With the 5th overall pick the Cincinnati Reds selected 3B Jonathan India, who had a breakout season in his Junior year catapulted his way up the draft charts and netting himself a significantly higher payday after spending 3 seasons at UF than he otherwise would have had he went pro after being drafted by the Brewers out of high school. "We all thought he learned to go the other way a little bit more and trust himself and use the whole field,"Dick Williams, Reds President of Baseball operations said. "I met with his coaches in Gainesville and they all said the same thing: when he started to go the other way, he started to hit the ball with more authority. He can still yank a ball down the left side when he needs to."
Later in the first round Brady Singer's name was called as he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals with the 18th overall pick. "I really like this pick for the Royals, who need pitching and couldn't have expected Pipeline's No. 2 Draft prospect to last until No. 18,"said Jim Callis of MLB.com of Singer "I'm not sure what happened here, but Kansas City got a nearly MLB-ready pitcher who has a lively fastball and tremendous feel for his slider. I really like the way Singer attacks hitters, and his competitiveness is off the charts."
Jackson Kowar will be joining Brady Singer in the Royals pitching farm system - as he was drafted by the Royals with the 33rd overall pick.