trade Deadline for evidence -- so clubs that can develop talents on the mound themselves can get a considerable leg up on the competition. Think of where the Phillies would be without homegrown talents

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon's Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- For Reds fans already wanting to look ahead to 2025, starting pitching prospect Rhett Lowder's performance sure was easy on the eyes. Lowder provided 6 1/3 scoreless innings as the Reds claimed their fourth straight win with a 1-0 victory over the Astros to complete a three-game series

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon's Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.