Reds' 2020 MLB Draft class could be among the worst in modern history

The year 2020 will probably go down as one of the more eventful years of the 21st century. This was notably due to the coronavirus pandemic that stopped the world, and the baseball world, for the first half of the year.

On the baseball side of things, Major League Baseball shortened the 2020 season to 60 games and shortened the 2020 MLB Draft to just five rounds. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Reds may have put together the worst possible draft class of any major league team that year. It may well be the worst draft in the modern era.

Thanks to a competitive balance pick in the second round, the Reds were allotted six picks over the five rounds of the 2020 MLB Draft. And that didn't even help.

Reds' 2020 MLB Draft class could be among the worst in modern history

Cincinnati's first-round pick, Austin Hendrick, has been downright terrible over the last four years. The outfielder has hit .210/.305/.376 across 1,133 professional at-bats. Hendrick was once tabbed a generational power threat, but has tallied just 43 home runs in over 300 career games since his professional debut with the Reds organization.

Christian Roa, the Reds second-round pick, may be the closest thing to a successful selection from the 2020 draft. Roa, now currently at Triple-A Louisville, has made 60 professional starts with combined 4.37 ERA. The right-hander has been overshadowed by pitching prospects like Rhett Lowder, Connor Phillips, and Chase Petty; all of whom joined the organization after 2020.

Jackson Miller took 38 professional at-bats before ultimately retiring due to innumerable injuries. The Reds' fourth-round pick, Mac Wainwright, never made his professional debut after finding himself in legal trouble shortly after the draft.

Two other selections, Bryce Bonnin and Joe Boyle, are no longer with the Reds organization. Bonnin didn't look like a bad prospect, but injuries ruined any chance of him finding footing in the Reds' farm system. Bonnin has since moved on to the Red Sox organization. Boyle is the only player that has reached the big leagues, but he didn't do it with the Reds. The 24-year-old was traded in exchange for current Reds' left-hander Sam Moll, and Boyle is now a starter for the Oakland Athletics.

This is easily the worst Reds' draft in the last 10 years, and it may go down as one of the worst in the history of Major League Baseball.

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