The Red Sox did not finish with the worst record in baseball this season, yet they will have a chance to pick first in next year’s amateur draft.
On Monday, Major League Baseball announced that the first-ever draft lottery will take place during next month’s Winter Meetings in San Diego. Thanks to the newly-implemented collective bargaining agreement, the first six picks of the 2023 draft will now be determined via lottery as opposed to the reverse order of the previous year’s standings.
Coming off a 78-84 2022 campaign that saw them fall short of the postseason, the Red Sox would be in line to receive the 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft under the old collective bargaining agreement. They now have the 14th-best odds to obtain the No. 1 pick next July.
Boston will be in the mix with the 17 other non-playoff teams for the top overall selection. The teams with the three worst records in 2022 — the 55-107 Nationals, the 60-102 Athletics, and 62-100 Pirates — have the best chance (16.5) to win the top pick in the lottery.
From there, the Reds (13.2 percent) have the fourth-best, the Royals (10.0 percent) have the fifth-best, the Tigers (7.5 percent) have the sixth-best, the Rangers (5.5 percent) have the seventh-best, the Rockies (3.9 percent) have the eighth-best, the Marlins (2.7 percent) have the ninth-best, the Angels (1.8 percent) have the 10th-best, the Diamondbacks (1.4 percent) have the 11th-best, the Cubs (1.1 percent) have the 12th-best, the Twins (0.9 percent) have the 13th-best, the Red Sox (0.8 percent), have the 14th-best, the White Sox (0.6 percent) have the 15th-best, the Giants (0.5 percent) have the 16th-best, the Orioles (0.4 percent) have the 17th-best, and the Brewers (0.2 percent) possess the 18th-best odds.
In addition to having a 0.8 percent chance to land the top pick, the Red Sox have a 0.9 percent chance to pick second, a 1.0 percent chance to pick third, a 1.2 percent chance to pick fourth, a 1.4 percent chance to pick fifth, and a 1.7 percent chance to pick sixth, according to Tankathon.com.
If Boston’s No. 1 selection falls out of the top six in the lottery, it would pick 14th overall. Tankathon.com relays that the Sox have a 78.9 percent chance to pick 14th, a 13.6 percent chance to pick 15th, and a 0.6 percent chance to pick 16th.
While it is extremely unlikely the Red Sox come away with the top overall pick (something that has never happened in franchise history) on December 6, they have been able to use the first round of past drafts to strengthen their improving farm system.
Under chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and vice president of player development and amateur scouting Toboni, Boston has taken infielders Mikey Romero, Marcelo Mayer, and Nick Yorke with its first pick in each of the last three drafts. All three Californians currently sit within the top 12 of Baseball America’s Red Sox prospects rankings.
(Picture of Mikey Romero: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
The Red Sox have promoted Paul Toboni from director of amateur scouting to a vice president role in charge of amateur scouting and player development, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Toboni, 32, has spent the last three seasons as Boston’s amateur scouting director after being named to the position in September 2019. The native Californian oversaw the 2020, 2021, and 2022 drafts, which saw the Red Sox select (and sign) the likes of top prospects Nick Yorke, Blaze Jordan, Marcelo Mayer, Niko Kavadas, and Mikey Romero, among others.
After playing baseball and graduating from The University of California, Berkeley in 2012, Toboni went on to earn his Masters of Business Administration from The University of Notre Dame two years later. He got his start in professional baseball by interning with the Oakland Athletics during the 2013 season.
Before the start of the 2015 campaign, Toboni joined the Red Sox’ baseball operations department in a similar capacity. He then served as an area scout who was responsible for covering northern Texas and northern Louisiana from October 2015 until November 2016. From 2017-2019, he operated as the club’s assistant director of amateur scouting under Mike Rikard.
Rikard was named Boston’s vice president of scouting towards the end of the 2019 season, allowing Toboni to assume the role of amateur scouting director. Now a vice president himself, Toboni is slated to join Rikard and vice president of scouting development and integration Gus Quattlebaum in that regard.
With Toboni’s elevation, Speier also reports that assistant director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson has been promoted to director of amateur scouting.
