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Hunter Greene

NL Central Notes: Greene, Epstein, Iglesias, Cole

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The Reds will have until 5pm EST on Friday to reach agreement with second overall pick Hunter Greene. As MLB.com’s Jim Callis explains, he’s among a few top picks who have yet to agree to terms, but is still expected to do so. Indeed, as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer further explains, it’d rate as quite a surprise if Greene doesn’t take a record-setting bonus offer to turn pro before the deadline.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein warned today that outside additions won’t solve the club’s woes, as Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com was among those to report. Epstein says the defending World Series champs “can’t force anything” at the trade deadline. Whatever changes to the roster are ultimately made, he says, the organization’s “biggest fixes are inside the clubhouse.” That hardly establishes (or even really suggests) that Chicago won’t look to improve at the deadline, of course. And it certainly doesn’t hint that Epstein lacks in confidence in the existing talent. Indeed, he also says he expects the club to return to the high level of play it has carried over the past two seasons. Caveats aside, Epstein did indicate that the Cubs aren’t exactly looking to structure any deadline blockbusters. “We’ll do what we can to look to augment that,” he said, “but there’s not going to be a fundamental shift in the player personnel that we have.”
  • The Reds may or may not have much interest in dealing away 27-year-old reliever Raisel Iglesias, but other teams are surely eyeing the quality righty and his appealing contract. It’s unsurprising to hear, then, that the closer-needy Nationals have at least some degree of interest in Iglesias, as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets. On paper, the fit is plenty clear. But it remains to be seen what kind of asking price the Reds will place on Iglesias — who is currently sitting on a 1.59 ERA while maintaining a jump in velocity this year — and whether the Nats will be willing to offload significant prospects to get him.
  • Similarly, rival organizations are surely wonder whether the Pirates have any inclination to take offers on righty Gerrit Cole. There’s nothing definitive in that regard, but Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes (among many other National League notes) that the Bucs are giving indication that Cole isn’t likely to be traded. Perhaps an overwhelming offer could shift the thinking, but it seems clear that Pittsburgh isn’t itching to cash in on Cole with two more years of arbitration control remaining — particularly with his value perhaps tipping down somewhat. While he has been healthy, Cole has had the roughest year of his career thus far, allowing 1.59 home runs per nine and carrying a 4.43 ERA over 107 2/3 frames.

NL Notes: Reds, Mets, Phillies

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As a serviceable, affordable free agent-to-be who’s on a rebuilding team, Reds right-hander Scott Feldman should theoretically be a trade candidate at this time of the year. But it’s possible the Reds will opt to keep Feldman as a way to benefit their other pitchers, according to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Retaining Feldman would help the Reds avoid risking the arms and psyches of some of their young starters who might not be ready for the majors, suggests Buchanan, who notes that his presence also helps preserve the bullpen. Feldman has lasted at least six frames in eight of 17 starts, and he easily leads the Reds’ woeful rotation in innings (97) and ERA (3.78). He has also accounted for 1.6 fWAR, while the remainder of the Reds’ starters have combined for minus-2.8. “We are lucky to have him,” said manager Bryan Price. “To really look at our season and say what’s been the really one, from a rotational standpoint, the one constant, and it’s been the quality of Scott Feldman.”

More from Cincinnati and two other National League cities:

  • The latest member of the Mets to hit the disabled list is outfielder Michael Conforto, who’s now on the shelf (retroactive to June 28) with a bruised left hand, per a team announcement. Conforto suffered the injury on a hit by pitch last Sunday and hasn’t played since, thus depriving the Mets of a player who has slashed an excellent .285/.405/.548 in 269 plate appearances this season. Right-hander Zack Wheeler took Conforto’s vacant roster spot. Wheeler’s back after going on the DL on June 21 with biceps tendinitis.
  • The Reds’ first-round pick, right-hander Hunter Greene, will head to Cincinnati in the coming days to take a physical, reports Buchanan. That seems to bode well for the Reds’ chances of signing Greene, the second overall pick, by the July 7 deadline. The 17-year-old is likely seeking the richest deal in the 2017 class, relays Buchanan. So far, that honor belongs to No. 4 selection Brendan McKay, whom the Rays gave a record $7,007,500 earlier this week.
  • Phillies outfielder/infielder Howie Kendrick, who went on the DL on Friday with an injured left hamstring, will probably miss longer than 10 days, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Kendrick will undergo an MRI in Philadelphia during the upcoming week, and the team’s bigwigs are undoubtedly hoping nothing serious crops up to prevent them from fetching a decent return at the trade deadline for the impending free agent. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail suggested Friday that there should be plenty of interest in the 33-year-old Kendrick, saying, “If I wanted a professional hitter, I sure wouldn’t have any pause.”

