Cincinnati Reds select southpaw Nick Lodolo with 7th overall pick

With the No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, the Cincinnati Reds selected left-hander Nick Lodolo of TCU. Lodolo was the first pitcher taken in this year’s draft.

The Cincinnati Reds made Nick Lodolo their first-round selection with the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft. Lodolo is a left-handed pitcher from TCU and was the first pitcher taken in the MLB Draft and is viewed by many to be the best college pitcher in a weak draft class.

Cincinnati had been projected by many outlets to select Lodolo with their first-round pick, but Alex Manoah, Hunter Bishop, and Zach Thompson were also possibilities. The draft was so talent-heavy on position players, that the Reds were thought by many to have a chance to take the southpaw with their first-round pick.

In 2018, Nick Lodolo went 7-4 in with a 4.33 ERA in 16 games for the Horned Frogs. This season, Lodolo proved to be one of the best arms in the collegiate ranks going 6-6 in 16 starts with a 2.36 ERA over 103 innings pitched. Lodolo had 131 strikeouts in 2019.

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Lodolo is the first left-handed pitcher that the Cincinnati Reds have taken in the first round since 2001 when the team selected Jeremy Sowers with the 20th overall pick out of Ballard High School in Louisville, Kentucky. Sowers decided not to sign with Reds and instead enrolled at Vanderbilt University.

Nick Lodolo, though he’s 6’6″, is said to have a very repeatable delivery. The lefty has a nice fastball/ slider combination with his fastball sitting in the low-to-mid 90s. Most scouts don’t see Lodolo as an ace, but rather a middle-of-rotation starter.

While many draft experts predicted that Lodolo would fall into the Cincinnati Reds’ lap, the Miami Marlins, who picked J.J. Bleday of Vanderbilt with the No. 4 overall pick, were thought to have had an interest in the lanky southpaw from TCU as well.

The only other prospect was likely in play with the No. 7 overall pick was Hunter Bishop, an outfielder from Arizona State. Bishop hit .344 this season for the Sun Devils, but the Reds are very outfield-heavy in their minor leagues right now, so the Reds decided to go with the pitcher Lodolo.

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Hopefully Nick Lodolo moves up through the Cincinnati Reds’ minor league system quickly. With nine players slated to be free agents at the end of the 2019 season, the Reds will be in need of reinforcements in a hurry. Being a college pitcher, Lodolo could move through the Reds’ farm system very quickly.