"Chris works so hard all year long and knows these guys so well, you just rely a lot on your judgement and his faith in his scouts," Jocketty said on Wednesday. "I basically set the tone and set the philosophy of what we're trying to achieve in a particular draft. The main thing the last few days is getting that board arranged in a way we feel that strategically we get the guys we want to get."
With two picks in the first 29 this year, the Reds have more options than in the past.
"We always look for pitching first if we can, but we also now feel that we need to focus on some hitters and having two picks in the first round, we'll see how that works out," Jocketty said. "This is a draft that's deep with pitching, so we'll try to do that, look at pitching first again and see what develops.
"When you're looking at a position, where you may need help sooner, which offensively, we may be looking more for college-type hitters than high school hitters. Last year we drafted a lot of high school guys, it depends on each year and what's available in the draft."