The Cincinnati Reds are still a few years away from contention. The Reds entered rebuild mode a long time ago, which has left many Reds fans frustrated at the current state and management of the team. But over the last 365 days, the Reds front office has made tremendous strides in speeding this rebuild up. They have drafted a few notable names, but the main additions to their prospect pool have been through trades. There are four names in the Reds Triple-A system that stick out more than some others.
The Cincinnati Reds future is in Louisville.
Matt McLain
Two years ago, the Reds used the 17th selection in the 2021 MLB Draft to select Matt McLain, a shortstop from UCLA. McLain was seen as a polished prospect with potential to be an MLB starter one day. Nobody would have known how fast he was going to climb through the Reds farm system, and nobody would have known how he was going to explode on the scene in 2023.
The 23-year-old has been a nightmare for the pitchers in Triple-A. So far, his slash line is .349/.459/.729. That leaves him with an absurd 1.187 OPS, led by 12 home runs, 11 doubles, and 1 triple. McLain has featured incredible bat to ball skills, only striking out 32 times compared to 24 walks. Just recently, he hit for the cycle in a game at Triple-A. The Reds two Major League shortstops, Jose Barrero and Kevin Newman, have shown they probably won’t be in the Reds future plans, at least not at shortstop. It’s time for McLain to make his debut in Cincinnati.
Elly De La Cruz
Elly De La Cruz has been one of the most exciting and marketable prospects in the entire MLB. He is currently a top 10 ranked prospect who is on an absolute tear in Triple-A Louisville. The 6’5 switch hitting shortstop has moved over to third base for the Bats, as his future in the MLB is a bit foggy in terms of position. The Reds feature four shortstop prospects in their top five best prospects, with De La Cruz being one of them.
One thing is certain though: De La Cruz belongs in the Major Leagues. Soon.
His recent play in Triple-A has been indicative of the potential that many expect from the young prospect. He has nearly raised his average to .300, after a 1 for 22 start to the season. He has added 6 home runs, 5 doubles, and 2 triples, really showing his speed as well. Another big factor has been his recent revelation on plate discipline, as he has walked five times in the last three games.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand
The name Christian Encarnacion-Strand cannot be mentioned without bringing up his mammoth 471-foot home run on May 11th. That single at-bat is just scratching the surface when it comes to Encarnacion-Strand’s potential. So far this year, Encarnacion-Strand has been used as a first baseman for the most part, leaving him as the favorite to be the heir for Joey Votto’s spot at first base for the Reds. The power aspect may be his best feature, but his hit tool remains incredibly underrated.
Through 642 minor league at-bats across two organizations, Encarnacion-Strand has a slash line of .321/.376/.603, leaving him with an OPS near 1.000. The ability to adjust from college to professional baseball to the tune of hitting over .300 with such ease is an incredibly rare feat. The 23-year-old hasn’t seemed to face any growing pains as of yet and the Reds need to get this high potential bat to the MLB as soon as possible.
Andrew Abbott
For the most part, the Reds top pitching prospects have been underwhelming in 2023. The main outlier to this start has been their 10th ranked prospect, Andrew Abbott. The Reds selected Abbott in the 2nd round of the 2021 MLB Draft, the same draft in which they selected Matt McLain. Abbott put together decent seasons in 2021 and 2022, as he made his way from Rookie ball to Double-A Chattanooga in 2 years. In 2023, he would start in Double-A, but would only last three starts, as he absolutely destroyed the Double-A competition (15.66 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 36 K).
This kind of play would have him promptly moved to Louisville with the Reds Triple-A team. Again, he has done incredibly well through three starts. So far, he has 15 innings pitched and he’s only allowed 12 hits, 5 earned runs, and 6 walks. To go with that, he has 24 strikeouts. In total, he has 60 strikeouts in 60.66 innings in 2023, good for a 17.6 K/9. With the Reds recent struggle in the 4th and 5th spots in the pitching rotation, Andrew Abbott could make his MLB debut sooner rather than later.
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