Former CSCC catcher Hunter Oliver has been drafted by the Cincinatti Reds in the 21st round of the 2018 MLB draft.
Oliver will be continuting his already successful baseball career into the Major Leagues has be has been selected by the Reds in the 21st round out of Cleveland State Community College. A former Cleveland High School baseball player, Oliver played one year of junior college ball in Florida before transferring to Cleveland State to play for Mike Policastro and the Cougars. In his sophomore season for the Cougars Oliver posted a .412 batting average, .477 on base percentage and a .775 slugging percentage while hitting 16 home runs, 14 doubles and 2 triples while amassing 63 RBI's.
In 2016, Oliver was the number 1 ranked catcher in the state of Tennessee and was ranked 34th nationwide. During his senior year of high school, Oliver had been contacted by 28 out of 30 MLB teams who had expressed interest in the catcher. An unfortunate injury held Oliver back from the draft out of high school, but after a few solid years at the collegiate level, Oliver is right back where he started, aiming for a shot at the show.
Hunter Oliver will be joining a Reds team that finished last season at 68-94 and 24 games back from the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs. The Reds are currently 23-43 in the 2018 season and trail the Brewers by 16.5 games in the NL Central. Cincinatti is currently in the middle of a rebuild and are focusing on rebuilding their team around young, offensively balanced yet versatile players. Oliver fits right in with that mindset and will prove to be a valuable asset for the Reds.