NL Central Notes: Greene, Brewers, Cervelli, Meadows

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The Reds’ efforts to sign right-hander Hunter Greene are complicated by the need to wait for fourth overall pick Brendan McKay to reach agreement with the Rays, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. It seems that Greene is still hoping to emerge as the highest-paid player in the draft, with Cincinnati apparently willing to oblige to the extent possible. Buchanan runs the math on where the Reds’ pool money stands and notes that the club has given no indication of concern that Greene will choose to head to UCLA rather than starting his professional career.

Elsewhere in the NL Central…

  • Heyman also writes that the Brewers, a surprising division leader, could look to add some bullpen help prior to the trade deadline this summer. Milwaukee’s top tier of prospects, however, looks to be nearly untouchable in trade talks, he continues, listing the likes of Josh Hader, Lewis Brinson, Luis Ortiz, Corey Ray and Isan Diaz. Heyman also notes that Travis Shaw was a target of the Brewers’ front office from day one last offseason, though it took until the Winter Meetings in early December to finalize a deal with the Red Sox.
  • In Pirates injury news, Pittsburgh placed catcher Francisco Cervelli back on the 7-day concussion disabled list for a second time this season yesterday. Cervelli was only activated for about a week between his two stints on the DL. Pirates head trainer Todd Tomczyk described Cervelli’s symptoms as “post-concussive” and “post-viral,” writes MLB.com’s Adam Berry, who notes that this is at least the third concussion with which Cervelli has been diagnosed in his pro career. In Cervelli’s absence, the Bucs have again recalled 27-year-old Jacob Stallings from Triple-A Indianapolis.
  • Top Pirates prospect Austin Meadows will be sidelined for at least a week in Triple-A after an MRI revealed a hamstring strain, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Meadows, 22, entered the year as a consensus top-10 prospect leaguewide. But he has struggled thus far at Triple-A, with a .248/.313/.358 batting line through 281 plate appearances. With this injury now limiting him, it seems all but certain the Bucs won’t be in a rush to call him up to the majors — which perhaps alters the team’s calculus somewhat at the trade deadline, with longtime star Andrew McCutchen potentially featuring as an important chip.
  • Finally, in agency news, Reds infielder Jose Peraza has elected to join ISE Baseball, according to Robert Murray of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The 23-year-old entered the year with 141 days of service, so he could reach arbitration eligibility after the 2018 season as a Super Two player.

Draft Notes: Lewis, McKay, Day 2, Gore, Greene, Wright, Beck

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No. 1 overall draft pick Royce Lewis will take his physical with the Twins soon, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. There aren’t expected to be any hangups in negotiations, per Berardino, who notes that the industry expectation is for Lewis to receive a bonus north of Dansby Swanson’s $6.5MM bonus from the 2015 draft. The top pick in the draft came with a slot value of $7.7MM, and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger wrote this week that Lewis could sign for around $1MM less than that sum. That’d put his bonus in the $6.5MM to $6.7MM range, saving the Twins anywhere from $1MM to $1.2MM from the slot value. FanRag’s Jon Heyman pegs the expected value at “just a tick over” $6.7MM. Rays top pick Brendan McKay, meanwhile, is expected to sign for somewhere between $7MM and $7.2MM, according to Berardino. That’d be the largest bonus ever given to a college player under the current draft structure, surpassing Kris Bryant’s $6.7MM sum.

