Reds take switch-hitting catcher Yasmani Grandal with the 12th pick

[missionhockey21]

Scouting reports are somewhat mixed on him. But the bottom line is that they took a fairly polished, solid (not great or terrible) defensive, switch-hitting catcher. His arm is at question, but the Reds are sold on him and I think stated that he threw out 40% this year. He raked in college this year for Miami and seems like someone who could be on the fast track to the majors more so than most. Plus he also speaks Spanish and is Cuban, so this was a mini-gift to Chapman too.

Overall, I dig it. I would have liked to see us pick up Sale, but for the first team in years we actually have some talent stockpiled at catcher and if more than one pans out, we could have a very very valuable trading chip.

Baseball America | Blog | Baseball America Draft Blog | Grandal Finds A Home

This draft continues to trend toward college players as the Reds select Yasmani Grandal, a switch-hitting catcher batting .412/.537/.730 with 14 home runs and a 55-37 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Grandal had a huge season for Miami, and the Reds' scouting department has some strong ties to south Florida.
Grandal's defense is the question. He's a solid receiver, but we had mixed reports on Grandal's throwing arm, with some reports of 2.1-second pop times. If the Reds can sign Grandal for money closer to Tony Sanchez (last year's No. 4 selection) rather than Buster Posey (2008's No. 6 selection), they'll get good value at No. 12.

[Kingdom]

I just watched him the other day against Texas A&M.

[missionhockey21]

Thoughts Zito?

[Kingdom]

Their lineup was loaded. Even for college baseball standards, it was a lethal lineup that came to life a couple of games after a small drought to end the regular season. He and Harold Martinez (Harold Baines and Edgar Martinez' love child? He is the starting DH for them!) were monsters this past season and Kyle Peterson had nothing bad to say about either. The arm strength might be overrated in this instance.

[missionhockey21]

Yeah, his arm strength really has some conflicted reports.

[Kingdom]

I think you take a chance, stick with him at catcher for a bit to gain a professional report on his arm. I know it seems teams are so eager to change good catching prospects to different positions, but you still need a quality catcher. He might not be an issue like a Victor Martinez or Ryan Doumit defensively. At the same time, those two still catch so, it's hard pressed to write a guy off at his collegiate position so fast.

[missionhockey21]

Definitely agree there. The fact is the Reds do have some talent now at catcher, assuming Grandal signs, and if you play the odds and hope that one of them pans out versus have THE ONE pan out, it would make sense.

[Providence A's]

From what I read it seemed like a case of the Reds taking the best player available regardless of position at that spot. You can never have too much depth at catcher though.