Cincinnati native Vince Harrison named the Dayton Dragons manager
Before Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Noelvi Marte and Christian Encarnacion-Strand kept the Cincinnati Reds in the playoff hunt until the final weekend of the regular season last year, they went through dozens of pregame warmups with coach Vince Harrison.
As the Reds’ top prospects made some final adjustments before earning the call-up to the big leagues, Harrison also felt like he was getting the opportunity to develop. The Reds had a rare amount of talent in Triple-A with the Louisville Bats during the 2023 season. Harrison, a Cincinnati native from Princeton High School and the brother of major leaguer Josh Harrison, benefited from the experience and will take on an even bigger role in the organization in 2024.
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The Dayton Dragons, the Reds’ High-A minor league affiliate, named Harrison the team’s manager for the 2024 season on Thursday. After working with one wave of star prospects in 2023, Harrison will spend this season with the next wave.
“What I really learned last year was that as good as those guys ended up being on the big league team, there are some things we needed to work on,” Harrison said. “That was really eye-opening. Most people would make the assumption that they’re in Triple-A and they’re ready. But there are things you can get out of those guys and develop. Development and teaching, there’s always a place for that. Last year really taught me about that.”
Before joining the Reds’ organization as a coach in 2023, Harrison was a minor league coach for nine seasons. He spent three years as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ High-A team and coached a group of prospects that ended up leading Arizona to a World Series appearance in 2023.
Harrison spent the 2023 season as an assistant coach in Louisville, and he made a strong impression with some of the organization's top prospects.
“I came in and heard all the hype around Elly and saw the physical tools,” Harrison said. “Just like anyone, I had to build a relationship with him. A guy like him has a million people in his ear. Once Elly knew I was genuine and there for him and cared for him, I was able to push him a little more on certain aspects like defense. Our conversations became more in-depth. A superstar talent like him taught me to continue to invest in the person and make them understand that you’re there for them.”
Harrison also made a big impact with Encarnacion-Strand, who struggled defensively in spring training as he learned a relatively new position at first base. By the time Encarnacion-Strand got called up to the big leagues in July, he had developed into a consistent defender.
“He likes to hear what you’ve got, and he also has his own thoughts,” Harrison said. “With us, it was about navigating that. I wanted him to understand what I thought he could get better at, and I wanted him to understand that I heard him and I know what he liked. In Louisville, he’d seek me out every day to get our work in on defense. He was able to check that box every day of working, and he got better.”
In 2024, Harrison will work with a younger and less experienced group of players in High-A. He has reflected back on what worked at that level during his tenure with the Diamondbacks’ organization when he coached standout future big leaguers like Corbin Carroll and Brandon Pfaadt.
“We had a plethora of talent over there, and some of them didn’t realize how close they were when they were in High-A,” Harrison said. “Some of them did. I look at that and look at what could happen in Dayton.”
Over the last six years, the Reds have turned their international scouting department from a weakness into a strength. As a result, they have a much deeper group of 18-to-22 year old prospects in the farm system. They’ve also drafted some standout high school position players recently, including Cam Collier and Sal Stewart, who could hit in the middle of the Dragons’ lineup in 2024.
This opportunity is a full-circle moment for Harrison, who had several family members at an introductory press conference on Thursday.
“To work in professional baseball is one thing,” Harrison said. “To be able to work with your hometown franchise is another thing. To be able to do both and be able to be close to home in this position to manage, it’s a trifecta. To know that we’ll be able to do what I’ve been doing at home, it’s definitely an exciting thing.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati native Vince Harrison named the Dayton Dragons manager
