Cincinnati Reds calling up Christian Encarnacion-Strand

The Cincinnati Reds have a smoking hot group of young prospects on their hands, with Elly De La Cruz already lighting up the league and Matt McLain laying claim to being a genuine five-tool phenom. Now they are going to add another one to the roster.

It is being reported that the Reds plan on calling up Christian Encarnacion-Strand from Triple-A Louisville. The young man from San Francisco’s Bay Area was a standout third baseman at Oklahoma State before being picked up for a song by the Twins in the 2021 draft, going 128th overall.

Encarnacion-Strand went the JuCo route out of high school and was an All-American and Gold Glove winnner at Yavapai College before transferring to OSU. Since hitting the minor leagues, however, his rise has been meteoric, posting an eye-popping .322/.386/.604 slash line, with 56 home runs over 946 plate appearances in the last year and a half.

The Reds will have to do a bit of shuffling, since he is not yet on the 40-man roster, but he will add to an incredible set of young rising stars in Cincinnati. In the minors, Encarnacion-Strand has been played at first and right field in addition to his traditional third base, so there is the possibility that the Reds will use him in a utility role.

But as he comes into the Show, Encarnacion-Strand has already made history in one of the most bizarre categories imaginable. According to Sarah Langs at MLB.com, he is now the big-leaguer with the longest name in MLB history. His full name, including the hyphen, is 27 characters long, easily setting him atop the list. The next-best is Simeon Woods Richardson, whose full name encompasses 22 characters.

Longest full names in Major League history:

So even if he bombs out of the game, and for what it is worth, that seems extremely unlikely, Christian Encarnacion-Strand has already made his mark on MLB history. Just try getting his name on a shirt.