CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds Vice President of Amateur Scouting Chris Buckley tonight announced the selection of INF Jonathan India (6'1", 200), a junior from the University of Florida, with the team's first pick (5th overall) of the 2018 first-year player draft.
Later tonight, the Reds will select their second and third players with overall picks 47 (2nd round) and 72 (competitive balance lottery round B).
"We think Jonathan is an extremely exciting athlete who can impact the game in many ways," said Dick Williams, President of Baseball Operations. "He played very good defense at third base and has the athleticism to play elsewhere. As an accomplished and advanced college hitter, he should move quickly through the minor leagues. We are thrilled to add him to our organization."
           
India, 21, was named 2018 SEC Player of the Year after batting .365 with 16 HR, 40 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 54 regular season games during his junior year at Florida. The Coral Springs (FL) native led the conference with a .506 on-base percentage and a .730 slugging percentage. He was selected as a semi-finalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award and entered the draft rated the fifth-best prospect by Baseball America.
This year for the Gators, India played primarily third base but also made several appearances at shortstop. He became just the 12th player in school history to amass in his career 20 or more home runs, 100 or more RBI and 30 or more stolen bases.
The first-year draft will have 40 rounds. Rounds 3-10 will begin at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, and Rounds 11-40 will begin at noon Wednesday.
The lists of the Reds' No. 1 draft picks are on the second page of the attached document.