Friedl, McLain, De La Cruz, Lux, Candelario, Encarnacion-Strand, Espinal, Fraley and Trevino won’t be the exact starting lineup for Thursday’s opener. But it pleased the crowd.
The loudest cheers from the fans were saved for Elly De La Cruz, the crowd favorite in Dayton in 2022. After striking out in his first at-bat, the Reds’ shortstop singled to left batting right-handed and flashed his speed by beating out a tapper to third batting right-handed.
And, just like when he was in Dayton, his Reds teammates are fans of their budding superstar.
“He goes at it every single day,” said second baseman Matt McLain, who played for the Dragons in 2021. “It doesn’t matter what he did the day before. He’s always coming in looking to get better. It’s contagious, and it’s fun to be around.”
The Reds played their final exhibition game against a team of top minor-league prospects that included Will Benson and Noelvi Marte. Once the starters were pulled, the Reds side turned to even more prospects, most of whom played in Dayton the past two seasons.
The Prospects won 7-5 with single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. But the early innings, before many fans decided to get out of the cold, provided the most excitement.
The Reds took a 4-0 lead against Chase Petty with homers to right into a low-flying jet stream. Jake Fraley hit a full-count homer in the second inning, and McLain hit three-run homer in the third. The Prospects responded with a pair of two-run homers in the third by catcher Will Banfield and Benson.
Fraley, who also doubled, enjoyed his first game in Dayton.
“It’s cold and rainy out there, and they still show up in bunches,” he said. “It was a really cool experience, and a cool last game before we get set for the season.”
McLain spoke before the game about getting to return to Dayton where he played 29 games the summer after he was drafted.
“Obviously the facilities in the stadium here are really nice for a minor-league stadium,” he said. “Everyone talks about the minor leagues and that the stadiums aren’t very nice, and there’s not always fans in the stands. Then I came here and what are you guys talking about? So it’s cool to be back here, and it’s going to be fun.”
The loudest cheers next to the ones for De La Cruz were for new manager Terry Francona during pregame introductions. He has already made his mark with his young team.
“He’s a Hall of Fame coach for a reason,” Fraley said. “As soon as you get around him you quickly realize why he’s so good at what he does, why he gets the most out of his players. He’s an absolute blast. He keeps everything super light. He has incredible feel. He knows when to say things, he knows when to lay off.”
The Reds didn’t live up to expectations last year after the splash young players like De La Cruz and McLain made in 2023. Fraley sees Francona’s style as one that will let the Reds play and not worry about the outside noise.
“This team has so much pressure, so much anxiety that comes along with having to go out there and perform night in and night out with so many people watching,“ Fraley said. ”So just having a manager that understands that and knows how to go through that with the players is tremendous.”
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