Jacob Misiorowski is making one Reds draft mistake impossible to ignore

The 2022 MLB Draft was lauded as one of the most talent-rich classes in years, and was headlined by Jackson Holliday and Druw Jones — two elite prospects with incredible baseball lineage. The Cincinnati Reds, for their part, took a high-upside swing at Cam Collier with their first-round pick.

Collier dominated the high school ranks and has some big-league bloodlines of his own. He has all the tools to become an impact player at the big leagues, and has been finding his footing at Double-A Chattanooga this season.

But Collier wasn't the only highly-regarded prospect Cincinnati selected in that year's draft. The Reds also grabbed current Rookie of the Year favorite, Sal Stewart, with the 32nd overall pick. They then nabbed catcher Logan Tanner out of Mississippi State University in Round 2.

While Stewart and Collier both have the chance to be key foundational pieces for the Reds organization over the next decade, Tanner has struggled. He was also selected a mere eight picks ahead of current NL Cy Young contender, Jacob Misiorowski.

Reds whiffed on an all-time draft class by not taking Jacob Misiorowski

As with any draft regret, it's fair to point out that every other team passed on Misiorowski as well; most did so multiple times. Heck, even the Milwaukee Brewers selected Eric Brown (No. 27 overall) before landing on their superstar pitcher.

Rather, it just hurts that it was Tanner in particular who the Reds wound up favoring over Misiorowski. A slugging catcher with an impressive glove, Tanner never advanced beyond High-A, and was unable to ever reduce his strikeout totals. He stalled out so definitively that the organization actually converted him into a pitcher this past offseason, attempting to salvage his great arm.

Unfortunately, fans haven't seen him pitch yet after being placed on the 60-day injured list back in March. Barring a miraculous, Kenley Jansen-esque transition from behind the plate to the mound, his professional career likely won't amount to much more than a cautionary tale.

Meanwhile, Misiorowski has evolved into one of the five or so best starting pitchers in baseball, emerging as a direct competitor (and perhaps blockade) to Chase Burns for the NL Cy Young Award this season. The fact that Misiorowski wound up with the Brewers of all teams only rubs the salt in the wound.

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