2021 Draft Day 2 Thread

[Bill]

I've been hoping for awhile that the Reds could find a way to morph their organization more into what the Indians do and it seems they are starting to possibly do that. They're starting to develop pitchers at the minor league level and unearth pitchers that have made impacts on the MLB team. As was said they're starting to focus on college upperclassmen that are more of a proven commodity and shouldn't require the time and level of development necessary in the minors that a kid straight out of high school will.

Shortening the developmental path is definitely in the Reds' favor. College players were the strength of this draft, particularly college pitchers, so it is good the Reds targeted those players primarily. I was concerned with the Allen pick, but they limited their high ceiling, high risk HS picks to him so I am good with that today. I would have been concerned if it had been the start of a trend.

[757690]

Old scout aphorism is that left-handed pitchers can get away with lack of height a lot better than right handlers. So there’s that…

Good data in the fight against heightism, which is not going so well as you can see…

Attachment 17450

[Bill]

Not sure if posted yet, but Prospects Live is impressed with Reds' selections: https://www.prospectslive.com/mlb-dr...2021-mlb-draft

[membengal]

What a tremendous write up - thanks for posting the link.

[TRF]

The Reds 10th Round pick is Donovan Benoit, RHP Tulane

The Tulanian Crippler.

I'm Trademarking that.

[JaxRed]

The Reds 10th Round pick is Donovan Benoit, RHP Tulane

All his shutouts shall be known as "Benoit Blancs"

[Bourgeois Zee]

My opinion, so far:

Pitching
- Really like Abbott (and think he'll be a fast mover and quality pitcher) for the Reds. Quality stuff and an idea of how to pitch, plus he's been in big spots and succeeded. The Sonny Gray comparisons are great, largely because it shows that you don't necessarily have to be a Greek god to pitch. Abbott has a one-year history of carrying great stuff deep into games. I LOVE the pronated circle change he throws (and secretly hope he'll just go full screwball with it). Unless he gets hurt, Abbott has a real chance at not only getting to the majors, but being a pretty important arm once he's there. Closer experience may mean the Reds can develop him similarly to Anton-- as a multi-inning fireman.

Abel, if he can add just a couple miles per hour, could be really interesting as well. He'll need to throw strikes too. I'm guessing he'll look dominant early in the lower levels of the minors, as most kids just haven't seen a change-up as good as his or a curve that breaks like his does. He's a prime candidate to have Red fans excited. Worry about his stuff but trust (oddly) the development staff to get the most out of him. I'm unsure if he ever makes the majors, but like the pick regardless. If he does, he's probably a long relief or BOR guy who can provide innings.

- I like Farr as a relief arm. The head whack will probably have to be ironed out a bit if he's going to start. Worry about the control. Like that he might move quickly, depending on role. Middle relief arms are expensive. If the Reds can develop them, perhaps they can get on a mini-roll of successful seasons.

- The Hunter Parks pick isn't getting enough love, IMO. 19-year-old JC guy who throws mid-90s but needs to fill out. As he fills out (and gets good coaching), Parks is almost assuredly going to add some oomph to that fastball-- and his slider. That slider is key-- if it becomes more than a flash 55, he's young enough to provide help as he moves up the ladder. Sneaky good developmental pick, IMO. (With much of the injury worry lessened.)

- Donovan Benoit would appear to be a Boddy special. I know next to nothing about him, but why not? The Reds showed a penchant last season of developing arms that had less than dominant numbers. No clue what he might end up being.

Hitters
- I'm all aboard the Ibarra Express. Love the idea of a masher 1B who can also (perhaps) hit for average. Love that he's 290 lbs. and massive. Love that he's apparently also good around the base defensively. Hoping he turns into a fan favorite and absolute masher. (Also like that they drafted a 1B only prospect fairly high. Shows that they believe in him, to an extent.) Not sure he'll ever be anything, but if he shows the hit tool he did in college, he could be Votto's replacement.

- Torres has a high floor, and I expect him to make the major league club on defense alone. I also think he'll struggle to hit enough to get more than token ABs. Love to see him prove me wrong, but that K:BB ratio isn't great. Depth guy, for me.

