Which Reds player has the best chance to top Eugenio Suarez's 49 home run season?

In 2019, Cincinnati Reds third baseman, Eugenio Suarez lit the baseball world on fire with his infectious smile, vibrant personality, and otherworldly power.

Suarez tallied 49 home runs that season, which was the most by a Reds player since George Foster walloped 52 round trippers in 1977. The 49 home runs was the most by a National League third baseman in Major League Baseball history.

The Reds currently rank 28th in home runs in 2023. Is there anybody currently in the Reds organization that could contend with these incredible power statistics? Could a Reds infielder ever hit the 50 home run mark?

Reds prospect Elly De La Cruz has the best chance to top Eugenio Suarez's 49 HR season.

This question couldn't really be answered just by looking in within the current crop of players in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse. The two most likely candidates reside in Louisville, with the Reds Triple-A affiliate.

First base prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand has totaled over 45 home runs in his last 162 games of minor league baseball. His power is substantial, but his lack of maturity at the plate could spell problems towards his chase of 50 home runs.

The more likely candidate would be the team's top prospect Elly De La Cruz. De La Cruz shows a special talent when it comes to hitting for power. This season, De La Cruz has consistently launched balls out of the yard with extreme exit velocities that rival some of the best players currently on major league rosters.

De La Cruz is on the cusp of making his major league debut, and once gets that call and has a few seasons under his belt, the slugger will hopefully show the maturity necessary to have consistent contact with power at the major league level.

If De La Cruz sticks at shortstop, it will take just 34 home runs to break the Cincinnati Reds single-season record for home runs at the position. De La Cruz could profile as a third baseman at the next level, where it will take the 50 home runs to break the aforementioned record held by Eugenio Suarez.

It would take a Herculean effort to break George Foster's team-record, but playing half his game in the hitter's paradise that is Great American Ball Park, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibilities for Elly De La Cruz to eclipse 52 dingers either.