Cincinnati Reds links - The 1st pick in the 2016 MLB Draft

The current 9-game losing streak that the Cincinnati Reds are slogging through has them staring down the precipice at the worst record in all of baseball, currently owned by the lowly Colorado Rockies.  (Ah, to think this Reds team was actually 4-0 to start the season!)  The end-of-year prize awarded to the team that owns the worst record in the league is the top pick in the next MLB Draft, and that's something that has ever happened to the Reds in their lengthy existence.  C. Trent Rosecrans of The Enquirer broached the topic in his Blog Above Replacement today, noting that there are only three teams standing in the way of the Reds and the entire player pool in next June's draft.  Complicating...err, simplifying the path to the first overall pick is the brutal schedule facing the Reds the rest of the way, as the NL Central is just a mean, mean, terrifying force at this point.

It may well be putting the cart before the horse to talk 2016 draft position at this point, but dreaming of the next Justin Upton or sweet baby jesus Bryce Harper wearing Red is just about the only thing Reds fans can dream smilingly upon these days.

Most of the top prospects speculated as the potential #1 pick in 2016 are pitchers, however, which makes linking to Redleg Nation's series-starter about Tommy John surgery a no-brainer.  Get well soon, former near-number-one-overall draft pick Homer Bailey!

Perhaps the only abbreviation in baseball today that rivals TJ in terms of abhorrence is RBI (or its kid-brother RISP), so Yahoo's Jeff Passan did his best to tackle that monster while speaking in the context of the AL MVP race.  Basically, Passan is saying that Blake Griffin's going to score a lot more points on dunks and alley-oops when he's got Chris Paul passing him the ball instead of when he's got me passing him the ball, and that should be obvious.  Somewhat inexplicably, it still isn't in many cases.  Anyhoo, tucked deeper in his column is a note on how freaking amazing Joey Votto has been in the 2nd half of the 2015 season, so go read about it.   Ah, the delicious smell of a comment section featuring "Joey Votto" and "RBI" burning itself to the ground.

Speaking of Joey Votto, this is just solid-gold awesome to remember.  Look how baggy his pants are!

The Reds will take on the Detroit Tigers on Monday night in a makeup game from way back when because the world sure is interested in what these two clubs can show on the field at this point of the season.  Here's a preview from our buddies at Bless You Boys.  Buck Farmer?  I HARDLY EVEN...nevermind.

Finally, Craig Edwards took a look at how money and wins have paired themselves in the game this year, and it's well worth a read for some perspective in this expensive yet lost season.  The gist:  more money, more problems.