The third and final day of the 2021 MLB first-year player draft has come to a close following the conclusion of Round 20.
With 10 more selections to make on Tuesday, the Red Sox wound up taking three college position players, three college pitchers, one junior college position player, one junior college pitcher, and two high school position players.
Here is a rundown of each of the 10 prospects Boston selected, starting with their 11th-round pick.
Niko Kavadas, 1B, Notre Dame
The Red Sox selected University of Notre Dame first baseman Kavadas with their 11th-round pick at No. 316 overall.
Kavadas, 22, was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 158 prospect coming into the draft. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, the left-handed hitting and right-handed throwing senior has experience at both corner infield positions.
Over 47 games (220 plate appearances) with the Irish this past spring, Kavadas hit .302/.473/.767 with eight doubles, 22 home runs, 64 RBI, 42 runs scored, two stolen bases, 50 walks, and 55 strikeouts.
To summarize the Indiana native’s Baseball America scouting report, Kavadas has limited defensive range and is a below-average runner, but his power potential certainly appealing despite his age (turns 23 in October) and peripherals.
The recommended slot value for the 316th overall pick, as well as the remainder of the picks, in this year’s draft is approximately $125,000.
Christopher Troye, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
The Red Sox selected University of California, Santa Barbara right-hander Christopher Troye with their 12th-round pick at No. 346 overall.
Troye, 22, was not ranked by Baseball America — or any other major publication for that matter — heading into the draft.
At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Troye, a senior, split time between the starting rotation and bullpen in his four seasons with UCSB.
Most recently, the California native posted a 4.50 ERA and 1.83 WHIP in addition to a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 29:25 over 15 appearances (four starts) spanning 18 innings of work for the Gauchos this spring. He also spent part of his summer on Cape Cod with the Cotuit Kettleers.
Zach Ehrhard, SS, Wharton (FL) HS
The Red Sox selected Wharton High School (Tampa, Fla.) shortstop Zach Ehrhard with their 13th-round pick at No. 376 overall.
The first prep prospect taken by Boston on Day 3, Ehrhard is an 18-year-old high school shortstop who is currently committed to play college baseball at Oklahoma State University.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, the right-handed hitting Florida native slashed .438/.562/.700 with 12 doubles, three home runs, 21 RBI, 29 runs scored, 26 stolen bases, 23 walks, and 10 strikeouts over 26 games (106 plate appearances) during his senior season at Wharton, per his MaxPreps page.
According to Perfect Game, Ehrhard was the No. 500 prep prospect coming into this year’s draft, ranking 177th among all high school shortstops and 29th among high school shortstops in his home state of Florida.
Jacob Webb, RHP, Miami (OH) University
The Red Sox selected Miami (Ohio) University right-hander Jacob Webb with their 14th-round pick at No. 406 overall.
Webb, 22, is listed at 6-foot-5 and 246 pounds, and is the fourth of six seniors Boston took in this year’s draft.
The Ohio native began his collegiate career at Sinclair Community College in Dayton before transferring to Miami for his junior season in 2020.
This past spring, Webb posted a 2.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP to go along with 59 strikeouts and 14 walks over 18 relief appearances spanning 39 innings of work for the RedHawks. He also spent part of his summer pitching for the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League.
Payton Green, SS, Green Hope (NC) HS
The Red Sox selected Green Hope High School (N.C.) shortstop Payton Green with their 15th-round pick at No. 436 overall.
Green, 18, was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 113 prospect heading into the draft. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, the right-handed hitting infielder is committed to play college baseball at North Carolina State.
According to Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo, Green “seems very unlikely to sign” with the Red Sox on account of where he was taken in the draft as well as his strong commitment to play college ball for the Wolfpack.
Per his BA scouting report, “Green has solid actions and should be able to play either second or third base if he outgrows the position. The teams that like Green are buying into his improved swing this spring and believe he has the skill to turn into a solid-average or better hitter, while those that are more skeptical saw a lot of swing and miss last summer on the showcase circuit, with a bat path that was too steep at times.”
B.J. Vela, 2B, Reedley JC (CA)
The Red Sox selected Reedley College (Reedley, Calif.) second baseman B.J. Vela with their 16th-round pick at No. 466 overall.
Vela, 21, is listed at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, and he played his high school baseball at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico.
Per Reedley College’s website, the right-handed hitting freshman posted a .481/.560/.821 slash line to go along with 11 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 35 RBI, 47 runs scored, nine stolen bases, 15 walks, and four strikeouts over 27 games played for the Tigers this spring.
While there is not too much information available pertaining to Vela’s peripherals or anything of the sort, he did attend the same junior college as Buffalo Bills star quarterback Josh Allen, so there’s that.
