Reds and the Draft
How about the Reds? We’re almost to the season’s mid-point and they seem to be a decent ballclub. They likely won’t win the division, but they’re a solid team that should finish third or fourth in the division. While that may not sound impressive, it’s better than finishing closer to the bottom of the division like in years past.
I really think the Reds are on the verge of having more consistent winning years. They’re probably a year or two away from contending for the division title. As long as all of the current pieces (front office, manager, pitching, young stars) can stay in tact, and if we can add a little more offense to the lineup, you’re looking at a very good team. At least a playoff caliber team.
But, their first pick in this year’s draft puzzled me. Going into the draft, they knew they needed left-handed pitching. With their first pick, they selected a right-handed pitcher – Arizona State’s Mike Leake. All the while, University of Kentucky lefty James Paxton was on the board. Both the Reds fan in me and the UK fan in me wanted them to pick Paxton. Instead, he went later in the draft to the Blue Jays. The Reds went on to select 23 pitchers in the draft, only two of which are left-handed.
The MLB draft is tricky. Teams go into knowing full well that the majority of the players they’re going to pick will never see the light of day in the Major Leagues. Some players still need development, and you never know how well or poorly that process will go. I don’t want to doubt the Reds decision, since they’ve researched these players like crazy. But, to me, it seems pitchers are 50/50 whether or not they’ll develop to their full potential. It would be a shame to see Leake end up a bust and see Paxton go on to be a solid player for the Blue Jays. I’ll be pulling for both players to end up as solid players.
