Official Draft Thread

[cincinnati chili]

I know that Baseball America isn't the holy grail or anything. And I understand that signability has to be considered when making these picks. But the Reds have overdrafted BB America's draft projection on all 6 of their first picks:

Gruler - Reds 3rd pick, BBA 7th pick
Schramek - Reds 40th pick, BBA 240th pick
Votto - Reds 44th pick, BBA not in top 250
Edens - Reds 75th pick, BBA 161st pick
Vazquez - Reds 150th pick, BBA 171st pick
Howard - Reds 135th pick, BBA 181st pick

You can't blame this all on the small market phenomenon. Consider the Pirates' selections

Bullington - Pirates 1st pick, BBA 3rd pick
Johnson - Pirates 42nd pick, BBA 41st pick
Lee - Pirates 73rd pick, BBA 77th pick
Starling - Pirates 103rd pick, BBA 51st pick
Hart - Pirates 133rd pick, BBA 90th pick

If these guys pan out for the Reds, they will look like geniuses, because they're certainly bucking the conventional wisdom

[M2]

BA thinks Howard could be converted to 2B:

3B Kevin Howard, is a solid college player with Team USA experience but scouts have little idea where to play him as a pro. He doesn’t have the power to play third base or the outfield and he doesn’t have the footwork to play shortstop. He might have to try to become an offensive second baseman, and he definitely must get stronger

[Benihana]

Have Harrington or Reyes gone yet?

If not PLEASE draft them now!!!
Can someone list all of our picks thus far?

[Junior#30]

why so many catchers?i want some pitchers

[D-Man]

Walter Olmstead is a huge (6'6", 230), switch hitter (thumbs up!) who strikes out a lot. Probably a ton of power potential. Depending on whether his pitch recognition improves or not, he could end up like Adam Dunn, Richie Sexson, or Samone Peters.

[Clemson]

Round 10 finishes with a pitcher

FRANKIE KELLER ABILENE CHRISTIAN U LHP L/L 6'2" 220 01/12/1980 4YR

COMMENT: Tall, strong body, like Terry Mulholland. Fastball average velocity off strong, quick arm. Slider offers occasional tight rotation with high, three-quarter depth. Also throws sinking change off fastball speed. Aggressive with fastball. Works quickly. Challenges hitters. Wants chance.

[Reds army]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Junior#30:
<strong>why so many catchers?i want some pitchers</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The Reds said as much that they would take some catchers. It is time for the Reds to go back toward a bit more Positional draft this year, last year the cattle call of arms was the name of the game.

[Stormy]

I haven't been posting because I follow the first 5 rounds of the draft on a conference call. I've written a few capsules of my thoughts on each selection, but I'll save that until the draft is complete and I've had a chance to cross-check some of it (and calibrated it to compare to other team's selections).

My initial impression is that I didn't think anything could exceed my disappointment with the course charted in the 2001 Draft, where I only liked 2 of the first 10 choices the Reds made and disliked the collective rationale behind numerous picks (not to mention our inability to sign such a high proportion of them). Today, however, I've found a Reds draft worse than the 2001 model.

Rarely has having 3 top 50 picks netted a team less prospective talent.

<small>[ 06-04-2002, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: Red Storm ]</small>

[guernsey]

3 CHRISTOPHER GRULER LIBERTY UNION HS RHP R/R 6'3" 200 09/11/1983 HS 56k | 300k

COMMENT: Good body. Large, raw-boned frame, similar to Jim Palmer. Fastball bores in on righties. Hard, tight-rotating curveball. Splitter with some sink, used as off-speed pitch. Mound presence. Great kid.



40 MARK SCHRAMEK U TEXAS RHP L/R 6'3" 220 06/02/1980 4YR

COMMENT: Large frame. Strong, mature, muscular. Body type similar to Matt Williams. Sound hitting approach. Line-drive stroke with length. Strength and quickness through zone to drive ball. Gap hitter, ball jumps off bat. Arm strength is No. 1 tool. Player can really throw and does it easily. Soft hands.



44 JOSEPH VOTTO RICHVIEW COLLEGIATE INSTI C L/R 6'3" 205 09/10/1983 HS

COMMENT: Large, strong frame. Body similar to Darren Fletcher. Fluid uppercut swing. Aggressive hitter who attacks ball. Loose arm with good action and proper rotation. Catches ball and blocks plate. Impressive physical specimen. Hard worker.