- Justice Thompson is a developmental guy who also has a relatively high floor. His defense and speed should allow him to be a fifth OF/ defensive caddy if he can hit enough to move up the system. He's got pop. Reminds me a bit of the myriad OF currently playing in AAA and AA. Guys like Reinel Ozuna, Narciso Crook, Mallex Smith, Mariel Bautista, Braxton Lee, et al-- they can all pick it defensively, but need to hit. Some of them have thunder in their bats too. We'll see if the Reds can find some of that swing consistency players need. The first two years will tell a lot, IMO.

- Jack Rogers is interesting as an alternative to Thompson. He's got game power aplenty and has shown that he can mash at the collegiate level. He also K's way too much. Can he learn plate discipline? Most experts would say that's unlikely. Can he, then, hit enough that the K's won't matter? The answer to that, I suspect, is why he was drafted in the 9th round and teammate Cowser (whose numbers were pretty close this season) was drafted in the first. Still, Rogers should supply LF pop and team up with Ibarra to form a pretty solid power core for the minor league teams they'll be sent to. I see a Danny Dorn type, but maybe he finds a bit more BA.

[membengal]

All his shutouts shall be known as "Benoit Blancs"

Nods in hella Knives Out approval...

[MikeS21]

My opinion, so far:

Pitching

Abel, if he can add just a couple miles per hour, could be really interesting as well. He'll need to throw strikes too. I'm guessing he'll look dominant early in the lower levels of the minors, as most kids just haven't seen a change-up as good as his or a curve that breaks like his does. He's a prime candidate to have Red fans excited. Worry about his stuff but trust (oddly) the development staff to get the most out of him. I'm unsure if he ever makes the majors, but like the pick regardless. If he does, he's probably a long relief or BOR guy who can provide innings.

Is it just me, or do the Reds seem to have a recent niche of finding pitchers who can somehow add some velocity to what seems to be "meh" stuff? I catch myself reading these scouting reports on these pitchers and thinking, "Eh, he'll add a couple ticks to that fastball in a year or two." I dunno. It just seems there have been more than a few guys with 90-92 mph fastballs, who suddenly show up in Spring Training throwing 95+ mph.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Is it just me, or do the Reds seem to have a recent niche of finding pitchers who can somehow add some velocity to what seems to be "meh" stuff? I catch myself reading these scouting reports on these pitchers and thinking, "Eh, he'll add a couple ticks to that fastball in a year or two." I dunno. It just seems there have been more than a few guys with 90-92 mph fastballs, who suddenly show up in Spring Training throwing 95+ mph.

I assumed it was The Stuff that allowed them to throw tighter sliders or with more mph.

Yet, guys have continued to throw hard (and hard-breaking) stuff since the hammer fell in both the majors and minors.

Analytics and Boddy have seem to have paid off a great deal.

Yay science!

[MikeS21]

I assumed it was The Stuff that allowed them to throw tighter sliders or with more mph.

Yet, guys have continued to throw hard (and hard-breaking) stuff since the hammer fell in both the majors and minors.

Analytics and Boddy have seem to have paid off a great deal.

Yay science!

I'm getting the feeling that keeping Kyle Boddy around for a few more years may be the biggest "FA" signing the Reds make this off-season.

[paulrichjr]

My opinion, so far:

Pitching
-
- I'm all aboard the Ibarra Express. Love the idea of a masher 1B who can also (perhaps) hit for average. Love that he's 290 lbs. and massive. Love that he's apparently also good around the base defensively. Hoping he turns into a fan favorite and absolute masher. (Also like that they drafted a 1B only prospect fairly high. Shows that they believe in him, to an extent.) Not sure he'll ever be anything, but if he shows the hit tool he did in college, he could be Votto's replacement.
A.

So was told this story about Ibarra…. During a showcase there was a flea market going on out past the outfield wall. When he started batting he hit so many home runs into the area of the flea market they ended up having to stop the flea market until he got done batting.

His power was the talk of a lot of people.