Cincinnati Reds draft results, grades, analysis

A new crop of future Reds has arrived!

The Cincinnati Reds bucked many consensus draft boards when they opted to take Wake Forest righty Chase Burns with the #2 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Hitters had littered the top of most every analyst board, yet the Reds - fresh off taking righty Rhett Lowder out of Wake Forest in the 1st round just last year - seemed dead set on acquiring the top pitching prospect in the class.

Acquire him they did, and in hindsight it seems to have set off a flurry of reactions to their overall class that are generally quite positive.

RJ Anderson of CBS Sports, for instance, gave the club an ‘A’ grade for their overall body of work, noting that Luke Holman - their Competitive Balance Round B pick at #71 overall - was a 1st round graded prospect back in the spring. So, too, was the case with Northeastern’s Mike Sirota, who the Reds managed to land at pick #87.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs gave his recap of the first day of draft action earlier in the week, and applauded the Reds willingness to draft for need in the case of taking Burns and Holman early. His sentiment, all told? “It was a nice first day for the Reds.”

Over at MLB Pipeline, it was Sirota who was picked as that crew’s favorite selection by the Reds. They noted that he’d performed quite well for two years in the Cape Cod League prior to his relative struggles (and draft stock drop) in his junior year at Northeastern, and I’ll remind you that Cape Cod League is played with wooden bats.

Sirota also landed on MLB Pipeline’s list of ‘biggest steals of each round’ for Round 3, while fellow Reds draftee Tristan Smith (RHP, Clemson) was their pick for Round 5.

Over at ESPN, Kiley McDaniel praised the Reds willingness to bet heavy on arms while also naming Sirota, too, as a sleeper to watch.

Here’s a full list of which Reds were selected and where: