{"id":801673,"date":"2026-09-10T18:57:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/801673\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T18:57:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:57:18","slug":"reds-future-no-1-prospect-may-already-be-emerging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/801673\/","title":{"rendered":"Reds’ Future No. 1 Prospect May Already Be Emerging"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Reds’ farm system has taken a hit over the past year, with several of the organization’s top prospects graduating to the big leagues. <\/p>\n

Baseball America recently ranked Cincinnati’s farm system 28th in baseball, a significant drop from where it stood entering the season. That doesn’t mean the Reds are completely lacking young talent, though, and one of their newest additions is already generating plenty of excitement.<\/p>\n

MLB Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo recently looked into the future and predicted the No. 1 prospect for all 30 organizations at the start of the 2028 season.<\/p>\n

For the Reds, they landed on shortstop Justin Lebron.<\/p>\n

Lebron, Cincinnati’s first-round pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, is already ranked as the organization’s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The Reds selected him with the 18th overall pick after he surprisingly fell further than many expected.<\/p>\n

“The Reds have options — Alfredo Duno might not graduate and Steele Hall is very talented — but let\u2019s take a big swing here with Lebron, who the Reds never thought would be available at No. 18 overall,” MLB Pipeline wrote.<\/a> “He had the best overall set of tools in the class, but really struggled during his junior year at Alabama, especially in SEC play. It\u2019s a small sample size during his pro debut, but we\u2019re taking his .940 OPS with High-A Dayton over 23 games as a good sign that he very well might turn out to be the steal of the first round of the 2026 Draft.” <\/p>\n

There were certainly questions surrounding Lebron after he struggled during his junior season at Alabama, particularly against SEC competition, but his overall talent was never really in question.<\/p>\n

So far, the early returns have been encouraging.<\/p>\n

Off to a Great Start \"Alabam\"<\/p>\n

Jun 7, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron (1) fields and throws to first for an out in Game 2 of the Super Regional between Alabama and St. John’s at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

In 23 games with High-A Dayton, Lebron is slashing .292\/.346\/.594 with 13 extra-base hits and six stolen bases. Defensively, Lebron has struggled a bit, making six errors at shortstop over 193 innings. <\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Lebron could be a special talent and he’s off to a fantastic start in his career. <\/p>\n

Sign Up For Our DAILY Newsletter for More Free Coverage of the Cincinnati Reds Delivered to YOU Directly<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow me on X at @RedsDaily4 for more. <\/p>\n

Make sure you bookmark Cincinnati Reds Talk for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and daily coverage of the Cincinnati Reds! Follow Cincinnati Reds OnSI on Twitter\/X: @RedsTalkSI. Like Our Cincinnati Reds On SI Facebook Page. Follow Cincinnati Reds On SI on Instagram.<\/p>\n

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