The Reds will send six players to the Arizona Fall League, including their most recent No. 1 pick.
Nick Howard, a right-handed pitcher from Virginia the Reds chose 19th overall in June, will suit up for the Surprise Saguaros along with fellow Cincinnati pitching prospect Ben Klimesh. Also headed to the desert this fall are infielders Seth Mejias-Brean and Ryan Wright along with outfielders Kyle Waldrop and Jesse Winker.
In addition to the Reds prospects playing in the AFL, catcher Luke Maile (Tampa Bay Rays) and left-handed pitcher Nate Smith (Angels) will represent the greater Cincinnati area. Maile is a Covington Catholic grad who also went to Kentucky. He will play for Surprise while Smith, a Lakota West grad, will play for Mesa.
Howard has appeared in nine games for the low Single-A Dayton Dragons, including three starts. He is 1-1 with a 4.56 ERA and 15 strikeouts.
Baseball Prospectus ranked Winker the club's No. 5 prospect prior to the season, and the 21-year-old has split the season between high Single-A Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola. His combined numbers through Aug. 26 included a .287 batting average with a .399 OBP and .518 slugging percentage. A left-handed batter, Winker had 15 homers and 20 doubles in 74 games.
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