Alfredo Duno earned the No. 2 spot in this year’s community prospect rankings, and now we take a look at the No. 3 prospect.
There is an embedded Google Form with a poll that should appear at the bottom of this article, but if you find it by removing the embedded search engine, I’ve added a link to the poll here.
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There’s a big list as there are many worthy candidates at this moment, so get in on the voting frenzy and let us know who the third candidate in this year’s CPR is!
Steele Hall, SS (age 18)
2025 Overview: Selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the 9th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft from Hewitt-Trussville High School (Alabama); 2025 Alabama Baseball Player of the Year, played for the University of Tennessee, and later signed with the Reds for $5.75 million
advantage: Quick and quick; projectable power and potential five-man tool player whose defense and arm look good in short yards; drafted at just 17 years old after reclassifying a year early
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shortcoming: This is all still “predictable” since he just turned 18 after the draft and has zero career PA
Although Hall was originally a member of the 2026 class, he was reclassified to the 2025 class, and the Reds — who were already seeking him — believed he had the ability to eventually develop into a player capable of becoming the No. 1 overall pick in 2026. So when he was drafted ninth overall in 2025, they jumped at the chance to sign him knowing full well there was no rush in his development.
He’s been compared to the likes of Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson, which is pretty lofty. Although he has yet to play a pro game and is only 18 years old, he ranks No. 79 on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 overall career prospect rankings. His physical maturity and speed with adapting to breaking the ball at the top level remains to be seen, but the speed, glove and arm all look set to be at the major league level in short order.
Rhett Lowder, RHP (24 years)
2025 Overview: 11 ER, 15 H, 13/3 K/BB in 9.1 IP split between ACL Reds (Arizona Comprehensive League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest Conference) and AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 5 ER, 9 H, 8/1 K/BB in 9.0 IP with Peoria Javelinas (Arizona Fall League)
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advantage: Impacts the strike zone; mixes four- and two-seam fastballs with an elite changeup that can draw the edge of the zone while also making plays on a developing slider
shortcoming: Most out for 2025 season with forearm and oblique strains
Lord will turn 24 in March before the 2026 season starts, and on his birthday, we should all do our part to give him the gift of good health. He didn’t have that at all last year, with forearm issues derailing him before he started and an oblique strain derailing an already derailed run. He finally returned to the mound in an AFL game in October and performed well enough to suggest he was healthy (and looked healthy enough that I could almost ignore that small statistic).
He has incredible command and feel on the mound and can hit both sides of the plate to lefties and righties. His fastball can reach up to 97 mph, although velocity isn’t what makes his stuff work — it’s movement.
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He’s one of Cincinnati’s five best starting pitchers, and the only question is how aggressive the Reds will be against him early in 2026. They’ll likely move him back to AAA and plan on getting him enough innings in the second half of the season, which means we might be a little longer before he returns to Cincinnati in late 2024 after his impressive cameo.
Tyson Lewis, SS (age 20)
2025 Overview: .340/.396/.532 (.928 OPS) in 207 PA with the ACL Reds (Arizona Composite League); .268/.347/.417 (.765 OPS) in 144 PA with the Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League)
advantage: A favorite of Statcast, he has great exit speed and power in his left-handed swing; elite athleticism and blazing speed give him a chance to stay at SS long-term, though he may move on from the position
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shortcoming: Daytona struck out 35.4% of the time (29.1% overall last year); .432 BABIP across all leagues last year screams “return”
tool. Tyson Lewis has just about every tool. He hit the ball at over 119 mph in his pro debut, was the Gatorade Player of the Year at Nebraska before being drafted in the second round (with a bonus) by the Redskins, and was originally committed to the University of Arkansas.
The upside here is obvious, as he has one of the loudest bats at any level. However, he’ll have to drastically change his swing and miss issues as he moves up the ranks, although being freed from the FSL’s extremely pitcher-friendly restrictions might help.
Cam Collier, 3B/1B (21 years old)
2025 Overview: .279/.391/.384 with 4 HR and 21 2B in 396 PA between the ACL Reds (Arizona Comprehensive League), A+ Dayton Dragons (Midwest Conference) and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern Conference); .221/.368/.325 with 1 completion in 95 PA with Peoria Javelinas HR (Arizona Fall League)
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advantage: Plus the hitting tool and his plate discipline are quickly moving into the plus category; we’re still hopeful he’ll be able to regain enough power in the game after his thumb injury
shortcoming: The defense leaves a lot to be desired and he might be 1B at this point
Collier injured his thumb in spring training in 2025, and the break (and recovery) caused him to miss the first two months of the season. A rehab stint in Arizona followed, and he eventually worked his way up to AA Chattanooga… though the power of a guy who hit 20 home runs for A+ Dayton in 2024, a mark that tied him for the Midwest League lead, was astounding.
