The Cincinnati Reds 2nd round Lottery B selection is RHP Tanner Rainey out of West Alabama.
The first college player selected by the Reds is from a Division II school. The Reds went with another arm strength guy here. He was a two way player in college, but is expected to be a pitcher as a professional.
Scouting Report
He pitched out of the bullpen in college where he used an above-average fastball and above-average slider. Rainey is a big guy, listed at 6′ 3″ and 235 lbs and some scouts think that he’s got a chance to make a transition to the rotation. The Reds have gone this route with players in the past and it’s a Chris Buckley special that he seems to go with a true reliever to possible starter move every few seasons. He doesn’t have a change up at this point in time that he’s thrown in games, but he does have one that he will show during bullpen sessions that could help out if he is transitioned to a starting pitcher. With a fastball that sits in the mid 90’s and touches 97 to go with a plus slider, he could move quickly as a reliever as long as his control remains solid. His mechanics are reportedly clean and he tends to repeat them.
He’s a senior, so he should save some money on his signing bonus, but he wasn’t a big overdraft either, ranking at the back-end of some Top 100 draft boards.
Stats
| Year | School | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | H | HR | BB | K |
| 2012 | SE Louisiana | 24.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.77 | 25 | 2 | 21 | 29 |
| 2013 | SE Louisiana | 4.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.57 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| 2014 | West Alabama | 21.0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0.86 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 29 |
| 2015 | West Alabama | 28.1 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 1.59 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 50 |