Reds draft SEC Player of Year in first round
Florida third baseman brings ‘advanced offensive approach.’
The Reds selected Florida Gators junior third baseman Jonathan India with the fifth overall pick of the MLB draft on Monday night.
The Cincinnati Reds drafted a junior third baseman from the Southeastern Conference in the first round for the second time in three years, selecting Jonathan India from Florida with the fifth overall pick Monday.
That doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a logjam at third base down the line with India trying to win a job against the likes of current starter Eugenio Suarez, who signed a seven-year contract in March, and Nick Senzel, the No. 2 overall pick out of Tennessee in 2016 who’s hitting .267 in Triple-A Louisville.
The Reds picked India because he was the best player available, said Dick Williams, president of baseball operations, and they think he can help in a relatively short time.
“You can never have too many good players,” Williams said. “Suarez can play multiple positions. Senzel can play multiple positions. We’re confident India can play multiple positions. We’re starting to accumulate what we think are going to project to be really good hitters. This lineup is going to come together as these
guys develop.”
India, originally from Coral Springs, Florida, and American Heritage High School, was named the 2018 Southeastern Conference player of the year. He hit .365 with 16 home runs, 40 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 54 regular-season games.
“He’s got an advanced offensive approach,” Williams said. “To do what he did this year in the best conference in the nation speaks to his ability. He’s got a hit tool but with more power than some of the other guys we were looking at in that same range. Very good defensive player. That will serve him well and give us some flexibility with him in terms of moving him around, but he’s played a very good third base. We took a close look at that as well.”
When the Reds drafted him around 7:30 p.m., India was playing in a NCAA tournament regional game against Florida Atlantic. The Gators lost 7-4 but beat Florida Atlantic 5-2 later in the night to advance to the Gainesville Super Regional. India went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a home run in the second game.
India’s game took a major jump this season after he hit .274 with six home runs as a sophomore.
“We all thought he learned to go the other way a little more, to trust himself, to use the whole field,” Williams said. “It’s something all hitters talk about in terms of opening up their approach. I’ve met with his coaches when we were down there watching him in Gainesville. Everybody kind of says the same thing, and the numbers bear that out. When he started going the other way and opening up the field, he started hitting with more authority.
The Detroit Tigers took Auburn right-handed pitcher Casey Mize with the first pick. The San Francisco Giants followed with Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart.
With the third pick, the Philadelphia Phillies
‘To do what he did this year in the best conference in the nation speaks to his ability. He’s got a hit tool but with more power than some of the other guys we were looking at in that same range. Very good defensive player.’ Dick Williams Reds president of baseball operations
selected Wichita State third baseman Alec Bohm. The Chicago White Sox drafted Oregon State second baseman Nick Madrigal with the fourth pick.
The first four picks went pretty much the way the Reds thought, Williams said, so they were prepared to draft India.
“He was definitely someone we were paying a bunch of attention to, along with a bunch of those guys at the top,” Williams said.
“You never know what’s going to happen. You see those mock drafts. Even this afternoon, there was still a lot of uncertainty as to what was going to actually happen.”
Other picks
The Reds stayed in Florida in the second round, selecting right-handed pitcher Lyon Richardson, of Jensen Beach High School, with the 47th overall pick. He has signed with the University of Florida.
With their final pick of the first day, the Reds took Josiah Gray, a fourth-year junior at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., at No. 72 overall. Gray, of New Rochelle, N.Y., was 11-0 with a 1.25 ERA in 11 starts this season. He struck out 105 in 93⅓ innings.