Reds go for best players with picks
Buckley says most draftees may help big club in 3-4 years.
The Reds have Joey Votto signed through 2023, but that might not preclude Cincinnati from taking another Yonder Alonso in the 2012 draft this week. Such is the nature of the annual June baseball draft, when most teams truly do seek the “best player available.” The Reds will pick No. 14 in the first round, which starts Monday at 7 p.m. (The Reds expect to pick around 8:20 p.m.).
“It’s the same approach every year,” said Chris Buckley, Reds director of amateur scouting. “We try to get the most talented guy, regardless of position.”
That is why the Reds made first baseman Alonso their No. 1 choice in 2008, when Votto was in just his first full Reds season.
“The amateur draft doesn’t put your bigleague team on the field,” Buckley said. “It helps acquire more talent. People say, ‘Why did you take Alonso when you had Votto?’ ... But Joey had only been in the big leagues a short time. You don’t know you’re getting an MVP.”
The Reds last December traded Alonso, two more former first-round picks (pitcher Brad Boxberger, catcher Yasmani Grandal) and former AllStar pitcher Edinson Volquez to San Diego for pitcher Mat Latos, who could be a rotation anchor for years.
Entering the weekend, Baseball America projected the Reds’ No. 1 draftee to be pitcher Chris Stratton, a right-hander from Mississippi State. Another mock draft, MLB.com, had the Reds taking Stanford third baseman/ outfielder Stephen Piscotty.
Other Reds first-round candidates include Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero, Texas A&M right-hander Michael Wacha, Clemson third baseman Richie Shaffer, Duke right-hander Marcus Stroman and Texas A&M outfielder Tyler Naquin.
“Anybody we select is usually three or four years from the majors,” Buckley said. “Whatever your needs are today, it’s probably very different from what your needs will be in three or four years.”
Right-hander Mike Leake, the Reds’ No. 1 selection in 2009, was an exception to the unwritten rule. Leake made the Reds in 2010 without playing in the minors.
“That’s very unusual, what Mike did,” Buckley said. “It’s very different from the NFL draft, where a lot of times those players play right away.”
J.J. Cooper, Baseball America managing editor, said of the Reds:
“This is a team that drafted Yonder Alonso when they already had Joey Votto and picked Yasmani Grandal not long after picking Devin Mesoraco. Those picks ended up working out in the long run because, as scouting directors like to say, it’s better to let the draft come to you than to force a pick for a need.”