If you missed part 1, you can check it out here. It looks at how much money we can spend and has scouting reports on Max Fried, Courtney Hawkins, Deven Marrero, David Dahl, Stephen Piscotty and Andrew Heaney.
In the latest Baseball America Mock Draft the Reds are taking Chris Stratton, RHP, Mississippi State. Here is a scouting report on him:
Fastball: Works in the 91-93 MPH range and has touched 95 with good tailing action.
Slider: His current out pitch that could be a future plus pitch.
Curveball: More of a slurve than a true curveball, but it grades out as a pitch that is MLB average right now that could have some room for improvement.
Change Up: Another pitch that should be average in the future that has late tumbling action on the pitch.
Other Information: Stratton began the season in the bullpen for Mississippi State, though he did start 28 games as a Freshman and Sophomore, he moved back into the rotation early in the season and has been dominant as a Junior. He currently has 102 innings pitched with 21 walks and 123 strikeouts.
The Reds have also been linked with Clemson third baseman Richie Shaffer. Here is a scouting report on him:
Bat: His bat is what will get him noticed. He has plus power potential and can hit for power to all fields. With the power though comes the holes in his swing that is likely to come with plenty of strikeouts.
Defense: He has a plus arm and currently plays third base, though some scouts believe that he will wind up in right field or even first base. He is not viewed as a poor athlete, so there is a chance he could play somewhere other than first base.
Jonathan Mayo just released his most recent Mock Draft and has the Reds selecting Stanford 3rd Baseman Stephen Piscotty. Piscottywas covered in the last Draft Preview, but to recap: He has some power potential and could stick at third base or perhaps in the outfield where he has played some.
One other guy that I could see the Reds taking who could be available is Texas A&M RHP Michael Wacha. He is a relatively polished arm. He is a big time strike thrower with three pitches, two of which are above-average to plus pitches. His third pitch, a slurvy breaking ball, needs plenty of work though.
I will make the final post over the weekend on the draft and then on Monday have a draft chat in the evening through the draft that night.