When the Cincinnati Reds announced that #2 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Hunter Greene, was going to be directed towards playing shortstop with pitching as the back-up many were stunned. Aside from having good depth at shortstop, Greene looked like a sure thing on the mound. Looking at the Reds’ depth chart, though, the plan suddenly comes into focus.
No one is a guarantee, but first round draft picks have a tendency to develop into big league players more than anyone else. Looking at the Reds’ first round picks starting with Robert Stephenson in 2011 and getting more recent, you can see something forming.