Former Reds First Round Pick Has Career Best Season in 2025

Austin Hendrick had perhaps his best all-around season in 2025. The 24-year-old slashed .246/.322/.422, with 14 home runs, 13 doubles, and his lowest strikeout total since his debut season. He turned it up in the postseason as well, batting .500 with a 1.333 OPS, a home run, and five RBIs.

Hendrick was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He missed his senior season of high school baseball due to the COVID-19 pandemic, also causing him to miss his first professional season. In high school, Hendrick won the 2019 Under Armour Home Run Derby at Wrigley Field.

Hendrick was Rule 5 Draft eligible in 2024. That meant if the Reds did not add him to the 40-man roster, they ran the risk of losing him to another team. They did not add him, and no team took a chance on him. He did not have a great season in 2024, only slashing .188/.243/.288 with 11 home runs, 30 RBIs, and 173 strikeouts in 437 at-bats across 121 games. 

The right fielder had some big moments this season. On July 4, Hendrick had a 4-4 game with two home runs, five RBIs and a walk-off single. In the playoffs, he had another four hit game, going 4-4 with a double and two RBIs. In the Lookouts final game, he went 2-5 with a home run and three RBIs.

His teammates seem to enjoy being around him as well. "He is the greatest human being ever," Minor League pitcher Trevor Kuncl told me in a recent interview. "He is the nicest dude, you just want nothing but success for him."

It has been a great sign to see a prospect with as much talent as he has, putting together a solid season after all the struggles of prior years.

Could we see Austin Hendrick in Triple-A in 2026? Will he be added to the 40-man roster to avoid the Rule 5 Draft? The Reds have a decision to make on his future this offseason.