More notes on the draft…

  • The Twins “crushed” Day 2 of the draft, MLB.com’s Jim Callis opines. Adding high school right-hander Blayne Enlow, a potential first-round talent that dropped due to a strong commitment to LSU, kicked off a day in which Minnesota selected five players that ranked inside MLB.com’s top 200 draft prospects. Enlow, Callis writes, has the best curveball in the draft as well as a fastball that has touched 94 mph and has room to grow as his projectable frame grows. Callis also lauds the White Sox, Dodgers, Red Sox and Brewers for the talent they secured in rounds three through 10. ESPN’s Keith Law agrees that the Twins did quite well to land Enlow with the No. 76 pick and also gives quite a bit of praise to the Athletics, who landed a first-round talent (in his estimation) with the 81st pick by taking shortstop Nick Allen. Law opines that the undersized Allen, who is listed at 5’8″, would’ve been a top 10 pick if he were three inches taller.
  • FanRag’s Jon Heyman provides some insight into the progress being made with the top five picks in the draft. The Padres, according to Heyman, are expected to sign No. 3 overall pick MacKenzie Gore, a high school left-hander, for the full slot value of $6,668,100. Reds top pick Hunter Greene, meanwhile, is expected to sign for a deal “close” to the $7,193,200 slot value of his No. 2 overall selection, per Heyman. (Also of note for Reds fans: Heyman spoke to a rival exec who heaped praise on the Reds’ draft, opining that they “won the draft by far.”) And the Braves look to be going well over slot to sign Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright, as Heyman reports that they’re discussing a deal worth close to $7MM, while the No. 5 slot carries a value of $5,707,300. Of course, Wright was long rumored to be a potential No. 1 overall pick, so it stands to reason that he’d come with a fairly sizable price tag.
  • Baseball America’s John Manuel reported yesterday that Stanford right-hander Tristan Beck, a potential first-round talent that missed the 2017 season due to a stress fracture in his lower back, will not sign and plans to head back to Stanford (Twitter link). That didn’t stop the Yankees from drafting him late (29th round), though New York would obviously need to give him a massive bonus in order to convince him to forgo a return to college, as a healthy Beck would do quite well in next year’s draft. The Yankees may not have the leftover money even to make a legitimate effort to sign Beck, though he makes for a nice contingency plan if the team unexpectedly finds itself with some extra pool money to play with.

Draft Chatter: Lewis, McKay, College Arms, Mock Drafts, A’s

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With the MLB Draft just a few hours away, there’s some increasing talk that the Twins are giving serious consideration to high school shortstop Royce Lewis with the No. 1 overall pick. John Manuel of Baseball America tweeted today that Lewis is in consideration and adds that he was told by a Twins official that signability is a factor for the Twins up top. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the Twins are down to Lewis and Louisville left-hander/first baseman Brendan McKay. Meanwhile, 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson tweeted that as of this morning, a Twins front office source told him that no decision has been made.

For those wondering whether the Twins may cut a deal with Lewis to save money and allow greater spending with their Comp Balance pick and second-round selection, FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Lewis has a high asking price. (Lewis is reportedly being advised by agent Scott Boras.) Adding to the Lewis/Twins steam is La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, who tweeted that with less than three hours until the Twins are on the clock, the Lewis steam is real. McKay and flamethrowing righty Hunter Greene are both in the mix, Neal adds, and money is a significant factor in the decision. Obviously, the Twins will spend their entire allotted draft budget regardless of who they take, but the amount for which the first overall pick signs will determine how aggressive the Twins can be on pick Nos. 35 and 37 as well as with the rest of their selections.