Luis Guerrero, RHP, Chipola College (FL)
The Red Sox selected Chipola College (Marianna, Fla.) right-hander Luis Guerrero with their 17th-round pick at No. 496 overall.
Guerrero, who turns 21 next month, is listed at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, and he played his high school baseball at Juan Pablo Duarte Bani School in the Dominican Republic.
This past spring with the Indians, Guerrero produced a 3.72 ERA while striking out 96 over 14 appearances — five of which were starts — over 58 innings of work, per his school’s website.
In addition to his college work, the young righty also pitched in the MLB Draft League this year, where he posted an 8.59 ERA to go along with 21 strikeouts to 17 walks over five outings (four starts) and 14 2/3 innings with the Frederick Keys.
On top of that, Guerrero spent part of last summer with the Brockton Rox of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.
Per a Prep Baseball Report spotlight from May, Guerrero’s pitch arsenal consists of a 93-96 mph fastball, a 78-81 mph curveball, a mid-80s slider, and a low-80s splitter that sits between 82-84 mph.
Phillip Sikes, OF, TCU
The Red Sox selected Texas Christian University outfielder Phillip Sikes with their 18th-round pick at No. 526 overall.
Sikes, 22, was regarded by baseball America as the No. 463 prospect coming into the draft.
A former 33rd round selection of the Diamondbacks out of Pima Community College in 2019, the 6-foot-2, 190 pound right-handed hitter — who began his collegiate career at the University of New Mexico — opted to transfer to TCU prior to the start of the 2020 season.
This spring with the Horned Frogs, Sikes, a native of Texas, slashed .329/.427/.620 with 19 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, 63 RBI, 56 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 26 walks, and 45 strikeouts over 58 games and 255 plate appearances.
According to his Baseball America scouting report, the senior outfielder “has a solid, well-rounded tool set,” as he is “a plus runner who has demonstrated that he can catch up to a good fastball, although he can be enticed to chase a tantalizing slider.
“Sikes has a short, direct swing that is geared more for hitting for average than power, but he has enough strength to drive balls to the right field power alley as well. Sikes is a well-rounded outfielder who can play center field in a pinch and is average in the corners. His arm is fringe-average but accurate.”
Tyler Uberstine, RHP, Northwestern
The Red Sox selected Northwestern University right-hander Tyler Uberstine with their 19th-round pick at No. 556 overall.
Uberstine, who turned 22 last month, also participated in the MLB Draft League this summer after wrapping up his senior season in Evanston.
With the Wildcats this spring, the 6-foot-1, 200 pound righty pitched to the tune of a 5.90 ERA and 1.84 WHIP while striking out 38 and walking 20 over nine starts spanning 39 2/3 innings of work.
With the Williamsport Crosscutters of the Draft League, Uberstine yielded a total of four runs on 10 hits, nine strikeouts, and zero walks over four appearances and nine innings pitched. That’s good for an ERA of 4.00.
A native of California, Uberstine attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in Los Angeles, the same school that has produced major-league talent such as Kevin Pillar and Dan Runzler, both of whom spent time in the Red Sox organization in some capacity over the course of their respective careers.
Josh Hood, SS, Pennsylvania
The Red Sox selected University of Pennsylvania shortstop Josh Hood with their 20th-round (and final) pick at No. 586 overall.
Hood, who turns 21 next week, came into the draft regarded by Baseball America as its 453rd-ranked prospect.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, the right-handed hitting infielder did not play collegiately this spring on account of there being no Ivy League season. He did however play for both the Holly Springs Salamanders of the Coastal Plain League and Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
With Harwich specifically, Hood has slashed .194/.257/.258 over nine games (35 plate appearances) for the Mariners so far this summer.
Per Baseball America, the New Jersey native is transferring to North Carolina State next season and could take over as the Wolfpack’s starting shortstop, meaning he could improve his draft stock for 2022 if he opted to remain in school.
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Between Days 1, 2, and 3 of the 2021 MLB first-year player draft, the Red Sox — whose drafting efforts are led by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and amateur scouting director Paul Toboni, among others — selected four high school position players, one high school pitcher, one junior college position player, one junior college pitcher, eight college position players, and five college pitchers.
It’s no guarantee that all 20 of these players will sign (Toboni said he expects 13-15 draftees to do so), but Boston will have approximately $11,359,600 in total bonus pool space, though they could surpass that limit by 5% ($11,927,580) if they are willing to incur some tax-related penalties, as noted by SoxProspects.com’s Mike Andrews.
That being said, the deadline to sign drafted players arrives at 5 p.m. eastern time on August 1, leaving clubs slightly less than three weeks to work out deals with their draftees.
Additionally, clubs can sign an unlimited number of undrafted free-agents for no more than $20,000, as was the case last year. The same August 1 deadline applies for that as well.
(Picture of Chaim Bloom: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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