CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds took a shortstop with their first pick in the MLB Draft last season and did so again Saturday, selecting University of Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron with the 18th pick in the 2026 draft.With their second-round pick Saturday, the Reds took another shortstop: Eric Becker from the University of Virginia.That’s no accident.“The best player on the field when we’re 8 years old is the shortstop, and it’s the best player in high school. And usually, it’s the best player in college,” Joe Katuska, the Reds’ director of amateur scouting, said. “With our focus on getting the best player available, it probably leans towards shortstops a little more. And those guys have the physical ability to move towards the corners of the field in ways that the corner guys can’t move to the middle.”The Men's College World Series has had 23 different schools in the last three seasons.Mitch ShermanThe Reds’ current roster bears that theory out: Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer, Eugenio Suárez, Edwin Arroyo, Noelvi Marte and Matt McLain were drafted or signed as shortstops.Under the present leadership, the Reds have focused on taking the best player available when it’s their time to draft, which has led to an abundance of shortstops and right-handed starting pitchers.The Reds had five picks Saturday through the first four rounds. All five selections were from the college ranks, with two shortstops and two starting pitchers: third-round pick Tyner Horn from the University of Nebraska and left-hander Ethan Norby from East Carolina University in the fourth round.The outlier of the group was UCLA first baseman Mulivai Levu, the team’s Competitive Balance Round B pick, taken with the 70th pick. Katuska said the team believed Levu could play third base professionally and would’ve had he played anywhere but UCLA on a roster that featured the 2026 No. 1 pick, shortstop Roch Cholowsky, and third baseman Roman Martin, who was a fourth-round pick of the Athletics.“On most teams, Roman Martin would be playing short and Mulivai would be playing third,” Katuska said. “He didn’t get that opportunity because of the team makeup, and he took it in stride and did his thing and hit in the middle of the lineup for them all year.”Lebron, the team’s first pick, was ranked anywhere from the eighth-best prospect in the draft by ESPN to 19th, by The Athletic’s Keith Law. Lebron began the college season as a favorite to go at the top of the draft, but his offensive production slipped in his third year with the Crimson Tide. In Southeastern Conference play, he hit just .229/.328/.413 with a 21.6 percent strikeout rate.“We think he can make the adjustments necessary moving forward,” Katuska said. “The makeup, the grind that he has to him. He’s ready for this, and he knows that he has to make adjustments and make corrections moving forward. We think he’s fully prepared.”Lebron said he felt he could’ve done better individually this season, but in his mind his season was still a success.“I didn’t have the season I would say I wanted; I wouldn’t say it wasn’t a great season,” Lebron said after being drafted No. 18. “But I think it was great and amazing, because I helped the team get to (the College World Series in) Omaha, which is something that hasn’t happened in 20-plus years. So to me it was a success.”All five of the Reds’ picks played on teams that reached the NCAA tournament.Both pitchers, Horn and Norby, spent time in the rotation and in the bullpen during their seasons.“We’re projecting these players into the future, not just the stats that they’ve compiled or the roles that they played for their team up to this point,” Katuska said. “How are they going to impact the team and what type of ability do they have moving forward?”The next step for all five players is signing their contracts, which is not expected to be an issue.“Coming from college, I think I’m pretty ready, playing in the SEC and just learning a lot about myself. I think that it’s helped a lot,” Lebron said. “I definitely think there are things that I need to work on, which is what the minor league is for. But I think I’m definitely ready to be part of an organization and just to see what it brings, not just for myself, but what I can bring for the organization as well.”