Cincinnati Reds 2023 MLB Draft: Rounds 3-10

Today will be rounds 3-10 of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. This post will contain all of the information for each one of the Cincinnati Reds selections on Day 2 of the draft. It will be updated throughout the day as each pick comes in. Things get underway at 2pm ET.

This is also where I remind you that you can help support all of the work done here through Patreon. Running this website is a full time job, and one that doesn’t have an off day for 9 months out of the year. For a few bucks a month you can get in on some cool perks throughout the year, including daily run downs and notes on the games and performances during the season. An example of some of the extra stuff is like when I transcribed the entirety of the media scrum between the Reds media and 1st round pick Rhett Lowder. In the next 24-48 hours I’ll have the same for 1st round comp A pick Ty Floyd, 2nd round pick Sammy Stafura, and amateur scouting director Joe Katuska. For more information, give this link a click and help keep us going.

Quick hit links and information:

• Cincinnati Reds Picks and Reports from Day 1
• Baseball America’s Top 500 (subscription required)
• MLB Pipeline’s Top 250
• ESPN’s Top 300 (subscription required)
• Fangraphs Top 123
• The Athletic’s Top 100 (subscription required)

You can follow along with the conference call at MLB.com. You can also follow along with the MLB Draft Tracker right here.

Cincinnati Reds Round 3 Selection: Hunter Hollan – LHP

Background information:

• School: Arkansas
• Position: Left-handed pitcher
• Height: 6′ 5″
• Weight: 200 lbs
• Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Scouting Report

Hunter Hollan spent time at San Jacinto Junior College in his first two seasons before transferring to Arkansas for the 2023 season. Hollan throws four pitches. His fastball works in the 89-92 MPH range that touched 97. His slider is probably his best secondary offering – an above-average pitch that works in the low 80’s with some sweeping action. Both his curveball and change up are fringe-average offerings. The curveball is a bit slower than his other stuff, working in the mid-70’s. The change up works in the low-to-mid 80’s.

There’s some projection here as there’s room for him to fill out his frame some. His college numbers haven’t always lined up with what his pure stuff makes you think he would do. There’s some inconsistency at times with how sharp his stuff is. He’s got a chance to remain a starter if he can find that consistency, but a move to the bullpen could allow him to focus on the fastball/slider combo down the line if starting doesn’t work.

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Cincinnati Reds Round 4 Selection: Cole Schoenwetter – RHP

Background information:

• School: San Marcos High School (CA)
• Position: Right-handed pitcher
• Height: 6′ 3″
• Weight: 190 lbs
• Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Scouting Report

There’s a lot to like with Cole Schoenwetter, who was rated as highly as the 43rd best prospect (MLB Pipeline) in the draft. Starting with the fastball, it worked in the 93-95 MPH range this season and touched 98 MPH. His breaking ball is probably his best offering. His curveball works around 80 MPH and when it’s on shows hard biting action and is a plus offering. It’s still inconsistent at times. He will also show a slider every so often. His change up shows potential, but it’s a pitch that he hasn’t thrown much in high school.

During his senior season he was inconsistent, showing control issues at times and stamina issues as his stuff would fade the deeper he would go into games. There’s a chance for him to stick as a starter but he’ll need to improve in several areas to do that.

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Cincinnati Reds Round 5 Selection: Connor Burns – Catcher

Background information:

• School: Long Beach State
• Position: Catcher
• Height: 6′ 1″
• Weight: 185 lbs
• Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Scouting Report

Arguably the best defensive catcher in the draft, Connor Burns makes his name with the glove and with his arm. A 3-year starter behind the plate, Burns has a plus-plus arm and plus defense at a premium position.

At the plate, though, he’s struggled. As a freshman he hit just .149. In 2022 he hit just .162. There were dramatic improvements in 2023 as a junior. This past season he hit .307 and slugged .608 – with his slugging percentage being better than his OPS was in his first two seasons.  He walked 23 times and had 58 strikeouts in 232 plate appearances in 2023. That’s a high rate of strikeouts for a college player, but it was also an improvement in contact rate from where he had been the previous two seasons. After having just five doubles and four home runs in his first two seasons combined, he hit 14 doubles and 14 home runs (and had two triples) this year.

While he did improve at the plate in 2023, there’s still some real questions about just how much he will hit as a professional. Catchers do tend to develop as hitters later than other position players do, so he gets some leeway here. But there’s probably a backup catcher upside here more so than a future starter in the big leagues.

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Cincinnati Reds Round 6 Selection: Ethan O’Donnell – Outfielder

Background information:

• School: Virginia
• Position: Outfielder
• Height: 6′ 1″
• Weight: 190 lbs
• Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Scouting Report

Ethan O’Donnell began his career at Northwestern, but in 2023 he transferred to Virginia where he stole 18 bases and put up an OPS of 1.034 as a junior.

