Reds All-Star closer Alexis Diaz proves how valuable Day 3 of the MLB Draft can be

Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2023 MLB Draft is in the books. Baseball fans saw a ton of potential All-Star players selected on Sunday night and Monday evening in Seattle with LSU's Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews headlining a very talented class of incredible talent.

The Cincinnati Reds were able to net two incredible college pitchers on Day 1, including first-round selection Rhett Lowder. Cincinnati then added a high-upside high school infielder in Round 2, as many scouts viewed Sammy Stafura as a first round talent.

On Day 3, Cincinnati doubled-down on their effots to bolster the pitching staff while also nabbing some talented position players like Cole Schoenwetter.

Reds All-Star closer Alexis Diaz proves how valuable Day 3 of the MLB Draft can be.

But the talent isn't gone after Day 1, or even Day 2 of the MLB Draft. There have been plenty of high-level players taken in the later rounds of the draft, including Cincinnati Reds All-Star pitcher Alexis Diaz.

On Day 3 of the 2015 MLB Draft, Cincinnati selected Diaz, the younger brother of Edwin Diaz, with the club's 12th-round pick. This selection was made long before the older Diaz was known as the perennial All-Star closer that he is today.

This selection, however, has shown the importance of every single pick the Reds make in the draft. Obviously, the talent pool will be much better at the top of each draft, but Diaz shows that there are All-Stars lurking at almost every level of the MLB Draft.

Players like Albert Pujols (13th-round), Don Mattingly (19th-round), Jeff Kent (20th-round), Ryne Sandberg (20th-round), and Keith Hernandez (42nd-round) all won MVP Awards despite being taken much later in the MLB Draft. Former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Dave Parker was a Day 3 draft pick as well.

This season, Alexis Diaz has established himself as one of the game's best relief pitchers. The Reds closer began the season on a ridiculous streak that saw the right-hander record 22 consecutive saves. The first time All-Star is striking out almost 14 batters per nine innings with a 2.03 ERA.

Tune into Day 3 of the 2023 MLB Draft on Tuesday afternoon to see if the Cincinnati Reds can add any potential difference makers.