A bit more on tonight’s draft…

  • Fangraphs’ Gerald Schifman takes an excellent look at the usage of some of the top college arms in the draft, examining each pitcher’s average pitches per start, the percentage of starts in excess of 115 pitches and the number of “Pitch Smart” violations. (More details on the Pitch Smart guidelines here.) Notably, projected top picks like Vanderbilt’s Kyle Wright and Louisville’s Brendan McKay have had their pitch counts and rest between starts managed quite well for the most part. On the other end of the spectrum is UCLA righty Griffin Canning, who has throw 115+ pitches in 53 percent of his outings in the past two seasons. Missouri’s Tanner Houck has also had some troubling usage trends, including high pitch counts and a lack of rest between outings.
  • As is always the case on draft day, there are a number of last-minute mock drafts from some industry experts that readers and draft followers will want to check out. Both Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com agree that the top five picks will go Brendan McKay (Twins), Hunter Greene (Reds), MacKenzie Gore (Padres), Royce Lewis (Rays) and Keston Hiura (Braves). That, somewhat surprisingly, would leave Kyle Wright out of the top five, though Callis has him going sixth to the A’s, while Mayo has him going seventh to the D-backs. BA’s John Manuel agrees with that top three, though he has high school outfielder Bubba Thompson going to the Rays and Wright going to the Braves at No. 5. ESPN’s Keith Law also published a draft-day mock, listing McKay, Greene, Gore, Lewis and Wright as his respective top five.
  • The Athletics are up with the No. 6 pick in the draft tonight, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle connects them to a number of outfielders and pitchers. High school lefty MacKenzie Gore is on Oakland’s radar, though many project him to go before the A’s are on the clock. High school outfielder Austin Beck is also an Athletics target and recently had a private workout with the A’s. Slusser notes that they’d be thrilled to see Kyle Wright slip to them with the sixth selection, similarly to the manner in which Florida lefty A.J. Puk dropped to Oakland last year after being discussed as a potential 1-1 option. Wright’s teammate, outfielder Jeren Kendall, is also intriguing to the A’s, per Slusser.

Poll: Who Will Be The No. 1 Overall Draft Pick?

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Major League Baseball’s annual amateur draft kicks off tonight at 7pm ET, and the Twins will be on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since selecting local catcher out of St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall high school named Joe Mauer back in 2001. While some draft classes have a very clear top overall pick (e.g. Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg), that doesn’t appear to be the case this season. There have been rumors circulating about who the Twins will select No. 1 overall tonight for months, now, and the top three names on the board, at the very least, seem to be clear….

  • Hunter Greene, RHP/SS, Notre Dame HS (Sherman Oaks, Calif.): Greene has been the most talked-about player in the draft class for the past year. A two-way high school star that has already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and generated awe with a fastball that has reached 102 mph, Greene sits atop the draft rankings of MLB.com, Baseball America and ESPN. However, while he has the highest upside in the class, there’s also never been a high school right-hander selected No. 1 overall in the draft, and the risks associated with a prep pitcher are greater than those associated with a college player or even a fellow high school pitcher. Most mock drafts from experts have had the Twins passing on Greene, though he’s undoubtedly a tempting option for the new-look Minnesota front office.
  • Kyle Wright, RHP, Vanderbilt: Wright ranks first on Fangraphs’ list of draft prospects, just edging out Greene for that top spot. Over the past month, he’s been the most oft-connected name to the Twins, with most draft experts and scouting reports touting him as the best combination of ceiling and certainty. Armed with a fastball that sits in the low to mid 90s and can reach 97 mph, Wright also has solid control and three secondary offerings that scouting reports peg as average to above-average. He may not have generated as much fanfare and intrigue as the two-way stars that join him atop the draft class, but Wright is very much in the mix to go first overall.
  • Brendan McKay, LHP/1B, Louisville: Scouting reports on McKay are split on whether his best long-term fit is on the mound or as a position player, but there’s a general belief that he could excel either way. Whether a team prefers McKay as a pitcher or a hitter, he seems like a virtual lock to go in the top five of the draft. MLB.com’s report gives him a future 60-grade rating in either role, while ESPN’s Keith Law notes that he showed a bit of fatigue on the mound late in the season. Dedicating himself fully to one discipline under a professional coaching/player development staff could allow McKay to take his game to a new level in either direction. The Twins have been connected to McKay quite often, and while most mocks had Wright going No. 1 overall for the past month, McKay’s name has regained a bit of steam in the past few days.

Readers can check out more details on this year’s draft class by diving into the excellent work from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (free); Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs (free); Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required/recommended); and John Manuel and his team over at Baseball America (subscription required and, once again, recommended).

But, if you already have an opinion on the matter formed, let’s get right to the poll (link for Trade Rumors mobile app users)…

Who will the Twins take with the No. 1 overall pick?
Brendan McKay 33.14% (2,088 votes)
Kyle Wright 32.27% (2,033 votes)
Hunter Greene 27.62% (1,740 votes)
Other (Specify in comments) 6.97% (439 votes)
Total Votes: 6,300

Draft Notes: Twins, Reds, Rays, Braves

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A day before the start of the 2017 MLB Draft, here are the current rumblings.

