Christian Lee Encarnacion-Strand (born December 1, 1999) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Early life and amateur career

Encarnacion-Strand grew up in

Pleasant Hill, California Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 34,613 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1961. Pleasant Hill is the home of College Park H ...

, and attended College Park High School. As a senior, he was named the Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

after batting .455 with 40 hits and 27 RBIs. Encarnacion-Strand began his

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

career at

Yavapai College Yavapai College is a public community college in Yavapai County, Arizona. The main campus is in Prescott, with locations in Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Sedona. History Yavapai College was established in 1965 by means of a c ...

. As a freshman, he was named the

Arizona Community College Athletic Conference The Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) is a junior college conference in Region 1 of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Conference championships are held in most sports and individuals can be named to All- ...

Player of the Year after he batted .402 and led the conference with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs. Encarnacion-Strand was selected in the 34th round of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, but did not sign with the team. He was hitting .430 with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs in 25 games as a sophomore before the season was cut short due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Encarnacion-Strand transferred to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

for his remaining collegiate eligibility. In his only season with the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. ...

, he batted .361 with 15 home runs and 66 RBIs and was named the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

Newcomer of the Year.

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

Encarnacion-Strand was selected in the fourth round of the

2021 Major League Baseball draft The 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 11–13, 2021. In conjunction with the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the draft was held in Denver. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The ...

by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. He was assigned to the

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

Low-A Southeast The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

after signing with the team. Encarnacion-Strand began the 2022 season with the

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...

of the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. He slashed .296/.370/.599 with 20 home runs and 68 RBIs in 74 games with Cedar Rapids before being promoted to the Double-A

Wichita Wind Surge The Wichita Wind Surge are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Wichita, Kansas, and began play in 2021 at Riverfront Stadium. The Wind Surge were supposed to b ...

Cincinnati Reds

On August 2, 2022, the Twins traded Encarnacion-Strand,

Spencer Steer Spencer Gordon Steer (born December 7, 1997) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Steer attended Millikan High School in Long Beach, California. He was drafted by t ...

, and

Steve Hajjar Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Cleveland Guardians system. Players Logan Allen Logan Taylor Allen (born September 5, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Guardians organization. All ...

, to the

in exchange for

Tyler Mahle Tyler Fermin Mahle ( ; born September 29, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017 with the Cincinnati Reds. Amateur career Mahle attended Westminst ...

. The Reds assigned him to the Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

. In 2022 in the minor leagues he batted .304/.368/.587 in 484 at bats, and was tied for second-most in the minor leagues in RBIs with 114, behind

Matt Mervis Matthew Jared Mervis (born April 16, 1998), nicknamed Mash, is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Chicago Cubs organization. He played college baseball at Duke University, and signed with the Cubs as an undrafted free agent ...

. Encarnacion-Strand was assigned to the Triple–A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

to begin the 2023 season, where he played in 67 games and hit .331/.405/.637 with 20 home runs and 62 RBI. On July 17, 2023, he was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.

References

External links

Yavapai Roughriders bioOklahoma State Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Encarnacionstrand, Christian 1999 births Living people Baseball players from Contra Costa County, California Cedar Rapids Kernels players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Reds players Fort Myers Mighty Mussels players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players Sportspeople from Walnut Creek, California Yavapai Roughriders baseball players Wichita Wind Surge players