Bet on Red Prospect Weekly: Sanchez Goes Deep Twice at Double-A, Morris Keeps Rolling at High-A
By Peyton Hayes ·
Bet on Red Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Reds farm system.
Sanchez Finds Power at Chattanooga
Carlos Sanchez (AA, SS, Rank: 38) had his most productive week at Double-A, going 6-for-19 with a double, a triple, and two home runs against Southern League pitching. Two home runs in a week is not a typical output for a contact-oriented 21-year-old shortstop, and it carries more weight given that his power numbers have always trailed his on-base and contact skills. He is a 50 hit tool, 45 power profile who is supposed to get on base and spray line drives, not punish pitchers with authority. The two-homer week does not change that grade, but it is at least a data point worth watching as the season winds down. The full-season combined line across High-A and Double-A reads .270/.376/.440 with 16 home runs, 24 doubles, and a 14.5 percent walk rate across 579 plate appearances, which is a meaningful offensive step forward from his .277/.379/.412 combined effort in 2025.
The concern at Double-A this year has been real: in 254 plate appearances at Chattanooga, he is hitting .214 with a 27.6 percent strikeout rate, up from 23.7 percent at High-A. His last 30 days have been rough, with a 36.7 percent strikeout rate and a 62.6 percent contact rate in 90 plate appearances. The swing can lengthen when he hunts power, and better pitchers at Double-A have been exploiting that tendency. The encouraging sign is his walk rate: 15.6 percent over the last 30 days at Chattanooga, which means he is still getting on base even when the strikeouts pile up. The projection is a potential up-down corner infielder or utility piece, with a second-division floor if the bat continues to develop. This week's power output is a welcome surprise from a guy whose carrying tool is supposed to be patience and contact, and if a few more like it show up in 2027, the power grade conversation becomes more interesting.
Morris Keeps Building Something at High-A Dayton
Mason Morris (A+, RHP, Rank: 12) made his second High-A start of the week and delivered four innings of shutout ball, allowing 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 6 on 79 pitches. The strikeout total was encouraging; the walk total was a reminder that the command question has not been fully answered. He threw 33 of 79 pitches for strikes, which sits below where you want a starter, and the four walks in four innings matches the pattern that plagued him at Low-A all year. Still, he allowed no runs, and across his four High-A starts over the last 30 days the ERA sits at 2.18 over 20.2 innings with an 18-strikeout, 8-walk ledger. That full-season contrast with Low-A is hard to ignore: a 5.54 ERA and 13.3 percent walk rate at Daytona against a 1.69 ERA and 8.1 percent walk rate in two High-A starts through the statistical cutoff, though this week's four walks push that number up in the broader 30-day sample to 9.9 percent.
The arsenal is what you expect from a setup reliever projection: a fastball that sits 96-99, a plus cutter in the low 90s with late diving action, and an above-average slider in the upper 80s. The cutter is the carrying pitch, generating swing-and-miss from both sides of the plate. The 40 changeup is not going to help him against left-handed lineups across a full rotation turn, which is a significant reason the projection leans toward high-leverage relief work rather than a rotation future. His hooking arm action can produce release-point variation over the course of a start, and the walk numbers over a full Low-A season showed the cost of that inconsistency. But the trajectory over the last month is genuinely different: four starts, 20.2 innings, a 2.18 ERA, a 44.1 percent strike rate, and 24.8 percent whiff rate. The cutter-slider combination is real enough that if the command tightens even modestly in a shorter relief role, there is a legitimate path to eighth-inning work at the major league level. One or two more starts will not close the book on the walk rate, but this September stretch has been the best sustained evidence yet that the stuff can translate.
Quick Hits
- Carter Graham (AA, 1B, Rank: 40) · drove in 3 runs on 4 hits, including a homer and a triple, in 19 plate appearances this week. The power continues to show up in bunches: his last 30 days at Chattanooga show a .294/.400/.553 slash with 5 home runs, and the combined 2026 line now sits at .300/.421/.565 with 29 home runs across 552 plate appearances at High-A and Double-A. A quad-A ceiling is the honest projection for a 24-year-old first baseman with a fringe hit tool, but 29 home runs against two levels of pitching in a single season keeps the conversation open.