Pearson, 28, was originally taken by the Blue Jays in the 30th round of the 2012 draft out of Carmel High School. Rather than go pro, though, he elected to go to college and — like Toboni — graduated from UC Berkeley in 2016.
The following February, Pearson began an internship within the Red Sox’ professional scouting department. He moved on to the amateur side of things that October before being elevated to assistant amateur scouting director in Sept. 2019.
The son of former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Dennis Pearson, Devin is set to turn 29 in January. He and Toboni will presumably play a key role in overseeing Boston’s amateur scouting efforts moving forward.
(Picture of Fenway Park: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
McElveny, who turns 19 in April, was selected by Boston in the sixth round of last year’s draft out of Bonita Vista High School in Chula Vista, Calif. He signed with the Sox for $197,500 that July as opposed to honoring his commitment to San Diego State University.
Before drafting him, however, the Red Sox had McElveny fly in to Boston and work out at Fenway Park. There, the 18-year-old who had played both infield and outfield in high school shifted between right field, second base, third base, shortstop, and behind the plate.
In just nine FCL contests, McElveny batted .174 (4-for-23)/.367/.217 (85 wRC+) with one double, one RBI, five runs scored, three walks, and 10 strikeouts across 33 plate appearances. He was also hit by a pitch on four separate occasions.
Defensively, the 6-foot, 190 pounder did not see any time behind the plate in the FCL, but he did log 37 1/3 innings at second base and three innings in left field.
Epperson, who spent the last 12 seasons (2010-2021) as the Red Sox’ catching coordinator before being named the Portland Sea Dogs’ new manager earlier this month, told Gammons that the club is “optimistic” about McElveny’s conversion and that “it’s worth a try.”
If McElveny is to make the switch to catcher to some degree, he would become the latest in a slightly long line of Boston minor-leaguers to do so. Alex Erro was drafted as an infielder in 2019 but caught 57 games for Low-A Salem last year. Stephen Scott was drafted as an outfielder that same year but caught 19 games between Salem and High-A Greenville last year. Alex Zapete signed out of the Dominican Republic as an infielder in 2018 but is now working to become a catcher.
Connor Wong, one of three players the Red Sox acquired from the Dodgers in the famed Mookie Betts trade, played several positions at the University of Houston and while coming up through Los Angeles’ farm system.
Last year with Triple-A Worcester, Wong caught 372 1/3 innings but also made one appearance at second base. The 25-year-old backstop made his major-league debut in June and appeared in a total of five big-league games behind the plate. In each of those outings, the Red Sox took note of how well Wong collaborated with the pitchers he was working with.
“The first thing is that the young player has to really buy in, he has to want to make the change,” Epperson said of the conversion process. “He has to be very quiet when he goes back there. Selfless, like Jason (Varitek). The mindset is really important.”
While someone like Wong will be looking to make his mark in the majors this year, McElveny is preparing to embark upon his first full professional season. The Southern California native is projected by SoxProspects.com to begin the 2022 campaign back in the FCL, though he should have the opportunity to earn himself a promotion to Low-A Salem at some point in the spring or summer.
As you might recall, Keane was selected by the Red Sox in the 11th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of North Andover High School. Rather than go pro and sign with Boston, though, the young righty elected to honor his commitment to Northeastern University.
Now a 21-year-old junior, Keane is coming off an eventful 2021 season in which he pitched for both the Huskies and the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
In 12 starts for Northeastern during the spring, Keane posted a 4.09 ERA and 1.19 WHIP to go along with 73 strikeouts to 20 walks over 70 1/3 innings of work. In seven appearances — three of which were starts — for Chatham, he produced a 3.86 ERA and 1.57 WHIP with 25 strikeouts to seven walks across 21 total innings pitched.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 187 pounds with room to grow, Keane operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a fastball that has reached 96 mph, a low-80s slider, a mid-70s curveball, and a low-80s changeup, per his Baseball America scouting report.
“Keane has always been a lean, wiry pitcher who might struggle to add weight in the future,” Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo wrote on Monday. “He had plenty of interest out of high school and has only gotten more since, given his performance and solid package of stuff and average control.”
Considering that he is currently regarded by BA as the 96th-ranked prospect in this year’s draft class, you could make the case that Keane — who turns 22 in November — is a projected third-round pick at the moment.