  • The Twins look likely to select Vanderbilt righty Kyle Wright or Louisville two-way player Brendan McKay with the first overall pick, John Manuel of Baseball America writes in his last mock (which came out Friday). Late last week, Jim Callis of MLB.com suggested the Twins were leaning toward McKay, although it seems the first pick is still the subject of some uncertainty. Both sources have the Reds taking California high school righty Hunter Greene at No. 2 and the Padres going with North Carolina high school lefty MacKenzie Gore at No. 3, although those picks could seemingly change based on what the Twins end up doing. (ESPN’s Keith Law, by the way, has a long profile of Greene, calling him “the best prospect in the draft class and one of the most gifted teenage players I’ve ever seen,” even as he notes that kind of praise can lead to burdensome expectations.)
  • Interestingly, Jonathan Mayo’s latest update in the MLB.com link above cites speculation that the Rays at No. 4 and the Braves at No. 5 could make predraft deals with players to save money against the value of their picks and then go after highly regarded talents in later rounds. (The Rays have a pool of about $12.5MM, with the Braves at just under $10MM.) One possibility should the Rays go that route is Alabama high school outfielder Bubba Thompson, who MLB.com currently rates as the No. 26 prospect in the draft. Atlanta could do something similar, but they could also take Wright or California high school SS/OF Royce Lewis if those players are still available when they make their first selection.
  • It’s possible you remember Darren Baker, Dusty’s son, as the small batboy being yanked away from home plate by J.T. Snow in the 2002 World Series. Now, though, Darren is an outfield prospect with a commitment to Cal. Dusty says, though, that Darren will honor that commitment unless he’s drafted “real, real high,” according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (on Twitter).

Draft Notes: Twins, Reds, McKay, Ramos, Canning, Heimlich

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Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis’ latest for MLB.com contains plenty of new details on next week’s amateur draft. Here’s the latest.

  • The Twins now seem increasingly likely to take two-way Louisville player Brendan McKay and develop him as a left-handed pitcher rather than a first baseman, Callis writes. The Twins had previously been connected to Vanderbilt righty Kyle Wright, although they had California high school pitcher Hunter Greene in for a workout yesterday. The Reds will take Greene, unless the Twins pick him, in which case they’ll take McKay as a pitcher.
  • Heliot Ramos, a high school outfielder from Puerto Rico, could go somewhere in the middle of the first round, perhaps to the Astros, Giants or Orioles.
  • UCLA righty Griffin Canning’s stock appears to be falling over issues with his MRI, Mayo writes. Canning had been projected to go in the middle of the first round, but his MRI has some teams already deciding to pass on him. It’s not clear right now what those issues are. It’s perhaps worth noting that Canning’s potential arm troubles don’t seem to have hurt him this year — he has a 2.34 ERA and 140 whiffs over 119 innings this season.
  • A report late this week from Danny Moran and Brad Schmidt of the Oregonian should be disturbing news, to say the least, for teams interested in selecting Oregon State lefty Luke Heimlich. As a teenager, Heimlich reportedly pleaded guilty to molesting a 6-year-old family member. He reportedly is thus a registered sex offender. He was previously seen as a possible second- or third-rounder, but that seems unlikely after the emergence of this news. “You absolutely can’t draft him,” a scouting official with an NL team told Callis.

Draft Notes: Twins, Greene, McKay, Rankings, Perez

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As a reminder of the draft’s hit-or-miss nature, MLBPipeline.com’s Jim Callis looks back at the 2007 draft and guesses how teams would pick with a decade of hindsight.  Despite the presence of several superstars in this year’s class, only six of the 2007 first-rounders also appear in Callis’ new mock first round.  It makes for a fun series of “what-if” scenarios given all of the big names in play…or maybe not that fun, if your favorite team made an ill-fated pick ten years ago.

