Aristides Aquino

The Punisher was The Punished in 2020, both by opposing pitchers and by Reds management after he struggled against those pitchers. A year after being a midseason sensation, Aquino hit a mere .170/.304/.319 while shuttling back-and-forth from the Reds' alternate training camp. The problem for Aquino was that he couldn't hit a breaking ball or a changeup, hitting .118 against breaking pitches and going hitless against offspeed offerings. It has gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense to throw a fastball in the strike zone to him at all. So despite good power and plus defensive skills, Aquino is going to be on the fringe of a job even on a team like the Reds that's struggling so much to find any offense.

The Punisher took the baseball world by storm upon arrival in August. In fact, he regularly re-wrote the record book in his first month with the big club in 2019; after tying Trevor Story for the most home runs through a player's first 10 games in the live-ball era, Aquino became the quickest ever to 10 homers and eventually broke Cody Bellinger's rookie record for the most home runs in a single month (14). However, as good as he was in August, he was equally disastrous in September. He had a 52 wRC+ and 6:34 BB:K in 110 plate appearances over the final month. Aquino had previously hit the Double-A wall and was even non-tendered by the Reds last winter, but returned to the organization and broke out in the minors thanks in large part to a batting stance and swing change. Aquino has speed to go along with immense raw power, but color us skeptical about a late bloomer with poor plate discipline.

For many prospects, if not most, the Double-A Wall still exists. There's a considerable qualitative jump from High-A to Double-A that often stymies prospects, especially those such as Aquino who break out at a lower level while being considered older for their level. Aquino struggled at Double-A Pensacola for the second year in a row in 2018, hitting .240/.306/.448 with 20 homers and four stolen bases. The only promising news was that his Isolated Power crept up from .181 to .208 while he lowered his K% from 28.8 to 20.7. With both Nick Senzel and Taylor Trammell ahead of him in the pecking order, the chances of Aquino being anything more than a fifth outfielder with the Reds seem slim. A bigger role would require a slew of injuries plus a considerable improvement in his skill set.

After missing three months in with an abdominal strain in 2015 and never getting into a groove at the plate, Aquino made a huge splash last year, emerging as a potential five-category star. His power/speed combination has always been apparent, and he proved in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League that he can hit enough for the rest of his tools to impact games. He finished first in the league in total bases (251) and second in OPS (.846), slugging (.519) and home runs (23) -- trailing Tigers outfield prospect Christin Stewart in all three categories. At 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, there are some moving parts when Aquino is in the batter's box, but his 19.8 percent strikeout rate should alleviate any contact concerns for now. He has enough speed to steal double-digit bases over a full season, but he could add muscle over the coming years and become less of a threat on the bases. Look for him to reach the majors in late 2018 or early 2019.