Another highly touted prospect made an instant impact with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.
2019 second-round draft pick Rece Hinds, who has spent 77 games with Triple-A Louisville this season, was recalled by the Reds on Monday, and manager David Bell slotted Hinds at No. 8 in the lineup starting in right field for the first game of a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies.
Hinds led off the bottom of the eighth inning with the first home run of his career, lifting a 1-2 slider by Rockies righty reliever Tyler Kinley into the second deck of the left field bleachers.
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According to the Reds, Hinds’ 449-foot blast “was the second-longest first career homer by a Red in the Statcast era, trailing only Elly De La Cruz’ 458-foot shot” against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 7, 2023. The Statcast era began in 2015.
Hinds became the 10th Reds batter since 1901 to homer in his Major League debut, according to the Reds, most recently Spencer Steer against Colorado on September 2, 2022.
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Hinds collected the first hit of his big league career with a double off Colorado starter and Ohio State alum Ryan Feltner in the fifth inning. Along with his homer, Hinds joined Steer and Hank Erickson in 1935 as the only Reds since 1901 with at least one home run and double in their first career game, according to the Reds.
The Niceville, Florida, native was taken No. 49 overall in the 2019 draft. Hinds’ first full season of pro ball came in 2021 after the pandemic-impacted year in 2020, and he spent 54 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low-A Daytona where he combined to hit 12 home runs, 13 doubles and drive in 32 runs.
Hinds is a career .244/.290/.699 hitter in 1,209 at-bats across five minor league seasons. He ranks as Cincinnati’s No. 15 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
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