The Reds compared their No.1 pick in Tuesday's draft, Louisville Ballard High School's Jeremy Sowers, to Tom Glavine. So did Sowers.

Jeremy Sowers (Pam Spaulding photo) | ZOOM |

        “I'm a smart pitcher,” Sowers said. “You could probably compare me to Tom Glavine.”

        Whether Sowers amounts to anything like the five-time 20-game winner for the Atlanta Braves will be determined in time. As for now, the Reds will have to put Sowers on the road toward Glavine's tax bracket to sign him.

        Sowers is a 6-foot-1, 165-pound, left-handed mound technician, thus the Glavine comparisons.

        But Sowers could be tough to sign. He has a 3.9 GPA and has committed to Vanderbilt.

        “The Reds took a risk,” he said.

        The Reds know that.

        “In this day and age, they're all tough to sign,” Reds scouting director Kasey McKeon said.

        Sowers made his commitment to Vanderbilt known. That may have kept some teams from picking him. If he fell, the Reds were not going to hesitate to pick him.

        “He was the one player we earmarked and hoped was there,” McKeon said.

        Sowers sounded open to signing.

        “It will be a tough decision,” he said. “I'll have to look at both opportunities and figure out what to do.”

        McKeon said paying for Sowers' education probably would be part of the offer. Signing bonuses for first-round players — even the 20th pick, which Sowers was — are typically more than $1 million.

        The Reds have struggled to sign their top draft picks the last few years. Last year's No.1 pick, David Espinosa, wasn't signed until Sept.1.

        Negotiations with Brandon Larson, Austin Kearns and Ty Howington, the previous three No.1 picks, were also difficult. But the Reds signed them in the end.

        But players do walk away from the big bucks and go to school. Barry Larkin, a second-round pick in 1982, was one. The Reds picked him again after he played three years at Michigan.

        “Worst-case scenario, you can lose anybody,” McKeon said. “But we like our chances. He's a hometown kid.”

        Sowers' fastball hits 93 mph. But the Reds were most impressed with his mound presence.

        “He has the uncanny abili ty to get people out,” McKeon said. “Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he gets people out. We did a lot of research into his background. He's very focused. He's on the fast track. We think he'll be close (to being ready in 2003) when our new stadium opens.”

        Sowers is 9-1 this season with a 0.56 earned run average. He has struck out 140 and walked just 10 in 75 innings. As a junior, he was 13-0 with 0.16 ERA.

        Five of the Reds' top six picks were pitchers.

        In the second round, they picked right-hander Justin Gillman from Mosley High in Panama City, Fla. He throws up to 92 mph and has an above-average breaking ball.

        “We had (pitching instructor) Sammy Ellis look at video of a lot of pitchers,” McKeon said “(Gillman) was one he really liked.”

        The Reds had brought center fielder Alan Moye, their third-round pick, in for a workout.

        “He just wowed people,” McKeon said.

        The Reds took a Fairfield High graduate in the fourth round: right-hander Steve Kelly, who played at Georgia Tech.

        “He's a polished college pitcher,” McKeon said. “He should be able to help in the near term.”

Reds draft picks

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