Of course, plenty will change once the high school and college baseball seasons begin in the spring. Whether Keane will be able to improve his draft stock or sees it take a hit remains to be seen as he prepares for his third season with the Huskies — which begins next month and includes an exhibition against the Red Sox in Fort Myers on February 25.
In a separate piece for Baseball America, Collazo cited that major-league scouting directors feel as though college pitching is the clear wink link heading into the 2022 draft.
“There are few established pitchers with starting track records and first round stuff to match as we enter the 2022 season,” he wrote. “Teams are hoping to look up five months from now and have much different feelings about the college pitching than they do presently.”
With that being said, Collazo adds that prospects such as Keane do have an opportunity “to come out with better stuff and impress in a starting role all season to cement themselves in the first round because of the lack of marquee names in the group.”
Over the course of last summer’s 20-round draft, the Red Sox took a total of seven college pitchers in Wyatt Olds (seventh round), Hunter Dobbins (eighth round), Matt Litwicki (10th round), Christopher Troye (12th round), Jacob Webb (14th round), Luis Guerrero (17th round), and Tyler Uberstine (19th round).
At this point, it is too early to determine what sort of strategy the Red Sox — whose amateur scouting efforts are led by Paul Toboni — will implement going into this summer’s draft.
If college pitching becomes a priority, though, then perhaps they could target someone who is local and someone they already have a history with in Keane. Only time will tell.
(Picture of Sebastian Keane: Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
On this week’s installment of Podding the Red Sox: A BloggingtheRedSox.com Podcast, I am joined by Red Sox area scout Josh Labandeira, who covers Northern California for the team.
Labandeira, a former big-league infielder who played in seven games with the Montreal Expos in 2004, joined the Red Sox organization as an amateur scout in January 2015.
Among the topics Josh and I discussed are what it was like playing with future All-Stars like Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman, and Ben Zobrist when they were just prospects, what led him to pursue a career in scouting once his playing days were done, his relationship with Red Sox amateur scouting director Paul Toboni, the benefits of scouting in California, and how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way he scouts.
We also talked about the prospects he has helped the Red Sox sign over the years, including 2019 25th-round pick Karson Simas, 2021 sixth-round pick B.J. Vela, and — perhaps most significantly, 2020 first-round pick Nick Yorke.
There are plenty of great anecdotes about Yorke throughout this episode, which is available to listen to on iTunes and Spotify, among other platforms.
Thanks to Josh for taking some time out of his busy summer schedule to have a conversation with me.
And to the listners, thank you for listening and we will see you next time! Please make sure to subscribe and leave a five-star review if you can!
(Picture of Josh Labandeira: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The Red Sox have signed fifth-round draft pick Nathan Hickey, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis.
5th-rder Nathan Hickey signs w/@RedSox for $1 million (slot 136 = $410,000), tied for highest 2021 @MLBDraft bonus in rds 4-10. Florida C, hit .317/.435/.522 this spring, plus raw lefty pop, patient approach, solid arm, mixed reviews on receiving, some Kyle Schwarber parallels.
Per Callis, Hickey — a catcher — has signed with the Sox for $1 million, which is well above the recommended slot value of $410,100 for the 136th overall selection in this year’s draft and is tied for the highest bonus total given to any prospect taken in rounds 4-10.
Hickey, 21, was the first and only catcher taken by Boston in the 2021 amateur draft and was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 131 prospect in this year’s class, ranking 10th among eligible backstops.
A sophomore out of the University of Florida, Hickey — a native of Jacksonville, Fla. — posted an impressive .317/.435/.522 slash line to go along with 15 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 50 RBI, 40 runs scored, one stolen base, 42 walks, and 40 strikeouts over 60 games (278 plate appearances) with the Gators this spring.
While he is listed as a catcher, the 6-foot, 210-pound left-handed hitter also played four games at first base and five games at third base this season, leading to him drawing comparisons to newly-acquired Red Sox outfielder Kyle Schwarber.
According to his pre-draft scouting report from MLB Pipeline, “Hickey has raised his offensive profile to the point where he’s now being considered to be one of the best bats in Florida. He has a solid approach at the plate, drawing a ton of walks. He’s been tapping into his power and while some scouts see a bit of a max effort swing, he’s cut his strikeout rate down considerably this year. Hickey lost 20-25 pounds when he first got to Florida and has kept the weight off, making him more athletic in the box.
