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How Cincinnati Reds rookies impacted wild season to build on | Reds Rookie Power Rankings

gordon wittenmyer, cincinnati enquirer
·10 min read
Elly De La Cruz dons the homer horns and celebrates with Noelvi Marte after his blast Tuesday in Cleveland.
Elly De La Cruz dons the homer horns and celebrates with Noelvi Marte after his blast Tuesday in Cleveland.

ST. LOUIS — Cincinnati Reds outfielder Will Benson didn’t know until somebody told him last week: If not for a tweak to rookie eligibility rules that went into effect with the recent change to September roster allowances, he would still be a rookie this year under the old rule.

“That’d be crazy,” he said. “The numbers of rookies would go even more insane.”

Such insanity has reigned on the Reds roster all season, with 23 rookies playing at least one game this year — 16 making big-league debuts.

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That’s the most debuts for any team in the majors this year. Most since the Cleveland Guardians debuted 17 prospects on the way to a playoff berth and first-round series victory in October.

“It’s really a blessing that everybody is getting to experience this so early in their career,” said Benson, who should know, since he was one of Cleveland’s 17 last year, "because it’s only going to give them poise and a true understanding and familiarity with what we’re dealing with.

“For that many rookies to be really instrumental in a playoff push, it’s rare,” he said, “and it’s really going to benefit the Reds in the long run.”

Shortstop Matt McLain was the first of the Reds rookies to debut, which he did in May, one day before starting pitcher Brandon Williamson.
Shortstop Matt McLain was the first of the Reds rookies to debut, which he did in May, one day before starting pitcher Brandon Williamson.

If anything, the Reds seemed to get better as they added more first-timers to the roster, from Matt McLain and Brandon Williamson debuting on back-to-back days in May, to Andrew Abbott and Elly De La Cruz debuting back-to-back in June, to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in July and Noelvi Marte in August.

When Williamson beat the Cardinals on Friday night, it marked the 60th game started by a Reds rookie pitcher this year, with Connor Phillips right behind him on Saturday to make the final number 61.

“It’s very exciting just to see the growth of even guys like Marte, who’s only been up here a month or two,” said rookie Spencer Steer, who debuted in September last year and has been part of the Reds’ yearlong turnaround from that 100-loss season from the start.

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“Just the amount of growth and how they go about their business and then obviously the results on the field,” Steer added. “It’s really easy to get excited about the future because of the young guys in this clubhouse. And hopefully we can learn from this experience coming down the stretch and when we’re in this exact same spot next year we’ll have done it before and can learn from what went wrong this year.”

Said Marte (through team translator Jorge Merlos): “Everyone puts in their little grain of sand into helping out with this.”

The Reds won’t have the Rookie of the Year in the National League. Arizona’s Corbin Carroll is all but assured of winning that with his huge year.

But nobody has gotten more contribution toward exceeding team expectations and winning from rookies than the Reds this year.

“It’s a testament to what’s going to hopefully be a story for multiple years to come,” Benson said.

So with the season winding to a close, this week’s final Reds Rookie Power Rankings represents a ranking based not of the previous week and trends but of contribution and impact for the entire season.

The final 2023 Reds Rookie Power Rankings, full-season top 10:

Spender Speer is not only a candidate for NL Rookie of the Year, but is arguably the Reds' MVP. He leads major-league rookies in RBIs and is second in hits and doubles, and he leads the Reds in just about every offensive category.
Spender Speer is not only a candidate for NL Rookie of the Year, but is arguably the Reds' MVP. He leads major-league rookies in RBIs and is second in hits and doubles, and he leads the Reds in just about every offensive category.

1. IF/OF Spencer Steer — Probably the Reds’ most valuable player overall this season, Steer might be a Rookie of the Year candidate if not for the likes of Arizona’s Corbin Carroll. He leads major-league rookies in RBIs and is second in hits and doubles, and he leads the Reds in just about every offensive category. One of the biggest: games played. He’ll tie Pete Rose’s franchise rookie record when he plays in No. 157 on Sunday. And then there’s this added value: Nobody on the team has shown more proficiency at more defensive positions than Steer, who is only the fourth Red to play at least 15 games at four different positions (First base, second, third, left field). Where he came from: Acquired from Minnesota in Tyler Mahle deal July 2022.

