Cerda, Phillips move up to AA; Callihan joining Dragons
The Dayton Dragons are losing outfield prospect Allan Cerda and starting pitcher Connor Phillips to Class AA Chattanooga, but Dragons fans will get a look at another of the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospects when second baseman Tyler Cal- lihan joins the team.
Callihan, a left-handed hitter, is rated as the Reds’ No. 9 prospect by MLB.com and will be second high- est-rated prospect on the team behind No. 2 Elly De La Cruz, the team’s shortstop. Outfielder Rece Hinds, the Reds’ No. 8 prospect, is on the injured list because of a broken bone in his left wrist,
The Reds drafted Calli- han in the third round in 2019 out of high school in Jacksonville, Florida, In 32 games for Low-A Daytona, Callihan batted .286 with a .336 on-base percentage and .419 slugging percentage. He hit three home runs, seven doubles, batted in 13 runs and stole nine bases.
After a season in rookie leagues and missing 2020 because of the pandemic, Callihan was off to a good start last year with a .299 batting average and .788 OPS through 23 games at Daytona. But he missed the rest of the season with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.
Cerda, the Reds’ No. 21 prospect, showed off his power with some long home runs at Day Air Ballpark. He hit 13 homers, 13 doubles, slugged .488 and knocked in 31 runs for the Dragons. In 810 minor-league at-bats, Cerda has 45 homers and an .860 OPS.
The Reds acquired Phil- lips from Seattle in the Jesse Winker-Eugenio Suarez trade. Phillips, the Reds’ No. 13 prospect, was 4-3 for the Dragons with a 2.95 ERA in 12 starts. He struck out 90 and walked 32 in 64 innings.
Nick Quintana, who played mostly third base for the Dragons this season, was also promoted to Chattanooga. Quintana, who was acquired in the Tucker Barnhart trade with Detroit, hit .257 with a .793 OPS for the Dragons. He had six homers, 12 doubles and 32 RBIs.
Outfielder Quin Cotton is also returning to the Dragons after two months in Chattanooga. Cotton played with the Dragons in 2021 and started the season in Dayton, failing to get a hit in 11 at-bats. With the Lookouts, Cotton batted .213 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 38 games.
Infielder Jonathan Willems is also returning to Dayton from Chattanooga after a 10-day, six-game stay with the Lookouts. Catcher Michael Trautwein has been sent back to Daytona after seeing limited time in two months in Dayton. Starting pitcher James Proctor has been placed on the seven-day injured list with a shoulder injury.