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The Reds made a few things go last night in the first leg of the draft, picking up three talented whippersnappers. Wick already introduced you to the No 5 overall pick, “The Jewel in the Crown” Jon India (Farmer’s Only already with the funny frickin ha-has!), so today I wanna look at the other two kids.
Second Round - No 47: Lyon Richardson
The Reds got a big prep arm with their second-round pick, taking Lyon Richardson out of Jensen Beach High School in Florida. He has a tall, thin frame that projects to fill out into a good prototypical power pitcher build, but he already hits 98 mph on the radar gun with his fastball. His secondary pitches are still pretty raw, but he just started pitching full time this season. The Reds certainly have a type that they go after in the draft, and this kid fits it pretty much perfectly. He is a superathlete just like India and their next pick, which we will get to in a minute.
I’m on board with this pick for a few reasons. As I mentioned above, he has a plus fastball with plenty of room for growth. Of course, as often happens with high school hurlers, he may not develop at all. But his ceiling is super high. It’s not often you get this kind of ceiling available to you at No. 47.
Also, just like India before him, this kid has hella jam name rep. Lyon Richardson is a tough-ass name. It is also cool, way jam, and totally radical. A+ pick.
Competitive Balance Round B - No 72: Josiah Gray
True to form, the Reds got a superathlete with big upside here. Gray is out of tiny little Division II LeMoyne College in upstate New York somewhere. Like BumbleLyon Richardson before him, he just started pitching full time this spring. But he destroyed all opposition to him, posting a 1.25 ERA in just under 100 innings.
With so little pitching experience and a very athletic frame, this kid has a really big ceiling. Of course, the trick to tease all that potential out of him.
Overall, I really like this pick, too. His name game is really strong and I’m sure the Farmer’s Only crew will come up with something decent for him. I humbly suggest something like “The Outlaw” Josie Gray, “Me-Oh, My-Ah!” Josiah Gray, or “Fire and Brimstone” Josiah Gray.
4.5 out of 5 diamonds for this pick.
Rounds three through ten are about to crank up here any minute, so stick around here for all that.