Reds Fans Should Pay Attention to Daytona Tortugas

In 2023, the Cincinnati Reds surprised a lot of their fan base by going on a 12-game winning streak that summer and narrowly missing out on the playoffs. That team was infused with talent. Highly rated prospects such as Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Andrew Abbott, Noelvi Marte and others gave fans hope after a 100-loss season the year prior. Let's take a look at what could potentially be the next wave of talent coming through the farm system, particularly down in Daytona.

As of August 2025, Daytona has two top-100 prospects on its roster: Alfredo Duno and Tyson Lewis. They also have 11 of the Reds' top 30 prospects. Mason Neville was the Reds’ fourth-round draft pick in 2025 and, since being added to the Tortugas roster, is slashing .320/.393/.580 with nine extra base hits and two stolen bases in 15 games. Neville led college baseball in home runs with 26 in his final season. He also fills another need for the Reds, a power-hitting outfielder.

Alfredo Duno has had a spectacular first full healthy season, slashing .286/.426/.505 with a career-best 15 home runs and 32 doubles. Tyson Lewis hits baseballs very hard, with multiple hits recorded with an exit velocity over 115 MPH, and has above-average speed. Between the ACL and Daytona, Lewis is slashing .317/.380/.504 with 29 extra-base hits, nine being home runs. He also has 25 stolen bases. Arnaldo Lantigua was acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for international-pool space. In 24 games for Daytona, he is slashing .297/.333/.538 with 16 extra-base hits. Sheng-En Lin is being prepped to be a two-way prospect. He has a 3.35 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 14 walks. In 2023, he slashed .308/.418/.419 with 11 extra-base hits. That is not even all of the talent on the roster.

One thing that sets this Daytona team apart from the previous crop of prospects is its greater position flexibility. They have infielders like Tyson Lewis and Alfredo Alcantara, multiple outfielders in Mason Neville, Arnaldo Lantigua, and Kien Vu, a potential star of a catcher in Alfredo Duno, and three solid pitching prospects in Sheng-En Lin, Mason Morris, Cole Shoenwetter, and Ty Floyd, even with his injury history.

This group of prospects is all playing well and playing together. Daytona went on an eight-game winning streak shortly after the additions of Vu and Neville. All of these prospects have similar MLB ETA’s, and that could be an advantage when the time comes to play in the show.

Arnaldo Lantigua DESTROYED a baseball! How about a 109-mph, 443-foot NUKE to tie the game?!

It's 2-2 to the 5th pic.twitter.com/KSEp2sMkgc
— Daytona Tortugas (@daytonatortugas) August 29, 2025