Cincinnati Reds 2017 draft impresses thanks to Hunter Greene at the top

The consensus is that the Cincinnati Reds have one of the top draft hauls from this year’s MLB draft.

The Cincinnati Reds are ranked alongside the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays for the best drafts in the 2017 MLB draft.  The Twins are there because they picked first in every round.  The Rays, meanwhile, selected what many believe to be the player closet to being ready to play in the big leagues.

The Minnesota Twins drafted the best position prospect with the first overall pick in Royce Lewis.  They followed that up with a competitive balance pick of Brent Rooker, who was considered one of the best outfielders in the draft.  They also loaded up on right-handed pitchers as the draft went on.

The Rays drafted Louisville Cardinal left-hander Brendan McKay with their first round pick.  He likely will end up at first base, but he was also an elite pitcher in college.  The Rays picked up two more highly touted pitchers in Drew Rasmussen and Michael Mercado in the next two rounds.

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Some teams took a big hit immediately after the draft.  None was bigger than the Miami Marlins.  Their first round pick in 2016, Braxton Garrett, had surgery the week after the MLB draft finished up.

The Cincinnati Reds have some high points to their draft that should pay dividends in the future.

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The headline of the Reds’ draft is the consensus top pick from the draft, Hunter Greene.  The debate is whether he will be a pitcher or shortstop.  Smart money is him ending up in the field eventually, but only time will tell.

The next two picks are where the Reds really exceeded expectations heading into the draft.  They selected Jeter Downs with their competitive balance pick as a high-ranked shortstop prospect.  If both he and Greene progress, one will undoubtedly move off of shortstop early on in the process.

Only six picks after Downs, the Reds picked outfielder Stuart Fairchild out of Wake Forest.  Fairchild projects as a five tool outfielder.  His biggest weakness is that he may have already peaked athletically.

Day two the Reds had an interesting combination of risky high school players and solid college pitchers.  After day two, the Reds focused on loading up on pitchers in the hopes that some develop quickly.  They also selectedf R.J. Barnes out of Sycamore High School, alma mater of Kevin Youkilis.

Next: How does Zack Cozart stack up?

The Reds had a draft that had plenty of high points.  They have even signed several picks already.  The question is whether Greene can even come close to matching the hype.  (see the full draft results here)