Another exciting Cincinnati Reds’ prospect is making their way to the majors. It is expected that Christian Encarnacion-Strand will join the team sometime early this week. While it has not been confirmed by the Reds, multiple sources including MLB.com have indicated that he will debut sometime during the teams’ next series at home versus the San Francisco Giants. His agency has also confirmed that he will be promoted. At the time of the promotion, Encarnacion-Strand was the 88th overall prospect and the Reds fifth overall prospect. 

Encarnacion-Strand was drafted by the Minnesota Twins out of college where he excelled at Oklahoma State. He was acquired by the Reds in 2022 when they sent Tyle Mahle to the Twins for Encarnacion-Strand and future major league teammate Spencer Steer. Steer has performed very well in his first full season in Cincinnati and Encarnacion-Strand will look to do the same. 

This year at Triple-A, Encarnacion-Strand has hit 0.331 with 20 home runs and 62 runs batted in while having an OPS of 1.042. It is unclear what position he will make in his debut with third base being manned by rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz and veteran Joey Votto holding down first base. He recently made starts at the minor league level in right and left field. These two games were the first time Encarnacion-Strand had started in the outfield. Another option could be using him as a designated hitter. However, over the long-term it is hard to see him not playing somewhere in the field as his arm strength is possibly his best tool. With all the young talent the Reds have, they will have to figure out where all these players fit defensively.