CINCINNATI -- When it came time to make their first few picks on Monday's Day 2 of the 2024 MLB Draft, the Reds felt like good fortune shined upon them.

Cincinnati's third-round pick (No. 87 overall), college center fielder Mike Sirota out of Northeastern, was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 50 Draft prospect. Fourth rounder (No. 117) Arkansas second baseman Peyton Stovall is ranked as the No. 77 prospect and the fifth-round selection (No. 150) and pitcher Tristan Smith from Clemson is ranked as the No. 73 prospect.

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“Obviously, we feel great about being able to do it," Reds amateur scouting director Joe Katuska said. "We were able to get some talented guys right there that probably did fall a little bit from where we anticipated them going. I can’t say exactly why all those guys fell or anything like that. We control our own board, but we’re obviously excited to get all three.”

Sirota, the 21-year-old grand-nephew of Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford, saw his production numbers dip during his 2024 junior season. He still batted .298/.473/.598 -- a nearly 50-point drop in his batting average -- while hitting seven home runs, down from 18 in 2023.

That didn't scare off the Reds from taking Sirota, who some thought might be a first-rounder before this past season.

“We didn’t see any degradation in his ability or anything like that," Katuska said. "It was a little bit puzzling because we think he’s a talented player. He just didn’t have the year he anticipated. We’ve seen it happen a thousand times, but everything is there for him to be an everyday type of player at the Major League level.”

Stovall, 21, batted .340/.409/.535 with nine homers in 48 games for Arkansas in a year that included missed time with a broken foot. In 2023, he needed right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum.

"We scouted him when he was in Shreveport in high school. We weren’t able to do enough to be able to get him away from going up to Fayetteville," Katuska said. "But he’s made himself into a good second baseman. He’s a tough kid, played through some injuries. Last year, he played through an injury all year and had to have surgery after the season.”

Smith, 21, had a 4.47 ERA in 12 starts over 50 1/3 innings for Clemson this past season.

“He was sophomore-eligible coming out of Clemson. We scouted him heavily coming out of high school two years ago," Katuska said. "He’s a left-handed pitcher with a three-pitch mix. He runs it up to 96 with a good slider and a changeup. He’s made some nice delivery adjustments since the first time we saw him, but he has athleticism and a three-pitch mix and we think it’s a starting pitching package.”

Monday's rounds 3-10 saw Cincinnati select three catchers in Jacob Friend in round six out of Davidson, Ryan McCrystal in the ninth round out of East Carolina and Puerto Rican high schooler Yanuel Casiano in the 10th round.

The Draft concludes on Tuesday with rounds 11-20, and begins at 2 p.m. ET.