Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
The Reds snuck into the playoffs in 2025 despite many doubting their ability to be successful. They were an incomplete team (which explains the doubt) with plenty of star power and plenty of question marks. A couple of seasons ago, the trajectory of this team was double-up arrows, but injuries, poor individual performances, and questionable roster moves have stunted the growth of a team many thought would challenge for division titles year after year.
The offense begins with the uber-talented Elly De La Cruz. He can hit and throw the ball as hard and run as fast as anyone in the game, and he does things on the field that people have never seen before, with a charisma that draws you in. However, he's inconsistent and has swing-and-miss concerns at the plate. The team that surrounds him is young, but just as inconsistent. Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, and TJ Friedl are all hitters who can be difference-makers, but have, for one reason or another, struggled to take the next step to be key supporting cast members for the Reds. Ke'Bryan Hayes and Tyler Stephenson have shown in glimpses that they can be solid big league regulars. Young hitters Noelvi Marte and Sal Stewart need to prove they belong, and 2026 will go a long way in informing our thoughts on these two.
The starting rotation could be the strength of this team if everyone stays healthy and performs to expectations. Staff ace Hunter Greene has taken his game to another level and become one of the premier run preventers in baseball. He's followed in the starting five by lefty Nick Lodolo, who had his best season by most metrics, allowing fewer base runners per inning than he ever had before. Andrew Abbott took multiple steps forward, making an All-Star game and receiving Cy Young votes. The most talented pitcher of the bunch might just be their 2024 first-round pick, Chase Burns, who reached the big leagues after just 13 minor league starts. His 102 mph fastball and 90-plus mph slider don't give hitters much of a chance. The bullpen has also been reinforced with youthful vigor, as Luis Mey and Zach Maxwell bring their high-octane energy to complement arms such as Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft.
The farm system has some exciting hitters with different skillsets; sluggers Alfredo Duno and Cam Collier bring the thump, while speedsters Tyson Lewis and Steele Hall tear up the basepaths. While not as plentiful, there are some arms who could provide future value for this Reds squad in the near future. Rhett Lowder has already started six big league games and looked very good doing so. Chase Petty is another arm who reached the big leagues, but with a much lesser degree of success, and will need more seasoning on the farm.
The Reds are a team that can certainly contend given the strength of their rotation and youthful offensive core. This team will provide dynasty owners with several valuable players who can impact multiple categories.
Morris, the 2025 third-round pick of the Reds, has an intriguing mix of pitches led by a fastball that can touch 99 with a slider and cutter to complement, all of which might be plus pitches. His command in college, as well as his role as a reliever, will suppress his value in FYPDs, but the Reds are likely to try developing him as a starter. His command improved in 2025, as he cut his BB% below 10% for the first time in his college career before being drafted, and he walked just one batter over four innings in his brief pro debut. As a former two-way player in high school, Morris still has plenty of room for improvement on the mound, and while the addition of a changeup is likely a necessary part of the transition to the rotation, his 6’4, 225 lb frame should hold up just fine against the increased workload. You won’t have to spend a high FYPD pick on him, and in some leagues, you might be able to add him after the draft, but he could be a fast riser in 2026.
Aaron Watson
Watson was known more as a pitchability arm coming into the 2025 draft cycle, but improved velo and stuff had him rising up the ranks before he was drafted 51st overall and received an above-slot bonus of $2.75 million from Cincy. He now tops out around 95 mph with hard sinking action and has thrown both a curve and a slider in the past, but favored the slider this past year because it showed more bat-missing ability. His changeup, of the split-change variety, is a viable third offering even though he didn’t need it much as a prepster. At 6’5, 205 lbs, he has some room to continue growing into his frame, likely resulting in further improved stuff and velocity, which will really play thanks to the excellent command he has of his entire arsenal. This is another arm you can probably get with a late FYPD pick or for free after the draft, with potential to rise in his pro debut.
Dynasty Sells
Andrew Abbott
Abbott has consistently outperformed expectations and peripherals, and this year was no different. However, in 2025, that meant a sub-3.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. The ERA was a career best by nearly a full run, and the WHIP a career best by 15 points while also throwing a career high 166 innings. His upside is capped as he doesn’t get a ton of swing and misses, but he should settle back in as a consistent mid-to-high 3s ERA arm. While there is still plenty of value in that, his 2025 performance creates a potential opportunity to sell high. If you can get a top 100 value this off-season, it's well worth making that deal, but if your league still values him closer to the back end of the top 200 overall, he’s a firm hold.