What Collier will do in 2025, though, is start showing off some pretty elite OBP skills, if he can keep that up and Returning to strength a year after a broken thumb, well, the Reds have a guy who’s an over-the-top first-round pick in 2022 who has been a top-100 overall prospect multiple times in the first few years of his career. Even if all this is just earned as a 1B player who isn’t the greatest defender in the world, it’s a very valuable thing, especially with the team’s current lack of offense.
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Chase Petty, RHP (23 years)
2025 Overview: 6.39 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 102/58 K/BB in 112.2 IP with AAA Louisville Bats (International League); 13 ER in 6.0 IP with Cincinnati Reds
advantage: Three or more pitches, including a 100 mph fastball and a 60-grade slider and cutter
shortcoming: Fired up in first cup of MLB coffee, struggled in AAA after being sent back
Petty has long been on the radar of every scout in the game, as a former first-round pick out of high school with the Minnesota Twins (at a time when the Reds were also interested in drafting). He was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Sonny Gray the other way, and he’s cracked the top 100 overall prospect list multiple times since.
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Of course, he’s also gradually working his way down those rosters, and that’s what he’ll do for much of 2025. He was bombarded at the major league level, although it should be noted that he had just turned 22 at the time. Those things are still there, he’s just trying to put it all together long enough to prove he can be an effective major league starter. Hopefully, the struggles he faces in 2025, combined with a mostly healthy offseason for the first time in a while, will have him ready in 2026 with something to prove.
Edwin Arroyo, SS (age 22)
2025 Overview: .284/.345/.371, 3 HR, 12 SB in 521 PA with AA Chattanooga Lookout (Confederate)
advantage: High-contact, low-K approach at the plate (just 16.9% K% in 25 years); elite defensive shortstop with a forearm who can switch successfully from both sides of the plate; he’s consistently young at every level of the game
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shortcoming: The power has dried up since he lost 2024 to shoulder surgery — will it ever come back?
We’ll forgive you if it looks like we’ve been waiting for Edwin Arroyo. After all, it’s already 2026, and Luis Castillo’s trade with Seattle was already in the works in 2022. Still, the 21-year-old Arroyo played the first 84 games of the 2025 season in the AA Southern League, and by season’s end he ranked fourth in the league in hits (132).
Most believe he could defend as Cincinnati’s everyday shortstop today and be very good at it. Imagine that, even paired with a .320 OBP from a switch hitter! This is completely within the scope of his correct expectations at this moment!
Of course, we have to address the shoulder issue. Injuries and surgeries cost him almost everything in 2024, and the power he showed in Chattanooga’s underclass in 2025 simply wasn’t there. Maybe it’s a bit rusty, a bit up and down as his strikeout rate drops significantly from before, a bit simply all the way back — and if so, it’ll be more of the same in 2026 than in 2025. If so, though, his swing is permanently diminished but he’ll have to reinvent himself.
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Editor’s note: I still hold irrational highs about Arroyo and think his impressive performance in 2026 at AAA Louisville (and will join the Reds’ infield mix at season’s end) will catapult him back up the prospect list. But don’t let that sway your vote, because the further down he falls on the list this year, the more smug I’ll be when he’s at the top next year!
Hector Rodriguez, OF (22 years old)
2025 Overview: .298/.357/.481, 12 HR, 6 SB, 345 PA, AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Southern League); .260/.304/.405, 7 HR, 9 SB in 230 PA, AAA Louisville Bats (International League)
advantage: Plus a hitting tool with a low strikeout rate (15.0% last year); potential and power emerging in the game
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shortcoming: Sometimes, aggressiveness at the plate results in a higher chase rate; probably more of an OF corner than a CF
Like Arroyo, Rodriguez is significantly younger than average in every sense of the word, and he technically doesn’t turn 22 until March. So, we’re talking about a 21-year-old who has spent a third of 2025 at the AAA level and is holding his own here against older rivals.
He’s typically a gap hitter in the left side, although his power is starting to become more apparent in 2025. He does have a tendency to swing at just about everything, though his low K rate suggests he actually makes good contact on poor contact (although that usually leads to poor contact as well). If he continues to refine this as he progresses — and as the pitchers get better and are around the zone more — then there’s a chance he’ll continue to perform better as well.
He still needs to show more at the AAA level, but if he does that, he’ll be in the Reds OF mix once that happens.