Andrew Abbott rocketed through Double-A and Triple-A before making his major league debut. He was 8-3 with a 2.99 ERA in his first 14 starts — 6-2, 1.90 in his first 10. He made 21 big-league starts in all, going 8-6 with a 3.87 ERA.
Andrew Abbott rocketed through Double-A and Triple-A before making his major league debut. He was 8-3 with a 2.99 ERA in his first 14 starts — 6-2, 1.90 in his first 10. He made 21 big-league starts in all, going 8-6 with a 3.87 ERA.

2. LHP Andrew Abbott — After starting the season at Double-A, then pitching his way to Triple-A, he made his debut June 5 and became the biggest stabilizing force for a beleaguered rotation as the Reds surged into first place by the All-Star break. Until he started to wear down under the weight of a 38-percent jump in his innings load from last year, Abbott was 8-3 with a 2.99 ERA in his first 14 starts — 6-2, 1.90 in his first 10. He made 21 big-league starts in all, going 8-6 with a 3.87 ERA. “He obviously belongs here,” catcher Luke Maile said. Where he came from: Reds’ second-round draft pick from Virginia in 2021.

3. SS/2B Matt McLain — Until he landed on the injured list with an oblique injury and missed the last month of the season, the polished hitter and fielder was the Reds’ best player all year — and still led the team in WAR until last week. Not bad for a guy who debuted May 15. The Reds were 18-22 before his debut — and 41-27 in their next 68 to take a 1 1/2-game lead in the NL Central into trade-deadline day (Aug. 1). Where he came from: Reds’ first-round draft pick (17) from UCLA in 2021.

Elly De La Cruz's sheer talent and thrilling exploits on the field, some good and some bad, made him one of the most must-watch players in baseball. From EDLC’s debut through the All-Star break, the Reds went 23-7, altering the course of the season.
Elly De La Cruz's sheer talent and thrilling exploits on the field, some good and some bad, made him one of the most must-watch players in baseball. From EDLC’s debut through the All-Star break, the Reds went 23-7, altering the course of the season.

4. SS/3B Elly De La Cruz — For sheer spectacle, tools and action-packed thrill, nobody in baseball could touch De La Cruz’s impact on his team from his June 6 debut to the All-Star break. He walked twice and doubled in his debut, ran MLB’s fastest sprint time and hit a 458-foot home run in his second game, hit for the cycle in his 15th, and stole three bases in the span of two pitches in his 29th. Along the way this season, he broke the Statcast-era velocity record for infield assists — twice — with throws of 99.7 mph and 99.8. The Reds scored roughly two more runs per game from EDLC’s debut through the All-Star break, going 23-7 in that stretch, altering the course of the season. Those five weeks alone make him one of top Reds rookies of the year despite sizable second-half struggles. Where he came from: Signed by Reds as international amateur free agent at 16 in July 2018.

5. LHP Brandon Williamson — Pressed into big-league duty in May despite a 6.62 ERA in the minors because of desperate need in the rotation, Williamson struggled, especially in his first eight starts (5.82 ERA). But he remained in the rotation the rest of the season, earning increased trust along the way, including Friday's series-opening start in a must-sweep series in St. Lous this weekend. And he finished with more starts (23) for the Reds than anyone but Graham Ashcraft. After those first eight starts, he went 4-4 with a 3.79 ERA in his final 15 (even with a couple rough ones upon returning from the COVID-19 list Sept. 12.) Where he came from: Acquired March 2022 from Seattle in six-player trade that sent Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to Mariners.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand didn't debut until after the All-Star break, but has made a huge impact. He has shown massive power, hitting 13 home runs in his first 61 games.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand didn't debut until after the All-Star break, but has made a huge impact. He has shown massive power, hitting 13 home runs in his first 61 games.

6. 1B/DH Christian Encarnacion-Strand — He didn’t debut until after the All-Star break, but he has the best pure power on the roster; only six Reds hit more homers than CES’ 13 in his first 61 games. His three-run homer Friday in St. Louis was just the fifth by a visiting player to reach the so-called Big Mac Land in the third deck in left field at Busch Stadium. “Easy power,” San Francisco Giants veteran Brandon Crawford said the day after watching CES hit his first. And he’s raked since his four-hit game on Aug. 30 in his first-ever game attended by his dad — hitting .350 since then, through Friday, with nine of his homers in those 21 games. Where he came from: Acquired from Minnesota in Tyler Mahle deal July 2022.

