This offseason is very important for the Cincinnati Reds. It is also an important offseason for Reds Top Prospect Alfredo Duno. This winter, Duno is playing in his home country, Venezuela, to get more at-bats and gain more experience playing against older ballplayers.
Duno, playing for Leones del Caracas, got the fans excited by showing off his power in the winter ball preseason. Once the actual season got going for Caracas, Duno struggled a bit, going 0-for-11 in his first three games. But lately, he has been figuring it out and has joined some good company Friday night.
Alfredo Duno is Figuring It Out
On Friday night, Alfredo Duno hit his first home run of the Venezuelan Winter League season (LVBP), driving the ball over the left field wall in the third inning. It was the only run that Leones would score, losing 7-1 to Tigres de Aragua.
According to Doug Gray of Redsminorleagues.com, Duno's home run put him in some good company when it comes to the Venezuelan Winter League. Duno became the youngest player to hit a home run this season. Alfredo Duno is 20 years old and doesn't turn 21 until January 2027.
And in the past three seasons, there have only been two other players to hit home runs in LVBP while being 20 years old or younger. Those two players are Guardians prospect and Jackson Chourio's brother, Chourio's brother, Jaison Chourio (he hit two home runs in the 2025/26 season), and Diamondbacks prospect Jose Fernandez. Notice that Jackson Chourio and Ronald Acuna Jr. (both Venezuelan superstars) are not on this list.
Top Prospect Expectations
Heading into this offseason, there are a lot of expectations on Cincinnati's top prospect. Duno started the year in High-A Dayton and ended the year in Double-A Chattanooga. His 2026 season totals ended up being a .281 Batting average with a .395 OBP and an OPS of .899. He hit 19 home runs and batted in 61with a WRC+ of 130. Not too shabby. However, Duno making his MLB debut in 2027 might not be in the cards.
Duno still has more work to do defensively. He should start 2027 in Triple-A Louisville, and he should be there all season. The job requires a lot of chemistry and trust to be built between the pitcher and catcher. Duno will also have to get used to the challenge system at Triple-A and also pitch-com. So still a very steep learning curve for the 20-year-old.
Duno is fulfilling a childhood dream of playing for Caracas, and he is gaining experience playing with older players. That should serve him well going forward into 2027.
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