- Leo Balcazar (AAA, SS, Rank: 32) · went 5-for-20 with a home run and 3 walks at Louisville this week. The 30-day numbers have been his best stretch of the season: a .277/.368/.470 line with a 12.6 percent walk rate and a 12.6 percent strikeout rate over 95 plate appearances, which is a contact-and-walk profile that plays for a utility infielder pressing for a big-league look. He is a 50 hit, 40 power contact bat whose projection tops out as a versatile second-base option, but this September at Triple-A is making the argument that the offensive floor is more reliable than the season numbers suggested.
- Yerlin Confidan (AA, OF, Rank: 51) · went 5-for-21 with two doubles, a homer, 3 walks, and 3 RBI in 21 plate appearances at Chattanooga. Combined in 2026, he has 15 home runs and a 9.9 percent walk rate across 527 plate appearances at High-A and Double-A, a significant power leap from his 4-homer campaign in 2025. The hit tool and contact consistency are still works in progress, but the power grades at 55 for a reason, and the Double-A home runs are showing up on schedule.
- Jay Allen II (AAA, OF, Rank: 45) · went 5-for-10 with a walk at Louisville this week, a sharp output for a hitter who has struggled in his first Triple-A exposure. The promotion to Louisville revealed the challenge: a 35.2 percent strikeout rate in 88 plate appearances at the level, well above his 21.2 percent mark at Double-A where he posted 15 homers and 17 stolen bases. His 30-day contact rate of 69.1 percent at Triple-A represents at least a recent stabilization. The profile is a 60 athlete with real defensive value and the baserunning chops to make himself useful even when the hit tool wanders; the question is whether the bat can hold up against Triple-A pitchers who exploit his breaking-ball recognition.
- Kyle Henley (A+, OF, Rank: 50) · went 3-for-11 with a double, a triple, and 3 RBI in 11 plate appearances at Dayton. Henley is a 75 runner with a 40 hit tool whose last 30 days at High-A show a .378/.404/.556 slash across 47 plate appearances, the best sustained offensive stretch of his career. The strikeout rate over that span is 34.0 percent, consistent with his season-long 33.1 percent mark, but the contact he is making has more authority than his full-year numbers suggest. The speed and defense give him a path to the big leagues even if the bat stays fringy; any uptick in the hit tool just shortens the timeline.
- Jose Franco (AAA, RHP, Rank: 16) · returned from the IL on September 11 after missing time with a right elbow strain; his first outing back was rough, allowing 4 earned runs in 0.2 innings at Louisville. The ERA at Triple-A sits at 4.31 across 56.1 innings with 54 strikeouts this season, and he also logged 10 appearances at the big-league level with a 4.43 ERA. The elbow strain and the rocky return are worth monitoring, but one ugly outing off an IL stint does not tell you much about where his stuff actually is right now.
- Justin Lebron (A+, SS, Rank: 2) · went 2-for-16 with a double, a hit-by-pitch, and 5 strikeouts this week, a subdued showing in his early professional reps. He is the Reds' second-ranked prospect, a true shortstop with 60 grades across athleticism, speed, arm, and fielding, and the power has been flashing: 8 home runs with a .594 slugging mark across 104 plate appearances at High-A since his promotion in August. The contact rate of 66.5 percent over an aggressive 51.5 percent swing rate points to the area most in need of refinement. Early returns on a 21-year-old just months removed from the draft still leave room for patience.
- Tyson Lewis (A+, 3B, Rank: 7) · had a tough week at Dayton, going 1-for-14 with a walk and 7 strikeouts in 14 plate appearances. The 30-day numbers at High-A tell a similar story: a 37.2 percent strikeout rate and a 58.2 percent swing rate in 86 plate appearances. Lewis is a 60 athlete with plus speed and real raw power, and the 119.4 mph exit velocity on record is not a mirage. But the aggressive approach and a 63.2 percent season-long contact rate leave little margin, and the strikeouts have been the defining feature of his High-A experience. He is 20 years old with a second-division ceiling; the development clock is not urgent, but the contact-rate work is not optional.
- Cam Collier (AA, 3B, Rank: 9) · went 4-for-22 with two doubles and 1 RBI in 22 plate appearances at Chattanooga, continuing a difficult stretch. His season line at Double-A stands at .209/.286/.368 with 18 home runs across 576 plate appearances, and the last 30 days show a .194/.269/.312 slash with a 50.7 percent swing rate. The raw power is legitimate, and a 55 power grade with an aggressive approach against upper-level pitching has always been a contact-consistency story. At 21, the underlying tools still support the second-division projection, but the swing needs to stay more connected to actually access them.