Brady Singer
Singer quietly put up a solid season in 2025 with a 4.03 ERA after moving from Kansas City (one of the toughest places in the league to hit a home run per Baseball Savant) to Cincinnati (one of the easiest). His expected numbers weren’t tremendously worse than his actual stats, but they were worse, and he managed to get opposing hitters to put the ball on the ground less than 40% of the time (a career worst) while running a career-best 10% HR/FB rate. That 10% mark is roughly average around the league on a yearly basis, but Singer had been closer to 14% for his career prior to 2025. It’s hard to believe he’ll continue to suppress the long ball at career-best rates in such a homer-prone home ballpark. You won’t be able to get a king’s ransom for him, but I recommend trading Singer for an FYPD lottery ticket before the bottom completely falls out.
Top Fantasy Prospects
Players are in order of their fantasy prospect ranking from our September end of season list.
It seems like everyone loved Sal Stewart as a fantasy prospect. He consistently walked above 10% of the time and stayed under 17% of the time with projectable power, and even chipped in 10+ bags a season. Stewart was recalled for his debut at the start of September but spent a surprising amount of time on the bench, receiving just 58 PA. He made the most of the opportunities, though, as he hit 5 HR with a 52.5% HardHit on 40 balls in play. It's clear that the 22-year-old is one of the Reds' top bats already and is currently slated to split time with Spencer Steer between 1B and DH. Given the lack of defensive value, there's obvious pressure on the bat. If he stumbles out of the gate, a trip back to the minors could be in the cards. If that happens, get the buy-low trade offers out. More than likely, though, Stewart has his first of many 20+ HR, high-BA, plug-and-play fantasy seasons. - Smada
Duno was a big riser on prospect lists in 2025 in his repeat season in Single-A. Listed at 6'2, 210 lbs (I'll take the over on both), Duno has massive power and a very underrated approach. Duno improved all of his offensive metrics in a big way this season, beginning with his power metrics. His 50% hard hit rate and 13% barrel rate were backed up by 105 mph EV90 and 111 mph max EV, both top-of-the-scale for a 19-year-old. Duno employed a borderline passive approach (39% swing rate) to produce a 19.1% walk rate, actually walking more than he struck out (18.4% strikeout rate). His contact rates (74% zone, 69% overall) are fringe average for the level, but the fact that he kept his strikeout rate below 20% shows that he has a solid two-strike approach. It's too early to tell whether he can be a catcher long-term, so bet on the bat here, it's a special one. - Greg Hoogkamp
Tyson Lewis was drafted by the Reds out of high school in the second round of the 2024 MLB draft, and he had a strong pro debut in 2025, slashing .311/.376/.486 (127 wRC+) with 9 homers and 27 stolen bases in 81 games across the Complex and Single-A. A 30% strikeout rate and .432 BABIP mute the excitement a little, but Lewis is a fun profile. At Single-A, Lewis showed off impressive raw power: a hard hit rate of 50%, an average exit velocity of 92.4 mph, and a 90th percentile exit velocity of 105.6 mph. That level of power, along with his speed and the potential to stick at short, is enough to place him within our top 100 prospects. The question for Lewis is whether he can make enough contact to maximize the rest of his tools, and if he can, he’ll be ranked much higher than 83rd overall. - Raj Mehta
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Director of Amateur Scouting, proud to lead and share the team's work. | Check out Path to the Show on Bally Sports Live and College Baseball Now everywhere! | Grateful for family, the Vols, and everyone who reads Prospects Live. | For His Glory.
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
Director of Amateur Scouting, proud to lead and share the team's work. | Check out Path to the Show on Bally Sports Live and College Baseball Now everywhere! | Grateful for family, the Vols, and everyone who reads Prospects Live. | For His Glory.
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
A Giants fan living in San Diego, been playing fantasy baseball since 2005 and dynasty since 2021. Started the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast in June 2023 and joined Prospects Live in March of 2024.
Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
Director of Amateur Scouting, proud to lead and share the team's work. | Check out Path to the Show on Bally Sports Live and College Baseball Now everywhere! | Grateful for family, the Vols, and everyone who reads Prospects Live. | For His Glory.
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
