Former Kentucky Baseball star and the 2014 unanimous national player of the year A.J. Reed has announced his retirement from baseball.
Here is the report from NBC Sports Chicago:
A.J. Reed, the one-time slugging prospect who made his way to the White Sox last season, retired earlier this month.
The news went unnoticed by many, though there it is on the International League’s transactions page: Reed, a second-round draft pick in 2014, retired on March 4. He’s 26 years old.
The White Sox picked Reed up on a waiver claim midway through last season, taking a flier on a guy who had no trouble racking up home runs in the minor leagues. He hit 34 of them playing at two levels of the Houston Astros organization in 2015, 34 more at Triple-A in 2017 and another 28 at Triple-A in 2018.
But Reed could never make it happen at the major league level, and that includes in the 49 plate appearances he got in just 14 games with the White Sox in 2019. He picked up only six hits, including one home run, and struck out a whopping 21 times.
Reed did manage a highlight in a White Sox uniform. He moved over from first base and pitched in relief during the ninth inning of an 11-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins, retiring all three batters he faced.
He played his final game with the White Sox on Aug. 1 and spent the remainder of the season in Triple-A Charlotte.
