Howard was the 25th-ranked player on Baseball America’s list of the top 100 draft prospects.
The scouting report on MLB.com had this to say about Howard: "A Sunday starter as a sophomore and a two-way player throughout his career at Virginia, Howard settled in as the Cavaliers' closer in 2014. A team that thinks he might have the profile to go back to starting might take him in the early rounds. As a starter, both at Virginia and in the Cape Cod League, Howard would throw his fastball in the 90-93 mph range, occasionally touching 94. In short relief, he's been up to 95-97 and touching 98 mph."
Howard, 21, was the 13th pitcher taken in the first 19 picks. The Astros drafted Brady Aiken, a left-handed pitcher from Cathedral Catholic High School (Calif.), with the No. 1 overall pick.
The Reds also took pitchers with their top pick in 2012 (Nick Travieso), 2011 (Robert Stephenson) and 2009 (Mike Leake).
They took three straight right-handers from 2002-04: Chris Gruler, Ryan Wagner and Homer Bailey. Gruler never pitched in the majors. Wagner won a total of 11 games in his career. Bailey has been a key part of the rotation for six seasons.
The Reds had a second pick in the first round, compensation for losing Shin-Soo Choo in free agency. They selected Stanford junior shortstop Alex Blandino with the 29th pick. Blandino hit .312 with 12 home runs this season.
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