Reid Detmers: ‘I think I’m gonna move pretty quick’

After five straight drafts taking position players in the first round, the Angels drafted a pitcher first this time, taking Louisville lefty Reid Detmers with the 10th overall pick.

He sounded confident in his adjustment to professional baseball.

“I think I’m gonna move pretty quick. I think I’ll get going, and have good feel right off the bat,” Detmers told Karl Ravech of ESPN during the MLB Draft telecast. “That’s my goal, to move quickly through the organization and get to the big leagues as soon as possible.”

Detmers’ father Kris pitched six seasons in the minors in the Cardinals system, reaching Triple-A Memphis in 1999.

With the high likelihood that there won’t be an actual minor league season in 2020, and with potentially expanded rosters for an abbreviated major league season this year, or maybe even a taxi squad, that dream for Reid Detmers might not be so farfetched.

The 20 year old had a 3.20 ERA in three seasons at Louisville, with 284 strikeouts in 191 innings. That included a dominant 48 strikeouts in 22 innings in a shortened 2020.

“I developed when I got here. I got a lot stronger. I worked with my strength coach, I worked with my trainer,” Detmers told ESPN. “I worked with all the people here they allow us to work with.”

MLB.com’s scouting report on Detmers noted, “His ability to locate his pitches permits him to succeed even when his fastball dips into the upper 80s. He has some of the best pitchability and mound presence in the 2020 Draft, traits that should help him become a mid-rotation starter.”

Detmers was rated the eighth-best prospect in the draft by MLB.com.