“The bat is going to have to play because few scouts believe he’ll be able to catch long-term. He has more than enough arm for the position, but lacks the agility or the hands to deal with high-octane pitching. The best possible defensive outcome might be for him to move to left field and let the bat carry him to the big leagues in a Kyle Schwarber type of trajectory.”
In signing Hickey to an over-slot deal, the Red Sox have now locked up 14 of their 20 draft picks that were made earlier this month. They have also signed Clemson University outfielder Kier Meredith and Western Oklahoma State College right-hander Jhonny Felix as undrafted free agents.
With less than 48 hours to go until the draft signing deadline (5 p.m. eastern time on Sunday), the most prevalent Boston draft pick who remains unsigned is Hickey’s college teammate in Florida outfielder Jud Fabian, whom the club took in the second round at No. 40 overall.
As noted by SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall, “the maximum the Red Sox could offer Jud Fabian without exceeding the bonus pool by more than 5% is [approximately] $2.1 million,” though that number would decrease if “if they sign any of their remaining draftees for over $125,000.”
Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Peter Gammons tweeted that Fabian would not be signing with Boston since the Sox were not willing to offer the 20-year-old sophomore a signing bonus of $3 million.
Of course, that could just be a negotiation tactic on the part of Fabian’s camp, and the Red Sox could counter by daring Fabian to turn down what is essentially late first-round money and return to school for his junior season.
If Fabian, who turns 21 in September, were to not sign by Sunday’s deadline, the Sox would be compensated by receiving the 41st overall pick in next year’s draft in addition to their own second-round selection.
Per Cotillo, McElveny — who is listed as a utility player — has signed with the Sox for approximately $200,000. He is currently on his way to the club’s spring training complex in Fort Myers.
McElveny, 18, was selected by Boston out of Bonita Vista High School (Calif.) with the 166th overall pick in the 2021 MLB first-year player draft last week.
The recommended slot value for the 166th overall selection in this year’s draft was $306,800, which means the Sox will save approximately $106,800 in signing McElveny to an under-slot deal.
Listed at 6-foot and 190 pounds, the right-handed hitter and thrower was committed to play college baseball at San Diego State University, but instead opted to go pro out of high school.
In his senior season with Bonita Vista, which is just down the road from where Red Sox first-round pick Marcelo Mayer played his high school ball, McElveny posted a .435/.580/.764 slash line to go along with nine doubles, two triples, five home runs, 22 RBI, 37 runs scored, 23 stolen bases, 20 walks, and 15 strikeouts over 29 game played (119 plate appearances) this past spring.
As noted by MLB.com’s Ian Browne, the Southern California native was the only one of 612 prospects taken in this summer’s draft who was designated by their respective team as a utility player.
That being the case because the Red Sox worked out McElveny, who primarily played shortstop in high school, at a plethora of different positions at Fenway Park in the weeks leading up to the draft, as the club’s director of amateur scouting Paul Toboni explained to reporters (including Browne) last Tuesday.
“We worked him out at Fenway and he hopped in at right field, he hopped in at second base, third base, shortstop, he was catching,” Toboni said of McElveny. “I don’t know how that’s going to play out in the long term, but for now, he’s going to have a lot of ways to keep his bat in the lineup and hopefully string together some really quality at-bats.”
While McElveny was not regarded as one of the top draft-eligible prospects by industry publications such as Baseball America, he was listed by Perfect Game USA as the No. 52 prep prospect in the state of California going in to the draft.
That being said, the Red Sox got one of their first looks at McElveny during a Perfect Game showcase event last summer, and they got additional eyes — including those of area scout J.J. Altobelli — on him when he and Mayer’s schools played one another on a couple of occasions this spring.
“Daniel McElveny is a cool story. I think he probably first got on our radar in June of last year at an event called PG National,” Toboni said. “We liked his feel to hit. He was kind of a grinder that we thought played the game the right way. We just followed him along the way.
“He played in a couple more events,” added Toboni. “We saw him in the spring, scouting him and only him, and we also saw him match up with Marcelo, which allowed us to see him a little bit more. We were just drawn to the competitor, the feel to hit, the feel for the stone, and the versatility he had on defense.”
