Rece Xola Hinds (born September 5, 2000) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

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

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Early life and career

Hinds was born and grew up in

Niceville, Florida Niceville is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States, located near Eglin Air Force Base on Boggy Bayou that opens into Choctawhatchee Bay. It is part of the Crestview- Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

, and initially attended

Niceville High School Niceville Senior High School (NHS) is a public high school in the city of Niceville, Florida. It is ranked as the top high school within its high-performing Okaloosa County School District. In 1996, NHS was selected as one of 226 secondary schoo ...

. He was invited to play in the Under Armour All-America Game after both his sophomore and junior seasons. As a junior, Hinds hit .494 with 12 home runs and was also invited to the Perfect Game All-American Classic. Following his junior season, he transferred to

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

. Hinds batted .361 with 33 runs, 17 RBI, 14 stolen bases in his only season at IMG.

Professional career

The

selected Hinds in the second round, with the 49th overall selection, of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball 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 addition, compensation picks ...

. After signing with the team he was assigned to the

Greeneville Reds The Greeneville Reds were a Minor League Baseball team of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. They represented the town of Greeneville, Tennessee, though Pioneer Park, their home stadium, was located in the nearby city of Tusculum on the campus ...

of the Low–A

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

, where went 0–for-8 with two walks in 10 plate appearances. Hinds did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, but was added to the Reds' alternate training site roster shortly after the beginning of the

2020 Major League Baseball season The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball (M ...

. Hinds was named the best overall athlete in the Reds' minor league system going into the 2021 season. Hinds spent the 2021 season with the

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Minor League Baseball#Single-A, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie R ...

of the

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 ...

, slashing .251/.319/.515 with ten home runs, 27 RBI, and six stolen bases over 43 games. He missed time during the season due to a torn meniscus. On March 5, 2022, the Reds announced that Hinds would be switching his position from third base to the outfield. Reds farm director Shawn Pender added "We made a decision to get him (Hinds) on the field healthier." In 79 games split between three minor league affiliates, Hinds hit .233/.304/.428 with 12 home runs, 30 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. He played in the 2022

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

, where he batted .234/.280/.403, and led the league in strikeouts (33; in 77 at bats). Hinds spent the entirety of the 2023 campaign with 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 based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

. In 109 games with the club, he slashed .269/.330/.536 with 20 home runs, 98 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. On November 14, 2023, the Reds added Hinds to their

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, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Hinds was optioned 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, wi ...

to begin the 2024 season. In 77 games for Louisville, he hit .216/.290/.409 with 13 home runs, 41 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. On July 8, 2024, Hinds was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Hinds began his Major League career with 5 home runs in his first 6 games. On July 25, he was optioned back to the Louisville Bats. In 24 total games during his rookie campaign, Hinds batted .261/.333/.717 with five home runs, 11 RBI, and two stolen bases. Hinds was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to begin the 2025 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinds, Rece 2000 births Living people People from Niceville, Florida Baseball players from Florida Major League Baseball outfielders IMG Academy alumni Cincinnati Reds players Greeneville Reds players Arizona Complex League Reds players Daytona Tortugas players Dayton Dragons players Chattanooga Lookouts players Glendale Desert Dogs players Louisville Bats players African-American baseball players