Sal Stewarts leads three Cincinnati Reds Top 100 prospects – Redleg Nation

Baseball America has them Top 100 prospects list this morning. The industry’s longest-running prospect rankings (they started publishing team rankings in the 80s and then the first Top 100 in 1990) has a pretty good track record. In the latest rankings, the Cincinnati Reds had three players on the list, led by Sal Stewart, the frontrunner for the 2026 National League Rookie of the Year. He is listed by both Alfredo Duno and Rhett Lowder.

The Reds organization’s top prospect, Sal Stewart, appeared on the list at No. 23. The corner infielder is coming off a breakout season in the minor leagues and a year in which he spent the last month playing for the big league club.

After starting the year in Double-A, Stewart hit for a high average early, but his power didn’t materialize until June when he hit six home runs. After the All-Star break, he moved up to Triple-A, where he continued to hit for a high average and the power came with him as he hit .629 for Louisville in 38 games before being promoted to the major leagues to join the Reds in September. He later played in 18 games and added five more home runs, giving him 25 in the season between the minors and majors in 136 games played. He would finish the season with a .907 OPS in the minors and an .839 in the major leagues.

Alfredo Duno was the next Reds prospect on the list, coming in as the 77th rated prospect on the list. He would spend his entire season in Single-A Daytona. The then 19-year-old catcher dominated the offensive rankings of the Florida State League. He was named the league’s MVP. He finished second in the league on average (.287). He subsequently led the league in the following categories: home runs (18), RBI (81), OBP (.430), SLG (.518), OPS (.948), doubles (32), walks (95) and runs scored (78).

Rhett Lowder has more than a year of service in the big league. But a full year of that was gained while he was on the injured list for the entire 2025 season. In terms of playing time and active service time, he is still eligible for the 2026 Rookie of the Year award, making him eligible for prospect lists. Now that that’s out of the way, Lowder comes in at 79th on the list. That’s a drop from where he entered 2025 at 53 spots, but the injury certainly plays into that somewhat.

In 2024, Lowder had a somewhat rough start to his time in Double-A. After his first 11 starts, his ERA stood at 6.52 and he had allowed 65 hits in 48.1 innings and just couldn’t keep the runs off the board. But that led to the All-Star break and when he returned, he simply dominated. He would make five more starts in Double-A, one more in Triple-A, and then finish the year in Cincinnati. Lowder made 12 second-half starts between the three levels, allowing six runs in 65.2 innings – good for an ERA of 0.82. He allowed just one home run in that time.

Note: I cover the Cincinnati Reds for Baseball America and have done so since 2019. I have no input whatsoever on the Reds prospects list or the top 100 list.