Cincinnati Reds draft profile: Outfielder Austin Hendrick

The MLB Draft is a few short weeks away. Let’s take a peek at one of the players sure to be on the Cincinnati Reds radar; outfielder Austin Hedrick.

As we dive into the possible players available for the Cincinnati Reds at No. 12, high school outfielder Austin Hendricks may be the most likely. Hendricks might be the closest to a boom-or-bust type prospect that you’ll see atop most draft boards. Hendricks has ridiculous power for a prep player and could add to the Reds young core of power-hitting prospects.

The Reds proved during last year’s draft that a focus on power-hitting high school players is one of their top desires. In the second-round, Cincinnati plucked Rece Hinds from IMG Academy in Florida last season. The Reds then followed that up with the third-round selection of Tyler Callihan, who bypasses going to South Carolina and signed with Cincinnati.

Two of the Cincinnati Reds Top 10 prospects are former prep outfielders. Michael Siani was taken in the fourth round of the 2018 MLB and Stuart Fairchild went in the second round back in 2017. Taylor Trammell was the last high school outfielder taken by the Reds, and that was back in 2016 with the 35th overall pick.

While Siani has the freak athletic ability to become an outstanding defensive centerfielder and Fairchild profiles as a solid all-around outfielder, neither possess the power of Hendricks. The product of West Allegheney High School has a rating of 60 on the scouting scale (20-80) according to MLB.com.

Zac Veen, who we profiled recently, has decent pop in his bat as well, but not as much as Austin Hendrick. Hendrick, according to Keith Law of The Athletic, has the best pure power of any bat in the top of this year’s draft.

There is a downside to Hendrick, as different scouting services refer to Hendrick’s power over his hit tool. Scouts praise his bat speed, but that makes him susceptible to a lot of swings and misses. That is typical trait of a lot of power-hitters.

Hendrick is committed to play baseball at Mississippi State next season, but a first-round paycheck would likely lure away from Starkville. The left-handed hitting Hendrick has a very high ceiling if he’s able to hit for average. But, in today’s game, with launch angle, exit velocity, and other metrics leading the way, Hendrick’s power might be too good to pass up.

The Cincinnati Reds are selecting at No. 12, and by all accounts Austin Hendrick will likely still be on the board. With the draft reduced to just five rounds this June, is it more likely that the Reds will play it safe and land a college player who can make it to the big leagues quickly, or will Dick Williams and Nick Krall look to play the long game?