Reds prospect Matt McLain has nothing left to prove after hitting for the cycle

The Cincinnati Reds have been very aggressive in their handling of top infield prospect Matt McLain.

The former first-round pick began his professional career at High-A Dayton and spent his first full minor league season at the Double-A level.

Cincinnati then assigned McLain to Triple-A Louisville to begin his 2023 campaign. After hitting for the cycle during the Louisville Bats Thursday night victory of the Omaha Storm Chasers, McLain has shown more than enough to warrant a big league call-up.

Reds prospect Matt McLain has nothing left to prove after hitting for the cycle.

Thursday's performance was actually the second time in his professional career that Matt McLain has hit for the cycle. Last night, it took McLain only six innings and four at-bats to complete the feat.

McLain tripled during his first plate appearance, legged out a two-bagger during his second trip to the dish, smashed a home run his third time up, and, for good measure, slashed an RBI single into right field during his fourth time swinging the bat.

McLain now has 34 hits in 105 at-bats with nearly half of those hits (16) going for extra bases. McLain has eight home runs on the season and a slugging percentage of .638. According to FanGraphs, McLain has a 16.3-percent walk-rate and a wRC+ of 178.

The old school approach would be to get Matt McLain another month's worth of ABs before calling him up, but the Cincinnati Reds lack any kind of power in the current lineup. Both shortstops currently on the team are hitting a combined .220 and have just eight extra-base hits between them.

It's time. The Cincinnati Reds need to make the call and give McLain a crack at the big leagues. After Thursday's performance, he's earned it.