The Reds may be buried in the playoff chase, but a pair of their minor league clubs are still playing meaningful baseball in September. Daytona and Dayton both opened postseason play this week, with the Tortugas and Dragons each trying to keep championship hopes alive after dropping their first games. Daytona fell to Jupiter on Tuesday and gets Game 2 of its three-game set Thursday night, while Dayton’s series with Great Lakes moves into a sold-out Game 2 at Day Air Ballpark.
Inside that action, Ichiro Cano has become one of the more interesting names in the system. Signed out of Mexico in 2024, the 21-year-old has spent all of 2026 with Low-A Daytona and put together a strong season at the plate.
In 110 games, Cano is hitting .297/.412/.422 with seven home runs, 64 RBI and a 125 wRC+. He can move around the diamond, though third base has been his most common spot.
He still doesn’t show up on MLB Pipeline’s Reds top-30 list, but he’s definitely a player worth keeping an eye on in 2027.
Ruben Ibarra has also forced his way into the conversation with pure power. The Chattanooga slugger, another name outside Cincinnati’s prospect spotlight, reached a new personal best on Wednesday when he launched his 22nd homer of the season. The blast came in the bottom of the second inning against Los Angeles Angels right-handed pitching prospect Austin Gordon and sailed over the left-center field wall.
That homer pushed Ibarra past the mark he set last year. He has now spent the past two seasons with Double-A Chattanooga and has piled up 43 home runs and 148 RBI since 2025. At this point, a look at Triple-A Louisville next season seems like the natural next step.
Austin Hendrick’s path, meanwhile, is heading in the other direction. The former first-round pick got his chance at Triple-A Louisville in mid-May after years in the lower minors, but the move didn’t stick and he was sent back to Double-A late last month.
Since rejoining Chattanooga on August 21, the results have stayed rough: he’s hitting .136/.215/.288 with a 30.8% strikeout rate. He did homer Wednesday, his fourth since returning, but the overall picture is getting harder to ignore.
In Other News...
Reds Fans Have Every Right To Be Furious Over Sal Stewart Debate
The National League Rookie of the Year conversation has narrowed in a way that should have Reds fans paying close attention, because Sal Stewart has put himself right in the middle of it. His case is built on the kind of offensive production Cincinnati has been looking for all year, especially the ability to drive in runs even when the lineup around him has not always set the table. That has made Stewart one of the most intriguing names in the race, and it has also made the debate feel bigger than just one award.
Nolan McLean has emerged as the other major challenger, and the contrast is part of what makes this such a frustrating discussion for Cincinnati followers. Stewart is being weighed against a pitcher with strong numbers, while JJ Wetherholts injury has altered the shape of the race and taken another name out of the mix. For Reds fans, the annoyance is easy to understand: Stewart has given them plenty to point to, but the conversation still feels like it may come down to how voters value what he did against what McLean brought to the mound. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Should Be Paying Attention To Carlos Jorge Right Now
Carlos Jorge keeps turning heads in ways that matter for a Reds organization always looking for the next useful piece. In a game against the Dodgers, the rookie outfielder made a notable catch that served as another reminder of how far he has come since Cincinnati moved him from second base to center field in 2023. The shift was a significant one, but Jorge has made it look increasingly natural while logging more than 250 games at the position.
For the Reds, his progress fits into a broader development pattern that can be hard to get right. Not every prospect who changes positions takes to it this cleanly, and the club has had its share of less successful conversions. Jorges growth is why he deserves more attention now, not just for the highlight plays, but for what he could represent if Cincinnati keeps finding value in players willing to learn something new. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Front Office Debate Just Got More Uncomfortable
Baseball Prospectus did not exactly flatter the Reds when it slotted their front office 26th in Major League Baseball, dropping the club into a sixth-tier label that can only be described as a bad time. The assessment lands with a particular sting because Cincinnati has shown a real knack for developing pitching, even if the broader body of work has settled into a familiar sort of mediocrity under Nick Krall.
Since 2021, the Reds have gone 456-500, a record that says plenty about the middle ground they have occupied while trying to build something more durable. Front office rankings are never simple, especially when ownership spending limits and trade vetoes can shape the outcome as much as the baseball operations department itself, but the verdict here does not feel hard to defend. [Read more 🡒]