CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds Director of Amateur Scouting Brad Meador tonight announced the selection of LHP Nick Lodolo (6'6", 185), a junior from Texas Christian University, with the team's first pick (7th overall) of the 2019 first-year player draft.

Later tonight, the Reds will select their second player with the 49th overall pick (2nd round).

"Nick is a tall left-handed pitcher that has a plus mix of pitches and durability to start in the big leagues," said Dick Williams, President of Baseball Operations. "He was a first round pick out of high school who has only gotten better with three years of college experience. Playing in a top conference, we believe he was one of the top college pitchers available in this year’s draft and we're thrilled to add him to our organization."

Lodolo, 21, was named All-Big 12 First Team and entered the draft as the top pitching prospect as rated by Baseball America. In 16 starts this year with the Horned Frogs, the LaVerne, California native pitched to a 2.36 ERA with 131 strikeouts over 103 innings. He held opponents to a .203 batting average while posting an impressive 0.98 WHIP.

Lodolo is the highest MLB draft pick ever selected from TCU. He was originally drafted by the Pirates with the 41st overall selection in 2016 but did not sign, electing instead to attend college.

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.