Cincinnati Reds 2014 All-Prospect Team

With 2014 virtually decided for the Cincinnati Reds, the focus shifts to the future and the potential for better things down the road. The September call-ups are getting plenty of time to demonstrate their talents and capabilities, but there were several players in Triple-A who were deserving of a call-up yet could not be brought up because of their exclusion from the 40-man roster.

Because even the idea of contention is foreign at this point, it's time to focus on the Reds prospects who thrived this season and are most likely to help the team out in the future. The ensuing list will be comprised of guys who performed the best at their position, regardless of which level of baseball they played. 

Catcher: Rossmel Perez, .329/.371/.439 (AA-AAA)

Rossmel Perez had a phenomenal year at Double-A before finishing his season at Triple-A with the Louisville Bats. Perez was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks back in 2006 and has floated around the minors ever since. This year was the first year he made it to Triple-A.

At Double-A, Perez raked. He slashed .333/.391/.460. While his Triple-A numbers were less than stellar, it's worth noting he only played nine games with Louisville. 

BaseballAmerica.com rated Perez as the Diamondbacks' best defensive catcher after both the 2009 and 2010 seasons, so you'd like to think he's very capable behind the plate as well.

First Base: Neftali Soto, .302/.350/.406 (AAA)

Al Behrman/Associated Press

Most Reds fans know about Neftali Soto, so he's certainly not sneaking up on anybody. Taken in the third round of the 2007 amateur draft, Soto has been advancing in the Reds' organization since. 

He's made it to The Show a couple times and has a .071/.091/.095 slash line to show for it. It's difficult to invest anything at all into that line, though, as Soto has just 41 plate appearances in the majors. His 84 hits in 75 games played in Louisville are more indicative of his capability. 

In eight minor league seasons, Soto is slashing .274/.322/.447.

Second Base: Ruben Gotay, .255/.332/.400 (AAA)

Hardly considered a prospect, Ruben Gotay is by no means a foreign name. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2000, Gotay has floated around the league for years and had several major league stints in between. His last major league appearance came in 2008 with the Atlanta Braves. 

Gotay had a really strong year at Triple-A. But even more impressive than the slashing line he accrued were the 17 home runs he hit. For a second baseman, that's impressive power.

Gotay was one of two Louisville Bats to be selected to this year's Triple-A All-Star Game. 

Shortstop: Rey Navarro, .282/.343/.435 (AA—AAA)

If he was on the Reds' 40-man roster, it's likely Reds fans would be watching Rey Navarro at the major league level right now. After a very impressive campaign at Double-A (.275/.339/.463), Navarro slashed .296/.351/.409 at Triple-A with 230 at-bats.

Drafted in the third round by the Diamondbacks in 2007, Navarro has been climbing the minor league ranks and may finally be capable of joining the major leagues next year should the Reds deem him worthy of the 40-man roster.

Third Base: Seth Mejias-Brean, .270/.368/.406 (High-A—AA)

Drafted by the Reds in the eighth round of the 2008 amateur draft, Seth Mejias-Brean has been impressive in his short time in the Reds system. In three minor league seasons, he's slashing .291/.376/.448. He has also demonstrated some power, having hit 33 home runs in that span of time. 

Mejias-Brean's performance at High-A Bakersfield (.300/.396/.476) was good enough to get him called up to Double-A before the end of the year. With performances like this, he should be at Triple-A by next season.

Left Field: Jesse Winker, .287/.399/.518 (High-A—AA)

Jesse Winker had an impressive 2014 campaign before it ended with a bad wrist injury. The young outfielder made national news when he was selected to the Futures All-Star Game. Around the same time, he was named to BaseballAmerica.com's Top 50 midseason prospects (No. 29). 

Winker raked at High-A Bakersfield, slashing .317/.426/.580. He then hit just .208/.326/.351 at Double-A but only had 77 at-bats.

Center Field: Jason Bourgeois, .278/.328/.363 (AAA)

Mark Duncan/Associated Press

Of anyone listed so far, there may be no more major league-ready player than this. Jason Bourgeois is no stranger to the big leagues, either. Including this year, he's has seven major league stints. After having a very impressive season in Louisville, the Reds called him up, and in five games, he's hitting .300.

Bourgeois, in my opinion, could easily fill the void in left field. His last huge chunk of time in MLB came in 2011 with the Astros. In 252 plate appearances, he hit .294/.323/.357. He's fast (24 stolen bases at Triple-A this year), is cheap and knows how to get on base.

Right Field: Felix Perez, .280/.325/.450 (AAA)

Felix Perez is also a guy Reds fans would probably be watching right now had he been on the 40-man roster. Perez has been in the Reds' system for five seasons. In those five seasons, he's slashing .281/.329/.404.

This year, Perez was selected to the International League roster for the Triple-A All-Star Game. Perez was at one time a very valuable prospect for the Yankees. But per Rotoworld.com, he lost out on a $3.5 million signing bonus when he lied about his age. If he can make the 40-man roster next season, it's possible he could make the big league team.

Pitcher: Ben Lively, 13-7, 3.04 ERA (AA—AAA)

While Robert Stephenson dominated the Reds' prospect discussion, no pitching prospect had a better 2014 than Ben Lively. The right-hander first dominated at High-A, posting a 10-1 record with a 2.28 ERA in 13 starts. 

Then in 13 starts with the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, he went 3-6 with a 3.88 ERA. On the year, between both leagues, Lively recorded 171 strikeouts while walking just 52 batters. He pitched 151 innings on the year and only surrendered 13 home runs. His final WHIP for the year is an impressive 1.119. 

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.