Reds have fourth-highest odds in MLB Draft lottery; Matt McLain open to playing anywhere

LAS VEGAS – In one month, the Cincinnati Reds will have a part of their rebuild determined through chance.

Major League Baseball announced its inaugural draft lottery will be conducted during the Winter Meetings on Dec. 6, which will be televised on MLB Network. The top six picks in the 2023 MLB Draft will be determined through lottery from the 18 non-playoff teams.

The Reds have a 13.2% chance of receiving the No. 1 overall pick, the fourth-highest odds in the league. The Washington Nationals, Oakland A’s and Pittsburgh Pirates all have identical 16.5% odds for the first pick. Kansas City is the only other team with odds at 10% while six teams have odds below 1%.

The draft lottery was established in the sport’s latest collective bargaining agreement. The Reds tied Pittsburgh for the third-worst record in the majors at 62-100, but they’ll pick behind the Pirates after the first round because the Pirates had a worse record in 2021 for the tiebreaker.

The Reds have never owned the No. 1 pick in a draft. They recently had the No. 2 overall pick in back-to-back drafts in 2016 and 2017, selecting Nick Senzel and Hunter Greene.

At this stage, LSU outfielder Dylan Crews and Tennessee right-hander Chase Dollander are viewed as the top candidates for next year’s No. 1 pick. Crews hit .349 in his sophomore season with 22 homers, 11 doubles and 72 RBI in 62 games. Dollander had a 2.39 ERA in 79 innings with 108 strikeouts and 13 walks while displaying four pitches.

Draft odds for No. 1 pick: Washington (16.5%), Oakland (16.5%), Pittsburgh (16.5%), Cincinnati (13.2%), Kansas City (10%), Detroit (7.5%), Texas (5.5%), Colorado (3.9%), Miami (2.7%), Los Angeles Angels (1.8%), Arizona (1.4%), Chicago Cubs (1.1%), Minnesota (0.9%), Boston (0.8%), Chicago White Sox (0.6%), San Francisco (0.5%), Baltimore (0.4%), Milwaukee (0.2%).

Reds prospect Matt McLain open to playing anywhere

One of the primary reasons the Reds sent Matt McLain to the Arizona Fall League was to give him more experience at shortstop after he split time with Elly De La Cruz at the position in Double-A throughout August and September.

What did it mean to McLain that the organization wanted to see more of him at shortstop?

“I don’t really know, I just go out there and play,” McLain said. “Wherever my name is on the lineup card, I’m going to go play. I don’t really care if it’s short, second, center, third, catcher, pitcher. I don’t really care where I play, but I like shortstop the most.”

In 103 games at Double-A, McLain started 72 at shortstop and 22 at second base. He played center field during his freshman year at UCLA.

At some point, potentially as early as spring training, the Reds will start to solidify where they want their upper-level shortstops to play. De La Cruz and McLain ended the season in Double-A. Noelvi Marte was in High-A, though he’s already playing third base in the Fall League. Jose Barrero isn’t guaranteed to begin the season in the majors if he doesn’t show improvement at the plate.

McLain, the Reds’ first-round pick in 2021, had his share of ups and downs during his first professional season. He hit .232 with 17 homers, 21 doubles and 58 RBI in 103 games while stealing 27 bases and posting a .363 on-base percentage.

“I’m never really trying to hit homers,” McLain said. “I’m trying to hit line drives. If I get under it and I hit it hard enough, like anyone here, they have the power to hit it and it’s going to go. I was just trying to barrel balls up and the rest take cares of itself.”

McLain was invited to big-league camp during spring training last year where he impressed with his instincts and poise, and he’s a candidate to debut at some point during the 2023 season.

“There are ups and downs throughout the year,” McLain said. “I have to learn to control those ups and downs better in professional baseball because it’s different than college. You’d play on the weekends and now you’re playing every day. I’m learning that way too. How to deal with the failures, how to deal with the success and really just stay level-headed, continue to play hard no matter what happens the at-bat before, the pitch before, the game before.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: MLB holding first draft lottery - what are the Reds odds?