Mac Wainwright could be the steal of the draft for the Cincinnati Reds

Mac Wainwright has the potential to be an impact player for the Cincinnati Reds.

Mac Wainwright has committed to Ohio State University, but in likelihood he’ll sign with the Cincinnati Reds. If the Reds can pry Wainwright away from his commitment to the Buckeyes, the 17-year-old has the potential to be the steal of the 2020 MLB Draft for Cincinnati.

Wainwright was not listed on any expert’s Top 100, and didn’t even appear on the Top 200 draft eligible players according to MLB.com. But don’t read into that too much. The biggest reason Wainwright didn’t appear among the best prospects in the draft was due to injury.

Wainwright suffered a stress fracture to his tibia which kept him out of action for East Coast Pro, an event run by scouts that allows teams to get an up-close and personal look at some of the top prep players in the game.

The outfield prospect was involved in several conversations with the Reds during his time at East Coast Pro and the fall showcase in Jupiter, Florida. According to a conversation with the Cincinnati Enquirer, Wainwright is also good friends with Reds first-round pick Austin Hendrick.

Wainwright, being an Ohio-native, offered a lot of opportunities for some of the Reds scouts to take the short drive up to the Northeast part of the state in order to watch the youngster play. Reds director of amateur scouting Brad Meador, via MLB.com, stressed patience with Wainwright during his development:

"“We feel good about the makeup and know what we’re getting that’s going to put the work in. He’s got the big engine, and we think we can hit big on him. It may take a little bit of time. It’s definitely an upside play, but we think we have to take some of those.”"

With the 2020 MLB Draft reduced to just five rounds, teams had to be a bit more diligent with their selections and how they plan to allocate the bonus pool money. The slot-value for Mac Wainwright’s selection with the 113th pick is $512,400. Hopefully, Cincinnati can come to an agreement with Wainwright in order to pull him away from his commitment to Ohio State.

Mac Wainwright possesses good bat, some raw power, average speed and sneaky-good defense. The front office and fans alike will need to be patient with Wainwright, but he has potential in about four years to be a solid contributor for the Cincinnati Reds.