Just how much you believe in the power will make this pick outstanding or simply solid. Some places list his power as below-average, while other places have it as big league average. His hit-tool is fringe-average. Toss in that he’s got above-average speed and there’s a chance for a solid all around offensive player who does a little bit of everything from that standpoint.

But he’s not just a guy with a chance to hit. He’s got chance to stick in center field on the defensive side of things, too. He’s got a solid arm that wouldn’t limit him from playing right field if needed, but probably does profile better in left if he can’t stick in center in the long run.

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Cincinnati Reds Round 7 Selection: Dominic Pitelli – Shortstop

Background information:

• School: Miami
• Position: Shortstop
• Height: 5′ 11″
• Weight: 175 lbs
• Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Scouting Report

Offensively this feels similar to earlier pick Connor Burns in that Pitelli struggled to hit in his first two seasons and then hit much better as a junior. A 3-year starter at Miami, Pitelli hit .219 as a freshman and then .249 as a sophomore – though his power did step forward a bit this season. But as a junior he hit .294/.380/.525 with 14 doubles, a triple, and 13 home runs.

Despite having a much better season at the plate it’s tough to find someone who thinks he’s going to hit for much average or power as a professional. There’s plenty of swing and miss in his game and his raw power is considered to be well below-average.

Where Pitelli shines is on the defensive side of the ball. He’s got plus arm strength at shortstop and there are no concerns with him not being able to handle the position long term. His actions, hands, and range are all quality at short.

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Cincinnati Reds Round 8 Selection: Carter Graham – First Base

Background information:

• School: Stanford
• Position: First Base
• Height: 6′ 2″
• Weight: 232 lbs.
• Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Scouting Report

After leading the Pac 12 with 22 home runs as a sophomore, Carter Graham struggled at times in 2023 and his offensive output didn’t quite match up. This past season hit he .315/.391/.558 with 15 home runs. He finished the season strong after a slump to begin the year, which bought back some of the draft stock that his early struggles had cost him.

Power is his calling card. He has plus raw power and near the top of the charts exit velocities at his peak among the college players in this class. There are some questions about how much average he will hit for as he has some struggles with quality secondary stuff.

Defensively he’s probably limited to first base, but he’s a quality defender there. His arm also stands out at the position.

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Cincinnati Reds Round 9 Selection: Logan Van Treeck – LHP

Background information:

• School: Lipscomb
• Position: Pitcher
• Height: 6′ 4″
• Weight: 206 lbs
• Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Scouting Report

A senior, Logan Van Treeck struggles in his first three years at Lipscomb, but turned things around in a big way as a senior and was the Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year.

In his first three seasons the big lefty walked 63 batters in 82.0 innings. But in 2023 he threw 88.1 innings and walked just 14 batters while splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen (10 starts, 7 relief appearances). That also came with 108 strikeouts.

His fastball works in the low 90’s and he’s topped out at 96 MPH. He hides the ball well and his unconventional mechanics seem to give hitters problems. His slider is an average offering that works in the mid-to-upper 70’s. He’ll also show a fringy curveball and fringy change up.

If his control improvements are for real and he can tighten things up with some of his secondary offerings he has a chance to remain a starting pitcher as a professional. But if he can’t or his control steps back a little bit, the bullpen could become his landing spot where he can scrap some of his secondary offerings and focus more on the fastball and slider.

Video

Here’s a link – the local news station who produced the video has disabled the ability to post it anywhere else.

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Cincinnati Reds Round 10 Selection: Graham Osman – LHP

Background information:

• School: Long Beach State
• Position: Pitcher
• Height: 6′ 3″
• Weight: 183 lbs.
• Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Scouting Report

Graham Osman spent the first three seasons of his college career at Arizona State where he worked almost exclusively as a reliever (two starts out of 59 games). As a senior he transferred to Long Beach State and made 15 starts, throwing 78.1 innings and striking out 89 batters. His walk rate improved dramatically as a senior, hidden in there is that he also hit 13 batters during the season.

His fastball works in the low 90’s and will touch 95. He’s got a low 3/4 delivery that’s almost sidearmed. He will also show an above-average slider that along with the arm slot gives it plenty of sweeping action across the zone. His third pitch is a change up that’s below-average and one he doesn’t use often.

While he could start in the minor leagues, his future seems to be in the bullpen at the higher levels.

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That wraps up the picks for Day Two of the draft. Everyone will be back at it on Tuesday afternoon at 2pm ET for the final 10 rounds of the draft.