Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott talks about MLB All-Star selection
Cincinnati Reds lefty Andrew Abbott learned of his MLB All-Star selection in the first inning Tuesday and immediately texted his parents at the game.
Joe Katuska, the Cincinnati Reds‘ director of scouting, believes the best MLB draft class he’s seen was that of 2023. That’s the class where the Louisiana State duo of pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews went one-two, of course, and were followed by outfielder Wyatt Langford and pitcher Rhett Lowder, among others.
“That’s probably the one that stacks up the strongest where we knew there were five players at the top of that draft that kind of separated themselves a little bit,” Katuska said, “and it always makes it a little bit easier to slot the whole draft when you’re dealing with a really strong group at the top.”
No two draft classes are like-for-like, and with the 2025 MLB Draft fast approaching on Sunday, July 13, Katuska conceded that Reds talent evaluators have stretched themselves to evaluate a class that some pundits say has more question marks than that 2023 class.
“I think because there’s so much less certainty of the grouping near the top, we’ve had to scout a much wider range of players,” Katuska said. “We’re not shallow by any means on the looks at the players we’re talking about at the top, but we did have to spread looks and manpower over a much wider group of players this year than we did in ’23.”
The Reds are undaunted by any challenges presented by the current class that comes due for selection on Sunday and Monday. Cincinnati’s draft war room contains a group of scouts with familiarity and trust in one another, and they have a running track record of success, too.
The Reds have held premium, first-round draft picks in recent years, and Katuska’s group has made good with those selections. Think in terms of 2024 MLB All-Star Hunter Greene (draft class of 2017), 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India (2018 draft, later traded to acquire pitcher Brady Singer), 2025 workhorse pitcher Nick Lodolo (2019 draft), Matt McLain (2021 draft), and even highly-rated prospects at different stages now in their development in Cam Collier (2022 draft), Rhett Lowder (2023 draft) and Chase Burns (2024 draft).
“I think people have seen the players we’ve drafted show up at the Major League level and provide the impact that we expected them to,” Katuska said. “I think what puts a little wind in our sails is we’ve had a lot of continuity. It’s the same voices that have developed a significant level of trust in each other. As evaluators, we’re going to have differences of opinion in when and where and how good you saw a player, but we’re able to have open and honest conversations in the room that lead us as a group toward selecting the best player at each spot.”
Katuska and his group are approaching the upcoming draft, where the Reds hold the No. 9 pick in the first round, with the “best player available” mindset, and they’ve labored to ensure they get it right again.
That means that while the Reds have selected college players in the first round of recent drafts, and that has partly helped players like Lowder and Burns ascend to their respective MLB debuts faster, a high-school selection that would require a longer runway to MLB is entirely possible.
Just be warned: The Reds will probably have different ideas about what “best available” means compared against who the pundits are talking about, as well as the names bandied about on the popular online draft boards.
Stated simply: If you aren’t in the Reds’ draft war room, your hot take and draft rankings really do not matter.
“We’re not valuing the evaluations and the rankings that people not invested in our process internally have,” Katuska said. “People talk about some of the strengths of this draft − some of the college left-handed pitching and the high school shortstop group are kind of at the forefront where people talk about where the strengths are.
“I don’t think we’re going to end up having the same ranking as you may see publicly in some places. But this is our internal ranking of who is the most talented guy and who is going to have the biggest impact for us.
“It’s about getting the best player available. We really stick to that… There’s no one that’s off the board for us. We spend a lot of time lining up who we think is the most talented with their ultimate projection for impact at the Major League level and try to get the best one at every pick available.”
What to know about the 2025 MLB Draft, when the Reds pick
Note: Some teams have extra selections because of competitive balance and compensation picks that were awarded between the first five rounds by MLB.
Day one schedule: (Rounds 1-3):Â Sun., July 13, 6 p.m. ET (MLBN/MLB.com/ESPN); Reds hold picks Nos. 9, 51 (second round) and 81 (third round).Day two schedule: (Rounds 4-20):Â Mon., July 14, 11:30 a.m. ET (MLB.com); Reds hold picks Nos. 114 (fourth round), 145 (fifth round).