The Reds are staring at a tricky offseason, and that makes the pipeline matter even more. With money already tied up in Ke'Bryan Hayes, the possibility of picking up Eugenio Suarez's option, and a potential $23 million qualifying offer for Brady Singer, Cincinnati does not have much room to shop outside the organization. Arbitration raises for Andrew Abbott, Elly De La Cruz, JJ Bleday, Nick Lodolo and others only tighten the squeeze.
That puts the spotlight on the prospects who could help bridge the gap, and three names stand out as possible 2027 contributors: Sal Stewart, Alfredo Duno and Jose Acuna.
Stewart has gone from an afterthought to a prospect worth protecting. The Reds took him in the eighth round in 2023 out of Stanford, and his first two full seasons were solid but not loud: 235 total bases, 17 home runs, 184 games.
This year, though, he turned the corner in a big way. In 126 games, he hit .300/.421/.565 with 29 home runs, 31 doubles and 93 RBIs.
The walks jumped, too. He drew 80 of them this season, 51 more than last year in just 25 additional games.
That combination of power and strike-zone control changed the way he looked as a hitter. It also pushed him all the way to 22nd in the Reds’ prospect rankings after beginning the year outside the top 30.
Stewart will be in the Arizona Fall League with seven other Reds prospects, and he’s eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason. If Cincinnati doesn’t add him to the 40-man roster, another club could take him, though that team would have to keep him on its major league roster all year or give him back.
Of the Reds’ possible protection decisions, he might be the one most worth making. If he opens next season in Triple-A, a 2027 call-up could come with real offensive impact.
He also gives the Reds some defensive flexibility, since he can handle both corner infield spots and the corner outfield.
Duno brings a different kind of threat. He is the Reds’ top prospect, and the bat is the selling point.
He hits for average, controls the zone, and has huge power. The concern has always been his glove.
He missed time with a hamstring injury this season, but still topped his home run total from a year ago with 19.
He showed up at The Futures Game this summer and made his priorities clear.
“I’m going to keep working on my defense. Everyone knows I can hit in the major leagues, the question is whether I can field,” he told ElExtraBase on X.
That defensive question is the whole story with Duno right now. If the Reds are in the thick of a playoff race next season and need a jolt from the lineup, the simplest path might be to call him up and let the bat play at designated hitter. He has already shown what kind of damage he can do, hitting 18 homers in the Florida State League in 2025 and then 19 between High-A and Double-A this season while playing in 16 fewer games.
Acuna is the pitching name on this list, and the Reds will need some arms to emerge. There aren’t many pitchers in the system who look ready for next season or even 2028, but Acuna fits the 2027 window. He came to Cincinnati in the Tyler Naquin trade with the Mets, the same deal that brought back Hector Rodriguez.
He flashed real promise this year. In his first start, he worked seven innings, gave up three hits and one earned run, and struck out six while walking three for Double-A Chattanooga. He later moved up to Triple-A in July, and after the adjustment period settled in, he allowed seven earned runs over his final 19 innings.
Command is the issue that still needs cleaning up. Even so, Acuna mixes his pitches well, makes hitters uncomfortable, and gets a lot of groundballs.
He also had nine outings with six or more strikeouts, including two games with double-digit punchouts. At 23, he’s still young, and after reaching Triple-A for the first time this season, a strong spring could put him in position to help the Reds at some point in 2027.
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For Reds fans, the interesting part now is whether that promise becomes a real shift or just another attempt to calm the noise around the front office. Krall suddenly looks like a key figure in that answer, because the way the next stretch unfolds could say a lot about how much say Cincinnatis baseball people truly have and how committed ownership is to letting them work without interference. [Read more 🡒]