Reds drawn to Alabama SS Lebron's talents, intangibles for No. 18 pick

CINCINNATI -- As it does when you've been selected in the first round of the MLB Draft, shortstop Justin Lebron received a flood of text messages and well-wishes. One that really stood out was the one Lebron received from Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene.

"He reached out to me, just congratulated me, telling me to get ready to work and this is going to be a fun journey," Lebron said. “I’m super grateful. I’ve never spoken to or met him, but I’m super excited he reached out to me. That really means a lot. It says a lot about the organization.”

Lebron, 21, was taken 18th overall by Cincinnati out of the University of Alabama. The bonus slot value for that pick is $4,695,500.

“I’m filled with every emotion in the world, really," Lebron said from his home in Coconut Creek, Fla., where he watched the 2026 Draft with family and friends. "I’m excited to be a part of such a great program. I’m ready to get to work to see what I can bring to the table."

The Reds are deep at shortstop at the big league level -- with Elly De La Cruz and Edwin Arroyo -- but also in their farm system. Steele Hall, their 2025 first-round pick and No. 2 prospect, is a shortstop as well.

Selecting another available shortstop like Lebron, who is ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 9 Draft prospect, was still an easy decision for the organization. The Reds project him to stick at his natural position.

“We just thought he was the most talented player available to us right there," Reds amateur scouting director Joe Katuska said. "We’ve had the opportunity to evaluate him for a long time. We had him at a workout in high school. Tremendous physical ability, the ability to impact the game in many different ways.”

Strong performances with 30 home runs and 109 RBIs while batting .327 over 116 games during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Alabama had the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Lebron as an early projection to be the overall No. 1 pick in 2026.

Some of that buzz cooled when Lebron's numbers dipped this year in his junior season as he batted .277 with a .920 OPS, 16 homers and 48 RBIs in 61 games. But he still helped lead Alabama to the 2026 College World Series, the program’s first since 1999.

“It was a roller coaster, for sure," Lebron said. "I didn’t have the season I would have said I wanted. I wouldn’t say it wasn’t a great season. But I think it was great and amazing because I helped the team get to Omaha … To me, it was a success.”

Lebron struggled more in SEC play, hitting .229 with five homers, but he cut his strikeout total in half compared to 2025 in just two fewer games. That didn't scare off the Reds.

"We just believe in our development," Katuska said. "We believe in his physical ability. We think he can make the adjustments necessary moving forward, the make-up, the grind that he has to him. He’s ready for this and he knows he has to make adjustments and make corrections moving forward, and we think he’s fully prepared to.”

There are multiple tools Lebron holds that excite scouts. He has 70-grade speed and stole 42 bases this season in 43 attempts, after having 24 steals over his first two college seasons. He also has 60-grade right-handed power.

“I think you’d probably have an argument [about] what the best tool is because so many of them are plus, if not double plus," Katuska said. “He can drive the ball. We’ve seen it consistently for a couple of years now. It’s a tremendous asset that he has, one of his best attributes."

Born in the Bronx in New York and a Florida resident since he was 4, Lebron volunteers with the Miracle League, which provides baseball opportunities to children and adults with physical and mental disabilities.

“I think the reason I play baseball is to do that, to bring others together and not really single anyone out," Lebron said. "There’s a lot of people in the world that are going through things that you just never really know. I think it’s helped me want to be a better baseball player to continue to grow the community and bring everyone together.”

Lebron's younger brother, Jayden, competes in the Miracle League and was born with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes high risk for heart and blood vessel issues.

"One of the things that Jayden has done is kind of live through me and play through me," he said. "We did this together. It really does take a village. He was so excited and treated like it was his day as well.”

It was Lebron's intangibles that drew the Reds to him.

“He has been instrumental in taking care of him, looking after him and being the big brother that everyone wishes that they could be themselves, that they wish they had," Katuska said. “He’s just a great kid. He paid for teammates’ parents to come down and watch their sons play. He’s just a tremendously connected kid within the team, within the community -- everything you’re looking for off the field but also the competitor on the field."