75 KYLE EDENS BAYLOR U RHP R/R 5'10" 200 01/25/1980 4YR 56k | 300k

COMMENT: Medium height. Strong, thick body, similar to Jeff Brantley. No windup, overhand delivery. Fastball above-average velocity, off loose, quick arm. Slider with three-quarter depth. Also throws sinking change away from lefties. Very aggressive with all pitches. Plus stuff when down in zone. Occasional very good arm strength. Confident competitor.



105 CAMILO VAZQUEZ HIALEAH SENIOR HS LHP L/L 6'0" 180 10/03/1983 HS 56k | 300k

COMMENT: Medium build. Athletic frame similar to Billy Wagner. Fastball explodes from hand, bores in. Sharp, sweeping curve action when snaps out in front. Deceptive change when maintains arm action. Poised, good kid with solid makeup. Good athlete, coachable, wants the ball. Also plays outfield and 1B. Came from Cuba two years ago.



135 KEVIN HOWARD U MIAMI 3B L/R 6'3" 185 06/25/1981 4YR 56k | 300k

COMMENT: Medium build with long arms and legs. Body type similar to Devon White. Solid, smart hitter. Sprays ball to all fields. Tough out with line-drive, pull power. Solid glove, makes plays. Good instincts with occasional arm strength. Plays hard. Gamer.



165 WALTER OLMSTEAD TEXAS CHRISTIAN U 1B S/R 6'6" 230 12/05/1980 4YR 56k | 300k

COMMENT: Very large, well-proportioned body. Leverage in swing with light tower power from both sides. Moves well around bag. Soft hands. Smooth, easy runner, runs well for big man. Gentle giant, nice kid.



195 COREY WACHMAN VALDOSTA ST U RHP R/R 6'0" 183 10/16/1980 4YR 56k | 300k

COMMENT: Same body type as Richie Lewis. Life in body. Very quick arm, easy delivery. Fastball has some hop, arm-side life. Compact, fairly clean delivery for sneaky fastball life. Hard, slurvy slider with some downward tilt, some tight rotation. Hard worker with good arm being brought along as closer.



225 OCFUSKE KING NORTHWESTERN ST U RHP R/R 6'3" 215 09/12/1979 4YR

COMMENT:



255 STEVEN BOOTH U SAN FRANCISCO C R/R 6'1" 215 08/14/1979 4YR 56k | 300k

COMMENT: Very muscular body. Solid, strong forearms and wrists, similar to Damian Miller. Good ability behind plate. Blocks pitches and keeps ball in front of him. Enough arm to throw out runners. Making better contact. Tough out with some pop. Good makeup.

[M2]

Frankie Keller, 6'3", 210, LHP, Abiliene Christian University: 6-3, 3.33, 83.2 IP, 82 H, 30 BB, 89 K

[Clemson]

Here you go Benihana,

1 Chris Gruler RHP HS
1a Mark Schramek RHP/3B College
2 Joey Votto C HS
3 Kyle Edens RHP College
4 Camilio Vazquez LHP HS
5 Kevin Howard 3B College
6 Walter Olmstead 1B College
7 Corey Walkman RHP College
8 OJ King RHP College
9 Steven Booth C College
10 Frankie Keller LHP College

10 minute break after round 10 for commentary by Baseball America

[MasonBuzz3]

Has Harrington been drafted yet?

[guernsey]

285 FRANKIE KELLER ABILENE CHRISTIAN U LHP L/L 6'2" 220 01/12/1980 4YR

COMMENT: Tall, strong body, like Terry Mulholland. Fastball average velocity off strong, quick arm. Slider offers occasional tight rotation with high, three-quarter depth. Also throws sinking change off fastball speed. Aggressive with fastball. Works quickly. Challenges hitters. Wants chance.

[D-Man]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by osuceltic:
<strong> How many slightly built power pitchers make it as starters in the long run?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">How about--
*Pedro
*Tim Hudson
*Roy Oswalt?

Personally, I would've preferred Kazmir over Gruler, and I believe the Reds would've picked him if he hadn't demanded a major league contract. The Reds 40-man roster is currently a mess with Espinosa and Sardinha taking those last two slots.

[indy_dave00]

Redstorm I have to agree. With 3 top 50 picks how do you end up with only 1 player Gruler. Both Schramek and Votto rated between 240-250 seem like extreme reaches.

Are these guys related to people who are Reds scouts?? Seems odd we reach that far twice in 1st 3 picks.

Hopefully the Reds scouts know something everyone else doesn't about the pair.