This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- Sure, it was as a featured guest for an event with Reds season ticket holders where he was in the room with more than 100 fans mingling and taking pictures while they enjoyed coffee and snacks. But last Wednesday morning, for the first time in his professional career, outfield prospect Jacob Hurtubise was inside a big league clubhouse.

That, in itself, was meaningful.

“It’s the place we’re all trying to get to as ballplayers, hopefully there to stay," Hurtubise said afterward. “As you continue to go up the levels, you see that the facilities get nicer and nicer and nicer. I was just looking around at all the [locker] nameplates, kind of imagining what it would look like one day seeing my name up there. That’s obviously the dream. Hopefully it’s coming soon.”

Hurtubise, 26, was added to Cincinnati's 40-man roster in November and will be at Spring Training.

The 2023 season was a big one for Hurtubise. He batted .330 with a .961 OPS, seven home runs, 45 steals and 46 RBIs over 119 combined games for Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville. That included him hitting .390 in 36 games for Louisville.

Along with meeting season ticket holders last Wednesday, Hurtubise was presented with the Reds' Position Player of the Year Award. Although not listed among Cincinnati's Top 30 Prospects by MLB Pipeline at the end of 2023 (2024 rankings will be coming out in a couple weeks), the Reds indicated how they felt about Hurtubise by having him participate in the Arizona Fall League, where he played an additional 23 games.

“At that point, it was just all about trying to be consistent with my game," he said. "I had the season I had. As a baseball player, all you’re doing is trying to repeat what you did on your best day. Just being able to get those repetitions and continuing to work on your own game, that was what was valuable the most for me. … You’re getting the experience of what it’s like to face the top arms in each organization and see where you kind of stack up there.”

Hurtubise's path to professional baseball has been unique. After graduating from Zionsville Community High School in Indiana, he attended West Point and played college baseball for Army, where he did not hit a home run over his collegiate career. The Mariners drafted Hurtubise in the 39th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, but he did not sign with the club. 

The Reds signed Hurtubise as an undrafted free agent in 2020, and he became the first academy player who was allowed to defer his military service obligation under a new pro athlete exemption policy. As long as he has a professional contract and continues to provide positive media exposure for the Army, Hurtubise can keep playing baseball. 

Only two West Point students have ever played Major League Baseball, according to Baseball Reference: Outfielder Walt French, who did not graduate, played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1923-29 while pitcher Chris Rowley appeared in eight games for the Blue Jays in 2017-18.

"It would just mean a lot to represent the service academies," Hurtubise said. "Just showing what we’re all about -- which I think is resiliency and pride for the country -- things that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to see if they just heard about West Point or a service academy.”

Hurtubise played for High-A Dayton in 2021 and led the club's qualified hitters with a .413 on-base percentage while hitting .283 with no homers in 102 games. Promoted to Chattanooga in '22, injuries limited him to 63 games. He was also often an odd man out for playing time with outfielders Michael Siani, Allan Cerda and TJ Hopkins ahead of him on the depth chart.

"All were having great years but I was also able to learn what it took to be a great teammate and what it took to be a good position player," said Hurtubise, who hit his first homer on the final day of the '22 season. "Even though I didn’t spend as much time playing, I learned a lot about the game during that time. That just helped continue to drive and motivate me for the year I had in 2023.”

Heading into 2024, Hurtubise is unlikely to break camp on the big league roster. However, the Reds have limited outfield depth at Triple-A. If they need someone to fill in, he would only be a phone call away from the big leagues.

That could bring Hurtubise back to the very clubhouse he visited last week. This time, it would be as a player with his own locker nameplate.