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CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 12: Virginia mascot during the ACC Men's basketball tournament between the NC State Wolf Pack and the Virginia Cavaliers on March 12, 2026 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds went with college shortstop Justin Lebron with the #18 pick in the 1st round of the 2026 MLB Draft, and they backed it up in the 2nd round by taking – you guessed it – another college shortstop.
This time around, it was University of Virginia product Eric Becker. Becker, who bats lefty, was ranked as the #41 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s big board heading into draft day, and he’s something of the inverse of what the Reds took in Lebron – at least on paper. He’s a contact-first hitter with more doubles power than moonshot power, and he rarely chases pitches out of the zone.
The MLB Pipeline crew notes that he ‘is an average runner with an average arm,’ with that profiling more as a 2B than SS at the highest levels. In other words, after drafting for ceiling with Lebron in the 1st round, the Reds found a high-floor guy fall into their laps in Round 2 and pounced.
Here’s Taylor Blake Ward’s take from Baseball America on Becker’s potential:
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