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Phillip Ervin (CF, Samford U): Reds First Round Pick

The Reds take a center-fielder out of Samford University with their first round pick.

By Kerry Moss

The Reds selected Phillip Ervin, a 20 year old center-fielder out of Samford University with their first pick in the 2013 Draft.

Baseball America ranked Ervin as the 4th best outfielder in the draft and 23rd overall.

Ervin is on twitter. Follow him @Mr_MagicErvin

UPDATE: Ervin has already discovered Red Reporter:

Ervin_tweet_medium

Here's what MLB.com has to say about him:

Performing well in the Cape Cod League is always a plus for college hitters, and Ervin set himself up extremely well this summer, winning the Cape MVP award while reaching double-digits in home runs and steals. Ervin's a good pure hitter with some pop, and he has plus speed to go along with it. That speed allows him to play a good center field. The only knocks against him might be that he's not the biggest guy in the world and he doesn't play for a huge college power in Samford. He continued to perform like he did in the Cape during his junior season, keeping many teams very interested.

Unlike the NFL or NBA, the MLB draft picks are largely unknown. In most cases, MLB teams don't draft based on needs and instead typically select the best player available as they see it. The Reds are thin at catcher throughout the minor league system and many have speculated that the Reds would target a catcher in the first round. When the Pirates and Rays selected two of the top catching prospects ahead of the Reds, it became less likely that a catcher would be the pick.

As JJ Cooper points out, this is the guy the Reds wanted.

Doug Gray likes the pick too!

Ervin, happy to be with the Reds...

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2013 MLB Draft Coverage

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