2025 Community Prospect Rankings: Ty Floyd is the Reds #16 prospect!

Will we finally see him on a mound again in 2025?

The last time the baseball world saw Ty Floyd pitch in a competitive game was June 24th, 2023, a day in which he fanned 17 Florida Gators across 8.0 brilliant innings and cemented his legacy as that of legend in LSU lore. The Tigers would go on to eliminate Wyatt Langford, Jac Caglianone, and the Gators in the College World Series two days later en route to yet another title, and Floyd later became one of a trio of LSU products selected in the 1st round of the MLB Draft that summer.

Unfortunately, major shoulder surgery shelved him for the 2024 season after the Reds opted against having him pitch in any pro games after being drafted in 2023, meaning it will have been nearly two full years when Floyd finally takes the mound again.

When he’s right, he’s got an elite ability to command the upper part of the strike zone, and should be a vital part of the pitching corps on the farm from day one. The only hope, of course, is that his shoulder is right, and that won’t be a problem.

He’s the #16 prospect in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings according to you, the voters.

On to the voting for spot #17!

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Carlos Jorge, 2B/OF - 21 years old

2024 at a glance: Hit .220/.292/.394 with 12 HR and 28 SB in 402 for the Dayton Dragons (High-A Midwest League)

Pros: Plus runner with more pop for his size than you’d expect; former full-time infielder has taken to OF (including CF) quite well in short order

Cons: K-rate has spiked since moving up from A to A+ ball while walk rate has plummeted

At his best, Carlos Jorge has shown a borderline five-tool potential. He slugged .483 across 86 games (355 PA) in the extreme pitcher-friendly confines of the Florida State League for Class A Daytona in 2023 while sporting an excellent 13.2% walk rate and .400 OBP. He swiped 28 bags while only being caught 4 times during his 2024 campaign with High-A Dayton. He came up as a shortstop, has ample experience and skill at 2B, and has adapted to CF with plus ability, too.

If he’d been able to put all of that together in one fell swoop, he’d have already cracked this list. Instead, he’s shown flashes of brilliance with each tool while also having serious issues maintaining it all at once. His most recent body of work in 2024 showed a brutal spike in his strikeouts (K% up to 31.1%) while his walk rate evaporated (down to just 7.7%), and his overall numbers fell dramatically, too.

He only turned 21 in September, however, and there’s ample time for him to turn things around once again. The upside here, though, is still pretty tremendous.

Yerlin Confidan, OF - 22 years old

2024 at a glance: .249/.343/.419 with 9 HR, 16 SB in 400 PA with Daytona Tortugas (Class-A Florida State League)

Pros: Plenty of pop from the left-hand side of the plate, with plus speed and developing plate approach

Cons: Vulnerable vs. LHP, repeated at Daytona after struggling there (.612 OPS) in 2023

Confidan flashes the kind of power from the left side that few others can replicate within the Reds farm system, and at times has put it together in-game. During the 2021 season he raked for the ACL Reds, but struggled to replicate that during most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons - seasons that saw him reach Daytona and stall somewhat.

2024 was different, fortunately, and the in-game pop began to show up (28 doubles) despite being mired in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League.

It was a performance good enough to finally earn him a likely start with High-A Dayton to begin 2025, something that’s still right on-par with his age 22 season. If his bat speed and raw power continue to develop, he’s precisely the kind of toolsy corner OF prospect the Reds desperately need in their system.

Julian Aguiar, RHP - 24 years old

2024 at a glance: 6.25 ERA, 6.86 FIP, 1.33 WHIP in 31.2 IP for the Cincinnati Reds; 3.79 ERA, 1.21 WHIP in 116.1 IP split between Louisville Bats (AAA International League) and Chattanooga Lookouts (AA Southern League)

Pros: Strike-thrower who uses a sinker/slider mix; fastball that sits around 95 mph and a potential plus changeup

Cons: Will miss the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2024

Aguiar was drafted in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Reds out of Cypress College (CA), a JUCO program that hasn’t exactly produced a ton of big league talent before (Rowan Wick, who caught for the Cubs for a time, and former outfielder Brandon Barnes are their best known products). He signed for just $125,000, never really sat on any top prospect lists prior to 2023, at which point he fired 125.0 IP of 2.95 ERA/1.10 WHIP work between Dayton and Daytona and firmly worked his way into the Reds pitching depth chart.

Solid enough work again in 2024 put him in line for a call-up in August when the Reds rotation was in tatters. While his numbers certainly were nothing to write home about there, he did flash some stuff that looked like it could get big league hitters out more often than not.

Problem is, it’s hard to discern just how much his stumbles before his season ended were due to the elbow troubles that eventually led him to Tommy John surgery. If he’s more effective at throwing strikes when his elbow’s in better shape, perhaps he’d have shown even more than we saw last. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait another year to find out, as he’s likely in recovery-only mode for the entirety of 2025.

Adam Serwinowski, LHP - 21 years old

2024 at a glance: 3.57 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 106/45 K/BB in 85.2 IP for Daytona Tortugas (Class-A Florida State League

Pros: Mid-90s fastball with deceptive delivery from the left side; potential plus slider; 6’5” frame and pretty repeatable delivery

Cons: Still mostly a two-pitch pitcher; has yet to pile up the kind of innings to show he can stick as a starter

The Reds plucked Serwinowski out of Eastside High School in Taylors, South Carolina in the 15th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and they signed him for the slot value of $125,000. That was enough to get him to turn pro and eschew his commitment to play for the University of South Carolina, and the lefty immediately showed the kind of elite strikeout ability ever since turning pro.

He’s fanned 150 so far in just 114.0 IP as a pro, though his K/BB took a step back in his first full season with Class-A Daytona (4.7 per 9 IP). That said, his current offerings - a fastball that can hit 97 mph and a pretty devastating slider - give him an already plus combo.

If he were to stick with just that two-pitch mix, he’d probably move pretty damn quickly through the Reds ranks as a relief option from the left side. However, it seems more likely that the Reds will continue to work on a developing a third pitch for him and develop him as a starter, so we’ll need to be patient as he works his way up, with Dayton his likely destination to begin 2025.

Adolfo Sanchez, OF - 18 years old

2024 at a glance: .216/.356/.345 with 2 HR, 11 SB in 177 PA in Dominican Summer League play

Pros: Potential five-tool player. Those are cool!

Cons: Yet to see tools fully displayed in-game just yet; may eventually need to move off CF to a corner

The Reds went to $2.7 million to sign Sanchez in January of 2024 during the international signing window, and a quick glance at Sanchez taking batting practice will let you know why.

He’s got an incredibly smooth swing from the left side of the plate, one that carries with it plus power potential as well. A natural athlete, he makes good reads in the outfield and currently holds down CF just fine even though an eventual move to a corner may be in order. He even flashed an impressive eye at the plate during DSL play in 2024 (30 BB in 177 PA) even though the strikeouts (60) were higher than you’d like to see.

At age 18, he’s still got tons of time (and needs tons of time) to continue developing, but the baseline tools are there for Sanchez to explode onto the scene as he moves up the minor league ladder.