Reds 2026 MLB Draft draw brings uneasy flashbacks for fans who remember previous bust

For teams that stumble in the postseason, the sting of thwarted playoff hopes often compounds with a later draft pick. They weren’t quite bad enough to snag a lottery pick and not quite good enough to raise a trophy.

While some teams will be celebrating a disproportionately high pick in the 2026 Draft at the lottery pick at this week’s Winter Meetings, the Cincinnati Reds, who were swept by the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers, get the consolation prize of the No. 18 pick.

The last time the Reds selected this low in the first round — outside of Cam Collier going 18th-overall in 2022 — was when they took Nick Howard at No. 19 out of the University of Virginia during the 2014 MLB Draft. Coincidently, that selection also came the year after the Reds made a postseason run in 2013.

The Reds’ low first-round pick could mean boom or bust for Cincinnati

Howard, a towering reliever, was coming off a season in which he posted a 1.91 ERA. He saved 20 games as the Cavaliers’ closer and helped lead UVA to the College World Series Finals where they fell to Vanderbilt. Both Howard and the Reds hoped the good times would keep rolling.

Unfortunately, Howard’s path to the majors was fraught with injuries and challenges. Most troublingly, the right-hander developed a case of the “yips.” After a strong start with Dayton and in the Arizona Fall League in 2014, Howard suddenly couldn’t find the strike zone. By 2016, his walk rate had ballooned to 14 BB/9 and he never quite recovered.

In 2022, Howard’s final year in the Reds organization, he posted a 2.925 WHIP and 16.9 hits per nine innings at Triple-A as a 29-year-old. His walk rate once again sat at an eye-popping 9.5 BB/9. The Reds released him in late May. From there, he went to the York Revolution, an independent baseball club, and attempted a brief comeback in the Atlanta Braves’ farm system. He was released in July 2023 and has not returned to professional baseball.

To add insult to injury, the Reds can not-so-fondly look back at the players selected after Howard in the 2014 draft: Matt Chapman, Jack Flaherty, Alex Verdugo, Spencer Turnbull, Mitch Keller. One can only hope that in 10 years we’re listing the accolades of the player the Reds select at No. 18 instead of the host of players that would have made a bigger impact.