Great post from Reds and Blues:
After the draft last week, I decided to take a look at som past drafts for the Reds and see how successful they have been over that time. So starting with the 1980 draft of Ron Robinson, I looked at each first round pick for the Reds and tried to identify how much value each pick brought to the organization. Some people added little to the organization, Scott Bryant, some people were the face of the organization, Barry Larkin, and some were valuable for who they brought to the organization, Dan Wilson.
I'd love to see a study done where the Reds were compared to every other major league team as far as draft success is concerned. It certainly seems like the Reds have struggled in this area, but it's certainly possible that they'd be middle of the pack.
When it comes to out and out stars, the Reds have only drafted one in the past 25 years - Larkin. It seems like they should have done better, but it's really hard for me to tell since I'm so ignorant of other team's drafting success (or failure) rate in the past 25 years.
It's an interesting subject, and I've taken more of an interest in the amateur draft in the past year.