One of MLB’s most active teams in Europe has struck again. The Cincinnati Reds have announced the signing of Jordan Ouanyou, a fast-rising French teenager. Ouanyou, a first baseman, will join the Netherlands’ Arij Fransen and Switzerland’s Dominic Scheffler in the Reds’ system, which once produced another European first baseman in Donald Lutz. He becomes the third French player under contract with a MLB team.
Ouanyou caught the attention of MLB scouts with a dominant performance at the 2024 Under-18 European Championship, hitting .421/.520/.684, going yard once and striking out just twice in five games. Afterwards, he was invited to Arizona with what is usually known as the World Select Team, where a squad of prospects from around the world played against the Royals’ Instructional League team, along with three Arizona colleges and universities. In late January, Cincinnati brought Ouanyou to its Dominican facility and made indications it would sign him shortly thereafter, though the deal was not official until July.
Boris Rothermundt, Fédération Française de Baseball et Softball (FFBS) Deputy National Technical Director, explained how these pre-contract visits—increasingly common for European prospects—work. “This invitation to the Dominican Republic reflects the new MiLB rules post-COVID. Since then, franchises limit the number of players under contract (165 athletes maximum per organization), which reinforces the importance of visits to the Dominican Republic to evaluate young talents. The conditions there have improved significantly, with complexes faithfully reproducing those in the United States.”[1]
A strong defensive first baseman, Ouanyou checks in at 6-1, 192 pounds, despite not turning 18 until the end of October. He was developed by PUC (Paris) from age six, then training with two of the leading French academies during his younger years: Pole Espoir in Montpellier (three years) and Pole Espoir in Toulouse (two years). He then moved to Division I in 2024, when he played for Templiers Sénart. He hit .250/.325/.265 over 19 games as a 16-year-old facing much older competition. This year, while playing for Lions Savigny-sur-Orge, the left-handed hitter has improved to .258/.369/.376 across 25 games thus far, hitting his first two home runs in French Division I action and adding six stolen bases. He also helped the Lions win the 2025 French Challenge de Baseball Cup.
Ouanyou has made appearances at three different tournaments for Les Bleus: the 2019 Under-12 European Championship, the 2022 Under-15 World Cup, and last year’s 2024 U-18 Euros.
Baseball America’s Ben Badler, who first reported the signing in English [link], lists him as an 1B/OF, suggesting that the Reds may try him at multiple positions. Badler also notes that he will be reporting to the Dominican Summer League in the next few days.
The Parisian becomes the third player developed in France currently under contract with a big league team, along with the Brewers’ Ernesto Martinez and the White Sox’ Mathias LaCombe. A total of 11 French players have signed contracts with MLB organizations, with baseball the last of the four major U.S. leagues waiting its first French athlete.
“The Reds have been following him for a long time and, thanks to his talent, coupled with his work, he was able to convince them. We are very happy and wish him the best for this new step in his journey to the top,” noted Didier Seminet, President of the Federation. “A new pure product of the French training system lands a contract with one of the franchises of the biggest professional baseball league in the world. After Mathias LaCombe recently and before other signings hoped for in the years to come, this is the sign that the work of our clubs, our high-level sector and therefore our Federation is paying off.”[2]
By Gabriel Fidler, Managing Editor.
[1] Translated by Gabriel Fidler from the original French at https://ffbs.fr/jordan-ouanyou-en-route-pour-une-experience-unique-avec-les-reds-de-cincinnati.
[2] Translated by Gabriel Fidler from the original French at https://ffbs.fr/jordan-ouanyou-signe-pour-la-franchise-mlb-des-reds-de-cincinnati.