Reds Pipeline

Stewart, Burns Named Reds Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for May

Reds No. 1 prospect RHP Chase Burns and No. 3 prospect INF Sal Stewart’s efforts in May earned them the organization’s Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Month, respectively.

Stewart, a former 32nd overall pick, slashed .344/.384/.473 (32-for-93) with nine doubles, 12 runs, 11 RBIs and six walks. The Miami, FL, native led all Southern League batters in batting average, hits and doubles in May.

Burns, Cincinnati’s second-overall pick in 2024, dealt 44 strikeouts and went 6-1 for Chattanooga. The righty managed himself a 1.45 ERA through 31 innings and tied second for wins and strikeouts among all full-season minor league pitchers in May.

Minor League Roundup

Triple-A Louisville

Reds No. 1 prospect Chase Burns made his Triple-A debut against the Iowa Cubs on June 12.The MLB's No. 3 right-handed pitching prospect served up seven strikeouts through 5 1/3 innings. Within those innings, the 22-year-old conceded only two earned runs. Previously, Burns spent just over a month with Chattanooga, picking up a 6-1 record with a 1.29 ERA through eight games. Despite the strong debut, the Bats dropped the contest 10-2. Ultimately, Louisville fell in the seven-game series 4-3, with a makeup contest adding another outing for the teams. Each win in the Bats' wins featured eight-plus runs scored and a run differential of three or more.

Double-A Chattanooga

Ruben Ibarra stays hot in the month of June as the Chattanooga Lookouts picked up a 10-3 series-opening win over the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Tuesday.

The Lookouts had themselves a night, holding Rocket City scoreless up until the bottom of the sixth. During that stretch, Chattanooga built up a 7-0 lead. In the outing, Ibarra scorched the plate with two home runs and five RBIs. This month alone, the 26-year-old first-baseman has five homers and 16 RBIs through 14 games. As of late, Chattanooga has started series off strong, having won the first game in four of its last five series.

In addition, Reds No. 4 prospect Cam Collier made his Double-A debut on Tuesday night, going 2-for-5 at the plate. Collier missed the first couple months of the season recovering from thumb surgery and earned the quick callup after batting nearly .300 in 11 games with the Dayton Dragons.

High-A Dayton

Home runs from John Michael Faile, Connor Burns and Leo Balcazar helped the Dayton Dragons earn a 6-4 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps. An early TinCaps long ball was quickly answered by three runs from the Dragons. The bottoms of the fourth and fifth innings had Faile, Burns and Balcazar go yard to take a commanding 6-1 lead. Fort Wayne's late-game push, which had them cut the deficit to two runs, fell short for a Dayton triumph.

Top 30 Reds Prospects for 2025

Prior to the season, MLB Pipeline released its annual Top 30 Prospects list for each MLB team. One of the newest members to the Reds organization headlines the group for 2025.

Pitcher Chase Burns, selected No. 2 overall by the Reds in the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft, slots in at No. 1 and is poised to be on the fast track to the big leagues much like his fellow Demon Deacon and No. 2 prospect, Rhett Lowder. Lowder, who sits in the No. 2 position for the second straight year, is already a household name in Reds Country following his impressive late season stint in the big leagues.

Infielders Sal Stewart and Cam Collier come in at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, each jumping up three notches from where they started in 2024. Stewart and Collier provided a prolific one-two punch for a high-powered Dayton Dragons offense last year. Stewart recently made headlines after receiving praise from his longtime friend and offseason workout partner, six-time All-Star Manny Machado. Collier is coming into the 2025 season brimming with confidence as well after being named the 2024 Reds Minor League Position Player of the Year. Slick-fielding shortstop Edwin Arroyo rounds out the top five. Arroyo is eager to retake the field after being sidelined in 2024 with a torn left labrum.

All five players also find themselves on MLB Pipeline’s leaguewide Top 100 Prospect list.

For a complete breakdown and analysis of each prospect, visit MLB Pipeline's Prospect Rankings page.

1. Chase Burns, RHP
2. Rhett Lowder, RHP
3. Sal Stewart, INF
4. Cam Collier, INF
5. Edwin Arroyo, INF
6. Chase Petty, RHP
7. Alfredo Duno, C
8. Sammy Stafura, INF
9. Tyson Lewis, INF
10. Ricardo Cabrera, INF
11. Hector Rodriguez, OF
12. Adam Serwinowski, LHP
13. Julian Aguiar, RHP
14. Luke Holman, RHP
15. Connor Phillips, RHP
16. Sheng-En Lin, RHP, DH
17. Ty Floyd, RHP
18. Ethan O'Donnell, OF
19. Arnaldo Lantigua, OF
20. Luis Mey, RHP
21. Carlos Jorge, INF/OF
22. Adolfo Sanchez, OF
23. Zach Maxwell, RHP
24. Tristan Smith, RHP
25. Leo Balcazar, INF
26. Cole Schoenwetter, RHP
27. Peyton Stovall, INF
28. Liberts Aponte, INF
29. Tyler Callihan, INF
30. Luke Hayden, RHP