The Reds were linked to many players throughout the latest mock drafts but wound up taking a late-rising high school pitcher: Miami area prep Nick Travieso out of Archbishop McCarthy High.

Travieso was mostly a relief pitcher and hitter until his senior season, when he emerged as one of the top starters in the state of Florida. Now he winds up being the top Florida prep pitcher drafted—ahead of Lance McCullers, Walker Weickel and Zach Eflin.

Travieso improved as the season went on, adding pitchability to his plus stuff. He ranked 40th on the BA 500 thanks to his power repertoire but moved up to No. 30 on BA's updated Top 50. He's running his fastball up to 98 mph at times this spring and has a slider that earns "wipeout" descriptions. "He's a piece of clay," an area scout said late in May. "He used to be just all fastballs, but now he's learning to use his secondary stuff, and he's learning how to repeat his delivery.

"He didn't start throwing his breaking ball until last year. Now he's touching 86 mph with his slider, and he's getting better life on his two-seamer as well."