Farmers Only: There Was A Draft?

Hey, all, long time no see. That’s kind of how it goes in these turbulent times where there is no baseball. Even if we get a glimpse of Major League ball at some point, outlook unclear, we do know there will be no Minor League baseball. What sucks about that is a lack of minor league chatter, outside of discussions on their pay, and zero of our wholly stupid nicknames. What will be covered here is who the Reds drafted, some snippets about each, and maybe, just maybe, trying to pour a little bit of fun into it.

Last week, the Reds drafted six new prospects which is way different than the normal [insert real number] 50-ish. The sucky part is this is now the time of the year we’d hear if these guys signed and what their possible placement would be so we can start seeing them play. Then we could have some opinions and stuff. However, there will be no play, and I believe all draftees can only get $100k of their original bonuses for this year which sucks for them. They’ll be paid eventually, but it won’t be until 2021. I’d also assume that with the current affairs of baseball all of these guys will still sign since 2021 looks to be turbulent as well and they have real, while albeit delayed, money to their names. So, here is the Reds 2020 draft class.

1st Round Pick, 12th Overall

Austin Hendrick, 19 years old, OF - West Allegheny HS (PA)

Aliases - Austin “Light Tower Powers” Hendrick, Austin “Over The Hedges” Hendrick, Hendrick Powersports.

I really like this kid. The idea of the speed, power, and high potential are tantalizing. He’s the one player, I’m really upset we won’t get to see this year. If you’d like to know more, which you do, Red Reporter already did an article of him being drafted. You can check it out here. I also totally dig his hair. There is a feeling of a little bit of a Jay Bruce projection here even though I think Hendrick projects as a better athlete. There was also that Mike Trout power/swing comp. He seems fun.

2nd Round Pick, 48th overall

Christian Roa, 21 years old, RHP - Texas A&M

Aliases - ChRoaToaN, Feather Roa, Roa Roa Ro Your Boat

Here’s that high floor, lower ceiling college arm that we all kind of like to see. I don’t think he’s going to wow the socks off anyone, and it’s kind of judged the Reds may have went a bit too high on Roa, but he does look like an arm that is rather safe for the slot. The Reds kind of went big money on Hendrick so it makes sense to go a bit safer in the 2nd. If I recall my scouting reports, I believe that Roa sits in the low 90’s, can dial it up to 96, has a good curveball, a decent change up, and a possibly developing slider. There’s not much else to really say about this pick, but Red Reporter also did a little diddy while posting a scouting video here.

2nd Round Pick, Competitive Balance Round, 65th Overall

Jackson Miller, 18 years old, C - J.W. Mitchell HS (Florida)

Aliases - Jackson 2, Stone Miller, Barnfart Jr.

The Reds really have a tendency to draft high school catchers relatively high based on one attribute. Can they play defense? Really, with catchers, that’s what you look for first. This one has kind of a Tucker Barnhart feel to it. He’s even got that whole bat lefty, throw righty thing going on. Nothing on his scouting reporter really pops out. He is pretty average across the board with scouts debating on his power potential. That debate is a range of a 35-55 on a scouting scale. The rest? Well, he can play good defense and with development might stick in a lineup. But, again, we’ve seen the Reds have good success with this route in the past with ample time. Miller has a good arm, quick feet, and a prospect that looks to stick at his current position. Funny enough, I think he only played the catcher position one year in high school.

3rd Round Pick, 84th Overall

Bryce Bonnin, 21 years old, RHP - Texas Tech

Aliases - Beer Bonnin, The Incredible Hulk, BB Pew Pew

So, now we’re getting to the part of the draft I did not pay attention to, and I’m reading about his kid for the first time. Bryce Bonnin is a thick kid, 6’2 200+lbs, with a power arm that profiles well for a starter. In the Texas Tech rotation he sat in the mid 90’s while hitting 97 at his peak. He has a dang good fastball and a plus slider. The rest of his offerings are average, but due to the fact that their average there is room for growth and a chance he sticks as a starter. The problem is he is incredibly wild which has negatively affected his numbers in college. He walked 45 in 64 innings in 2019. In a short stint in 2020 he did strike out 27 in 14.2 innings, and actually controlled his walks a bit, but got rocked to a tune of 7.36 ERA. Word is his delivery is very herky and not super repeatable which causes him to struggle with his command. But, with the stuff he possesses, and that power arm, there’s a real good bet that he ends up a reliever down the stretch. That’s not a bad thing and kind of fits into the slot he was drafted.

4th Round Pick, 113th Overall

Mac Wainwright, 17 years old, OF - St. Edward H.S. (OH)

Aliases - Mac N Cheese, The Good Wainwright, Praying For Wainwright Now

Mac Wainwright is a relative unknown to most people, not showing up on tippy top draft prospect lists, but he’s one helluva athlete. Wainright is thick, fast, and looks like he’s got some Popeye muscles that could get bigger. This pick is purely made on his athleticism as he comes from a northern school and has missed some time on the diamond due to injuries. But, again, there is some real power in his bat. It looks like Wainwright could stick in CF with his athleticism but also has the big arm profile to play in right field. If I had to hazard a guess, and I will, this guy is going to continue to fill out as he gets older. One issue I do see in trying to evaluate his scouting report is there isn’t much to see on his contact/hitting potential. A lot of power, a lot of gifted athleticism, but it will likely take this kid a long while to put it all together. A hope and a prayer.

5th Round Pick, 143rd Overall

Joe Boyle, 21 years old, RHP, - Notre Dame

Aliases - Big Joe, Boss Boyle, Mugsy

This dude is freaking huge, listed at 6’7 and 240 pounds on the draft ticker. All you’re really going to get in this report, because I’m kind of tired of typing, is that this kid freaking throws bombs. Here’s a tweet for confirmation.

You’ll notice that Mr. Bonnin is #10 on that too. Cool. Cool. Cool. Obviously, that’s a plus-plus fastball. It averages 98 and has topped out at 102. That’s in college, at a school not real known for baseball. He also has a plus slider. Awesome. You wanna guess why he’s drafted in the 5th round? He’s damn close to walking as many guys as he struck out in college. His walks are also higher than total innings pitched. Not cool. Not cool. Not cool. Let’s just dream on that burner fastball because there’s enough sucky stuff going on in this world.

UDFA’s

Obviously, these guys aren’t drafted. Wick ran a scouting report thingy on them yesterday. I’m just going to gut out some nicknames for the newbies to be well rounded.

James Proctor, RHP

The Proctologist, Glove Snap, Test Proctor

Carson Spiers, RHP

Spiky Spiers, Mountain Top, Carson City Spiers

Leo Nierenberg, RHP

Iceberg, Neo Lierenberg...

I give up he sounds like a Nazi Rocket Scientist, but I don’t want to make Nazis jokes.

Braxton Roxby, RHP

Night At the Roxbury, XX, Brezza Rezza

Francisco Urbaez, INF

San Francisco Treat, Urby, RBIz

Brett Lockwood, RHP

Dayton Moore’s Nightmare, Dirk Diggler, Shag Carpet