Promising Reds Prospect Dreams of Playing With Elly De La Cruz

Cincinnati Reds prospect Leo Balcazar had a nice season with High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga, but the Reds wanted to see how he would perform in the Arizona Fall League.

Well, he's been one of the best players in the entire league thus far.

The 21-year-old is slashing .385/.439/.462 with four extra-base hits in 13 games in Arizona this fall. He has four more hits than the next closest hitter in the AFL.

Balcazar is the Reds' No. 23-ranked prospect, and he wants to be like shortstop Elly De La Cruz.

“To see how he’s playing right now in the big leagues, one of the best players in the world, I want to be like him," Balcazar told MLB.com's Jesse Borek. "I want to play with him [in the Majors].”

In 2023, Balcazar was off to a hot start, but tore his ACL after just 18 games. In 2024, he bounced back to play in 102 games for the Dayton Dragons.

Balacazar played mostly second base and shortstop in the 2025 season, but he's been asked to play a good amount of third base this fall, something he hasn't done since Low-A. He's made one error in 17 chances at the hot corner.

The infielder played in 126 games between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga this season, slashing .263/.339/.381 with 33 extra-base hits.

The Reds need to decide whether to add Balazar to the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 Draft in December, and he's making that decision look easier and easier.