The Cincinnati Reds were quite confident in the second overall pick of the draft, Nick Senzel, when they drafted him. After the 21-year-old went to Dayton and hit .329/.415/.567 with 15 steals, 32 walks and 49 strikeouts they were probably even more confident. His debut was about as good as anyone could have expected.
MLB Pipeline has been going through their positional Top 10 lists the past two weeks. This morning they unveiled the minor league Top 10 Third Baseman list. Nick Senzel came in ranked as the second ranked player on the list.
The best college bat and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, Senzel hit .329/.415/.567 in low Class A and may not require much time in the Minors. Not only will he hit for average, but he also has developing power, draws a lot of walks and plays a fine third base.
The only player ranked higher on the list is Red Sox prospect Rafael Devers. He’s a 19-year-old who played in Advanced-A this past season.
For Nick Senzel, as he heads into the 2017 season the biggest questions are more about the level in which he will play rather than anything about his ability on the field. With as advanced as he is, will he begin the year in Advanced-A or will he make the jump up to Double-A? Regardless of where he starts, where will he finish the season?
Some publications believe he could reach the big leagues in 2017. On a pure skillset basis, I can understand that. However, looking at the organization as it sits right now, there’s not a scenario that makes a ton of sense to push him up to the Major Leagues in 2017. It’s just hard to see a situation where starting his clock in 2017 works. That is, unless the Reds are truly competing for a playoff spot. If they are doing that, then it’s very likely they have nowhere to play him.