Three Prospects The Cincinnati Reds Could Take In The 2017 MLB Draft

Brendan McKay – 1st Base/Left Handed Pitcher

Brendan McKay is currently the second best prospect in the draft according to MLB Pipeline. McKay has won the John Olerud award the past two seasons, which is given to the best two-way college baseball player in the nation.

Declaring after his junior year at Louisville, McKay has appeared in 50 games on the mound and 181 games in the field. As a batter, McKay hit .333 with 25 home runs and 122 RBIs. As a pitcher, McKay held a 29-10 record with a 2.10 ERA and a 361/103 K/BB ratio.

The pitching stats are the important ones to monitor as per multiple sources, including MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo, the Reds prefer McKay on the mound rather than 1st base.

In terms of his pitching prowess, MLB Pipeline wrote of McKay:

"McKay usually opens games on the mound by working with a 90-94 mph fastball that loses a couple ticks of velocity by the middle innings. He could add more velo and maintain it better if he focused on pitching full-time, and his fastball command is so good that his heater is effective in the upper 80s. McKay’s curveball is a consistent plus pitch and he’s working on refining a changeup that he hasn’t needed much to this point in his career."

McKay has the makings of a front-line starting pitcher if he focused on it full-time.

With the Reds he would have a chance to be the team’s ace of the future and would automatically be a top five prospect in the organization.

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The Louisville slugger has been mocked to the Cincinnati Reds in multiple projections, including John Manuel’s most recent for Baseball America. He does note however that the Twins like McKay and could draft him as a hitter at #1 overall.

The Reds would do well to add a player of Brendan McKay’s caliber at number two in the draft. They would be adding a potential ace at a vital position of need.

He made need some fine tuning in the minors to hone his craft, but it could be hard for Cincinnati to pass on the Louisville product come draft night.