Noelvi Marte didn't debut until Aug. 19, but has gotten his feet under him and been a big contributor down the stretch. The 14-game hitting streak he took into Saturday was the longest by a Reds rookie since 1988.
Noelvi Marte didn't debut until Aug. 19, but has gotten his feet under him and been a big contributor down the stretch. The 14-game hitting streak he took into Saturday was the longest by a Reds rookie since 1988.

7. 3B/SS Noelvi Marte — He’s only been in the big leagues since Aug. 19, but after taking two weeks to acclimate, he’s been one of the Reds’ best, most consistent hitters in September. That included picking up where he left off Sept. 13 in his first start four days after breaking his nose while playing catch with De La Cruz (the ball hit him when he looked away as De La Cruz threw the ball). His 14-game hitting streak through Friday was the Reds’ longest of the season and longest for a Reds rookie since Jeff Treadway in 1988 (also 14). Where he came from: Acquired July 2022 from Seattle in the five-player trade that sent Luis Castillo to Mariners.

8. RHP Fernando Cruz — The senior member of the Reds rookie class, at 33, has had lengthy stretches of dominance this year for one of the best bullpens in baseball, leading the team with 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings. He pitched five times during the Reds’ 12-game winning streak in June without allowing a run, had a 2.08 ERA in 21 appearances from June 12-July 31 as the Reds surged to first place, and he pitched a scoreless inning in each game of a doubleheader sweep in Anaheim Aug. 23. “I always had the vision of being at the best level of baseball, but man, this is something (special),” said Cruz, who took one of the longest, most circuitous routes to the big leagues among this group. Where he came from: Signed by Reds as minor-league free agent February 2022.

9. RHP Connor Phillips — Whether the kid who started the year in Double-A would have earned a September debut regardless, he was pressed into starting duty Sept. 5 because of a COVID-19 outbreak crushing an already thin staff. By Saturday he was starting against the Cardinals in St. Louis trying to keep the Reds’ playoff hopes alive into the final day of the season. Along the way, he produced one of the team’s best starts of the month in a seven-inning victory over the playoff-bound Twins Sept. 18. Where he came from: Acquired March 2022 from Seattle in six-player trade that sent Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to Mariners.

An emergency call-up when COVID hit the Reds' already depleted starting rotation and ended up getting the start Saturday night against the Cardinals with the Reds' playoff hopes on the line.
An emergency call-up when COVID hit the Reds' already depleted starting rotation and ended up getting the start Saturday night against the Cardinals with the Reds' playoff hopes on the line.

10. RHP Ricky Karcher — Wait, what? That’s right, the guy who spent exactly one inning on the big-league roster this season earns a place on this list because of the definitive moment of his baseball life that might as well define the impossible season this team has pulled off with this group. Called up for emergency depth for a taxed bullpen despite a 9.27 ERA, he was the last pitcher available in the bottom of the 10th on June 12 in Kansas City, the Reds clinging to a one-run lead — at which point he took the mound and immediately walked the first batter. He nearly hit the next batter in the head — but for the bat that caught enough of the ball to deflect it from doing serious harm. That was one of just nine strikes in the 21-pitch outing that had catcher Curt Casali looking more like a gymnast than a baseball player trying to keep pitches from getting to the backstop. Karcher somehow managed to strand the two runners at second and third to earn a save and a big-league ERA of 0.00 before heading back to the minors. “It’s like a movie, bro,” Karcher said during the on-field TV interview afterward. Where he came from: Reds’ 13th-round draft pick in 2017 from Walters State Community College (Tenn.)

Other Reds rookies this season: OF Henry Ramos, RHP Daniel Duarte, OF Michael Siani, RHP Kevin Herget, RHP Brett Kennedy, RHP Casey Legumina, RHP Levi Stoudt, RHP Eduardo Salazar, OF TJ Hopkins, RHP Randy Wynne, RHP Jake Wong, RHP Lyon Richardson, RHP Carson Spiers.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Where does Elly De La Cruz land in final Reds Rookie Power Rankings?