Here’s the latest on news about this year’s amateur draft, which takes place on Monday…

  • The Twins will have high schooler Hunter Greene in for a workout on Friday, MLBPipeline.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports.  Recent reports have linked Minnesota to Vanderbilt righty Kyle Wright with the first overall pick and the Twins could simply be doing their due diligence on another highly-touted youngster.  That said, as Mayo writes, the timing of Greene’s visit is “not exactly the kind of thing a team does so close to the Draft for a player they’re not considering.”
  • From that same item, Jim Callis looks at how teams could use Brendan McKay, who is drawing attention both as a first baseman and as a left-handed pitcher.  The Twins, Reds, and Padres (who own the top three picks) are all likely-to-certain to use him as a pitcher, while the Rays (fourth overall) and Braves (fifth) would probably make McKay a full-time position player.  Callis, for the record, doesn’t believe McKay would fall past Tampa on the draft board.  McKay is so intriguing as a two-way player that Callis believes his future team could use him as a first baseman/DH on days he isn’t pitching, in order to gain more information about his ideal landing spot in the big leagues.
  • Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen breaks down the first round of picks in a mock draft, based on such criteria as “rumors I’ve heard from various industry sources, the presence of front-office members at certain games (especially lately), each club’s own particular modus operandi, etc.”  Longenhagen has Wright to the Twins with the first pick, with McKay also a strong possibility; Greene and prep southpaw MacKenzie Gore are less likely candidates.  Greene is projected to go second to Cincinnati, Gore to San Diego, McKay to Tampa and shortstop Royce Lewis to Atlanta, though quite a bit seems to be up in the air with just five days away from the draft.
  • For an in-depth look at the talent available, Baseball America has a ranking of the top 500 draft prospects, with individual scouting reports available for BA subscribers.  BA has Greene, Wright, McKay, Gore and Lewis as the top five (which, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be taken in that order on Monday).
  • Joe Perez, a high school right-hander out of Florida, will undergo Tommy John surgery, Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo reports.  Despite this injury setback and the fact that Perez has committed to the University Of Miami, Collazo feels teams will still be interested in the righty, who also has drawn interest as a first baseman.  Perez is rated 99th on BA’s list and 92nd on MLB Pipeline’s top 200 rankings.

Draft Rumors: Braves, Twins, Reds, Rising Names

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We’re a bit more than two weeks away from the 2017 draft, and rumors surrounding the top of the draft figure to pick up steam in the coming weeks. Some of the latest draft chatter…

  • Bill Shanks of the Macon Telegraph reports that the Braves are seriously considering North Carolina prep outfielder Austin Beck with the No. 5 overall pick. GM John Coppolella and scouting director Brian Bridges have held private workouts with Beck, who could sign an under-slot deal with Atlanta, giving the club more freedom to spend aggressively further down the draft board. The Braves went a similar route with the No. 3 overall pick last season when selecting high school righty Ian Anderson and signing him for about $2.5MM under slot. According to Shanks, the Braves have also met with other prep stars like Hunter Greene, Shane Baz, Nick Pratto and Royce Lewis, but Beck is perhaps the favorite to go with the fifth pick (Greene and Lewis are widely expected to be off the board before Atlanta’s pick).
  • Baseball America’s John Manuel published his latest mock draft over the weekend and once again has the Twins selecting Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright with the top overall pick. Minnesota has also considered Louisville left-hander/first baseman Brendan McKay extensively and seems to like him more as a hitter, writes Manuel, but Wright represents “the best combination of upside and modest risk.” Manuel’s mock draft is free to the public and runs through the supplemental round, so it’s an interesting look for any fan.
  • In his latest inbox column, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo notes that the Reds seem to prefer McKay as a pitcher rather than a hitter, though he goes through a couple of different hypothetical scenarios to illustrate that it’s not a lock that Cincinnati will select McKay even if he is available with their pick. Manuel, it should be pointed out, hears a bit differently, suggesting that the Reds are leaning slightly toward McKay as a hitter and adds that Cincinnati will take either McKay or Greene.
  • BA’s Carlos Collazo recently listed five high school talents whose stock is on the rise as the draft approaches and offers an explanation on each from an unnamed front office executive. Per Collazo, righty Caden Lemons, outfielder Mason House, right-hander Tommy Mace, left-hander Brendan Murphy and right-hander Jackson Rutledge have all worked their way into BA’s Top 200.
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