Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher and broadcaster Danny Graves didn’t have any input on who the Reds picked in the Major League Baseball draft a couple of weeks ago, but he was familiar with many of their top choices.
Graves was a broadcaster for the ACC Network this spring and the Reds took ACC players with three of their first five picks in the draft.
The Reds, who had three of the top 35 picks, received overwhelmingly positive reviews for their draft class from several publications. Count Graves as another person who was impressed with the team’s haul.
MAT NELSON, C, FLORIDA STATE
Nelson, the No. 35 overall pick, was at Great American Ball Park earlier this week, honored as a Johnny Bench Award winner for best collegiate catcher. He was the ACC Player of the Year, leading the country in homers (23) while throwing out 59.5% of the runners who tried to steal a base against him.
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He went undrafted in last year’s five-round draft, but his breakout offensive season (.330 batting average, 66 RBI and 50 runs in 53 games) vaulted him up the draft board.
“I know during the season, they were projecting him second or third round,” Graves said. “I’m like you guys are crazy. I don’t know who is projecting him at this, but of course, I was biased because I saw him more than anybody else, but this guy was the full package. He could do everything.”
Graves thought Nelson compared favorably to Louisville catcher Henry Davis, who the Pittsburgh Pirates selected with the No. 1 overall pick.
“As far as throwing runners out, he was right around 60%,” Graves said. “I mean, that’s ridiculous. That’s unheard of to throw out that many guys and he did it with ease. Then, of course, not to mention he led the country in home runs. The ball jumps off his bat.”
Bench said Nelson stood out to him defensively with his footwork and how quick he could transfer the ball to his throwing hand when runners tried to steal on him.
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“He’s definitely to the total package,” Graves said. “That guy, I was so excited when they drafted him, especially getting him No. 35. I was just glad that he didn’t stick around until the second or third round like everybody was saying. He’s really good, man. The head coach at Florida State, who I played with back in 1993, he told me this kid is first class as a person. He’s genuinely one of the nicest kids he’s ever coached.”
ANDREW ABBOTT, LHP, VIRGINIA
The 6-foot, 180-pound left-hander isn’t physically imposing, and he throws in the low-90s, but he was dominant in his first year as a starting pitcher. Abbott, a second-round pick, led Virginia to the College World Series with a 9-6 record and 2.87 ERA in 106 2/3 innings.
Abbott ranked third in the country with 162 strikeouts, behind only Vanderbilt first-rounders Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker.
“I’ve never seen any college kid command the elevated fastball like he did,” Graves said. “When he throws it, he throws it where he wants to. It’s 90-92 mph, but he blows it by guys. They can’t catch up to it. It’s that invisiball. They can’t pick it up. It’s so crazy. The scouting report on him the whole World Series was this guy elevates his fastball. Everybody knew it and they still couldn’t hit it.”
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Abbott had a double-digit strikeout total in six of his 17 starts.
“Obviously, he’s deceptive,” Graves said. “His secondary pitches, I think they’ll be easy to develop, but what’s great about him is he’s been a reliever his whole college career until this year and a dominant one. If he needed to go to the bullpen to be a lefty out of the bullpen, he’s definitely going to be able to do that with two plus pitches.
“The only reason he didn’t go higher is because he doesn’t throw 98 mph like most of the guys there.”
JOSE TORRES, SS, NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Torres, a third-round pick, was considered the best defensive collegiate shortstop in the draft class. There is little doubt among scouts that he should be able to stick at shortstop at the big-league level.
Along with first-round pick Matt McLain, out of UCLA, the Reds added some highly regarded shortstops to their farm system.
“He was an elite, elite shortstop,” Graves said. “I’ve seen some pretty good shortstops. He’s not Jose Iglesias, not many people can come close to him, but when I say elite, he’s right up there with a lot of the best of them. This guy can make some ridiculous plays. He’s not one that just only makes the ridiculous plays. He makes the plays he should be making too.”
Torres had a .289 batting average with 10 homers and 44 RBI in 52 games this year. He sent N.C. State to the College World Series when he hit a ninth-inning homer to stun Arkansas in the school’s Super Regional.
“I probably will get in trouble for saying this, but defensively only – forget the offense part – he’s flashy like Fernando Tatis Jr.,” Graves said. “He goes and makes those plays and he does it with some flair. It’s not to showboat. He’s just flashy. That’s just the kind of player he is.”
JUSTICE THOMPSON, CF, NORTH CAROLINA
The Reds took their final ACC player, Thompson, in the sixth round. He had a .304 batting average with seven homers and 24 RBI in 54 games.
“I didn’t see much of him at the plate,” Graves said. “Every time we would do a show at night and talk about all the games, he was on the highlight reel just about every time. The guy was ridiculous in the outfield, making plays that you just wouldn’t think he would be able to get to.
“Is he going to hit in the big leagues? I have no idea. But he’ll be able to run down some balls whether it’s right field, center field, left field. The guy is a tremendous athlete. As far as hitting, hopefully he can develop. Defensively, one of the best in the ACC, for sure.”
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