Carlos Sanchez’s name is getting louder in Reds circles, and the Arizona Fall League might be the last push that puts him over the top.
MLB Pipeline recently pointed to five AFL players who could be in line for 40-man roster spots, and the Cincinnati shortstop made the cut. That matters because the fall league often serves two purposes at once: it gives players who missed time a chance to pile up more at-bats, and it gives clubs one more look before making roster protection decisions.
For Sanchez, the timing is especially interesting. He started the 2026 season outside the Reds’ Top 30 entirely, then climbed all the way to No.
- Now the 21-year-old is headed to Peoria, where he’ll suit up for the Javelinas and try to keep that rise going.
The numbers from his season explain why he’s in this conversation. Sanchez hit .270 across High-A and Double-A, including a scorching .912 OPS with the Dayton Dragons before earning a June promotion to Chattanooga.
The move up came with some adjustment - his OPS dropped to .693 in 58 Double-A games - but the full body of work still stood out. In 127 games, he put up 16 home runs, 51 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.
He also filled up the stat sheet in a way that shows how much he was around the ball all year. Sanchez finished second among all Reds minor leaguers with 133 hits and first with 111 runs scored. That 111-run total was good for third in all of Minor League Baseball in 2026.
Jonathan May of MLB Pipeline put the scouting angle this way:
"Left-handed hitter, really good feel for contact," Mayo wrote. "He had made some swing changes to really help him out.
And he's gotten more physical, so he's impacting the ball more. ... So I think the combination of the positional flexibility and the growing impact at the bat probably means he's added value, and he could be an intriguing Rule 5 guy because you can move him around the diamond."
That Rule 5 eligibility is the key piece for Cincinnati. If the Reds want to keep Sanchez from being exposed, adding him to the 40-man roster would be the move. There’s also a wrinkle to that decision: if he’s protected and the owners lock out the players after the CBA expires, he would not be able to play minor league baseball in 2027.
For now, though, Sanchez still has baseball in front of him. The fall league gives him another stage, and maybe another nudge toward forcing Cincinnati’s hand.
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