One of the most impressive athletes in the minor leagues is part of the Cincinnati Reds system and made a big-time showing in the Arizona Fall League this year.
With each of our top 10 prospect lists this offseason, we will have a scouting report on one player from that organization’s top 10 list. With our recent review of the Cincinnati Reds, we will take a look at infielder Taylor Trammell, the Reds #2 prospect.
Player Profile
Committed to Georgia Tech to play both baseball and football, Trammell was viewed as a tough sign entering the 2016 draft, so it took the Cincinnati Reds and their large bonus pool to be able to sign him for $3.2 million as the 35th overall selection.
The Cincinnati Reds were aggressive with their initial assignment with Trammell, pushing him to advanced rookie Billings in the Pioneer League. He showed no ill effects from the higher level of competition, hitting .303/.374/.421 in his draft season with 9 doubles, 6 triples, 2 home runs, and 24 stolen bases posting a 23/57 BB/K ratio over 254 plate appearances.
He moved up to full-season ball in 2017 with low-A Dayton in the Midwest League. Trammell had a monster year overall, hitting .281/.368/.450 with 24 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs, and 41 stolen bases, posting a 71/123 BB/K over 570 plate appearances.
His impressive 2017 performance earned him notice from all the major prospect ranking services. He was the #48 prospect in Baseball America’s top 100 offseason prospect list, #43 in MLB Pipeline’s list, and #59 in Baseball Prospectus’ list.
Some saw Trammell’s 2018 as a step back, though he was playing in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League with high-A Daytona. He put up a .277/.375/.406 line with 19 doubles, 4 triples, 8 home runs, 25 steals, and a 58/105 BB/K over 461 plate appearances.
The Cincinnati Reds sent Trammell to the Arizona Fall League, and against some of the best arms in all of minor league baseball, he fared quite well, hitting .298/.359/.393 with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 6 stolen bases, and an 8/20 BB/K ratio over 92 plate appearances.