When it came time for the Reds to pick in Tuesday's draft, the organization was deadlocked 11-11 on which of two pitchers to make their No.1 choice, so Reds general manager Jim Bowden broke the tie and chose Chris Gruler, an 18-year-old right-hander from Liberty High School in Brentwood, Calif.

Chris Gruler, right, celebrates with his father Steve Gruler and friends. (Herman Bustmante, Jr., Contra Costa Times photo) | ZOOM |

        “We felt Gruler and (Scott) Kazmir were the two best pitchers in the draft,” Bowden said. “We felt Kazmir would be the quickest to the big leagues, being left-hand ed, but that Gruler had the highest ceiling of the two. We wanted the player with the highest ceiling, the biggest reward.”

        Within a few hours of drafting Gruler, the Reds signed him, with a $2.5million signing bonus.

        Gruler had told the Reds earlier this spring that he wanted to sign, that he didn't want to hold out, and that he would instruct his agent, Tom Reich, accordingly.

        “I really want to become a Cincinnati Red and play major-league baseball,” Gruler said in a teleconference call Tuesday afternoon.

        Well before the Reds-Cardinals game had begun Tuesday night, Gruler had signed. It didn't hurt that former Reds stars Johnny Bench and Ken Griffey Sr. had seen Gruler pitch and talked to Gru ler's father, Steve.

        “He was lovin' every minute of it,” said Chris, chuckling.

        Bowden noted that Bench said Gruler already has a better breaking ball than did Tom Seaver, the Hall of Famer whom Bench caught for the Reds in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

        Gruler was the No.3 pick overall in the draft.

        The left-handed Kazmir dropped to No.15 overall, ostensibly because he wanted a major-league contract, which is what the New York Mets gave him. The Reds weren't in a position to do that (and apparently the other clubs picking fourth through 14th weren't either), because they already had used up two 40-man roster spots in 2000 when they signed draftees David Espinosa and Dane Sardinha to major-league contracts.

        A late-Tuesday afternoon report on a local radio sports-talk show said the Reds had not gotten the guy they really wanted, choosing instead to pick a guy on the cheap, based upon signability. But clearly Gruler had a lot of support within the Reds brain trust, which, while it didn't want to repeat last year's failure to sign No.1 pick Jeremy Sowers, felt Gruler had a higher upside than Kazmir.

        “Even the people who wanted Kazmir, they'd say, "He's quicker to the big leagues; he can start or relieve,' would add, "Gruler has a chance to be a No.1 (starter), and it's so hard to get a No.1,'” Bowden said.

        And yes, the Reds didn't want whomever they picked to wind up in college, as Sowers did in choosing to go to Vanderbilt last fall, or be a holdout through the entire summer, as has become the trend among the highest first-round draft choices in recent years.

        Sowers had dropped to No.20 in last year's draft because other teams had shied away from him when he said he was leaning toward attending Vanderbilt, unless somebody bowled him over with a huge signing bonus. The Reds took a chance but never got close to signing him. They offered $1.5million; he wanted $3.5 million.

        Because the Reds were unable to sign Sowers, they got an extra pick in Tuesday's draft, the No.40 pick overall. They chose Mark Schramek, 22, a third baseman at the University of Texas-San Antonio.

        Reds scouting director Kasey McKeon said Gruler's fastball has been clocked as high as 96 mph, and that he regularly throws 92-94. He has an above-average breaking ball and already “has a feel” for a changeup and a forkball, McKeon said.

        Of the Reds' 22 draft choices Tuesday, 13 were pitchers. But this is an organization that still likes hitters: Their second, third and sixth picks are all college third basemen, and their seventh pick is a college first baseman.

        Although high school pitchers are a crapshoot, Bowden said Gruler has some things on his side that make him a little bit less of one: He has the best delivery in the draft, good size (6-foot-2, and 190 pounds) that helps with durability, a great work ethic and a Caliper test (self-esteem, competitiveness and discipline) that was off the charts.

        “He will try to beat you with every pitch he makes,” the Caliper evaluation said. “To him, it is not simply winning, but it is needing to win against every batter he faces.”

More on Gruler at Contra Costa Times Web site
More on Schramek at Texas-San Antonio Web site
List of Reds Draft Picks
Five locals picked in baseball draft

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