Per his Perfect Game scouting report, which was written sometime in 2020, McElveny “hits from a straight stance with good balance and direction through contact” and “has loose fast hands through the ball and plenty of extension for future power,” which is something the Red Sox were clearly drawn to.
“We just saw him play so much. He’s got a really simple swing. He has really good barrel feel,” said Toboni. “Everything in both batting practice and games seems to find the barrel.”
The Red Sox managed to ink McElveny, who does not turn 19 until next April, to an under-slot deal with a little less than two weeks to go until the August 1 signing deadline.
Thus far, Boston has signed four of its 20 draft picks (Tyler McDonough, Matt Litwicki, Jacob Webb, and McElveny) to contracts, while they also signed Clemson University outfielder Kier Meredith as an undrafted free agent, according to SoxProspects.com.
In total, the Sox have approximately $11,359,600 to work with in regards to signing as many draft picks as they please, though they could bump that amount up by 5% (to $11,927,580) if they were willing to incur some tax-related penalties.
On that note, Toboni did say last week that he would expect 13-15 of the Red Sox’ draft selections to sign with the club, so there should be more announcements being made in the coming days.
(Picture of Daniel McElveny: Daniel McElveny’s Instagram)
Meredith, 21, is a redshirt sophomore who spent four years at Clemson after not signing with the Chicago Cubs despite being selected by them in the 28th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of Robert B. Glenn High School (N.C.).
This past spring with the Tigers, the North Carolina native slashed .283/.387/.422 with eight doubles, four triples, three home runs, 25 RBI, 33 runs scored, six stolen bases, 12 walks, and 28 strikeouts over 47 games spanning 218 trips to the plate.
Listed at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, Meredith — a left-handed hitter — has experience in both left and center field, though he missed a majority of the 2018 and 2019 campaigns due to a plethora of injuries.
Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Meredith “has the speed and defensive profile you look for, but future potential will be determined by how much he hits. Has a knack for getting on base and solid feel at the plate. Strong makeup and work ethic. Strong leadership skills, leaves it all on the field night after night. Type of person every organization strives to have.”
While 15 total stolen bases over 86 career games with Clemson may not seem like much, Meredith is certainly well-known for his speed, as he explained to The Clemson Insider on Thursday.
“First of all speed has always been my best tool so in order for me to have success at the next level I need to utilize that as much as I can,” said Meredith. “I need to continue to develop as a better defender and continue to develop as a better hitter. If I do those three things it will help me have as much success as I’m going to have.”
A three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll member, Meredith graduated from Clemson with a degree in psychology this past May. He will report to the Red Sox’ spring training complex in Fort Myers next week.
At the moment, Meredith is the only confirmed undrafted free-agent the Red Sox have signed thus far, according to Baseball America. Undrafted free-agents can sign with clubs for up to $20,000.
Last year, Boston was one of the more active teams in the UDFA market at the conclusion of the shortened 2020 draft, as they signed a grand total of 16 prospects.
When speaking with reporters earlier this week, Red Sox director of amateur scouting Paul Toboni hinted that the club would once again be right in the thick of things when it came to potentially scooping up those prospects who were passed on during the draft.
“We are going to try to be active to the extent that we can and to the extent that we can accommodate whatever number of players there are,” Toboni said on Tuesday. “We think it’s a really good opportunity to find undervalued players on a market where maybe the value — for whatever reason — might be suppressed a little bit.”
(Picture of Kier Meredith: Dawson Powers/TigerIllustrated.com)
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)
The Red Sox have selected Eastlake High School (Calif.) shortstop Marcelo Mayer with their top pick in the 2021 MLB first-year player draft at No. 4 overall.
With the 4th pick in the 2021 #MLBDraft, we have selected shortstop Marcelo Mayer from Eastlake High School (CA).
Mayer, 18, was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect headed into the draft, trailing only fellow prep infielder Jordan Lawlar for the top spot.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Mayer is committed to play college baseball at the University of Southern California.
The California native hits from the left side of the plate, throws with his right hand, and was viewed as a potential fit for the Pirates, who wound up selecting Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft earlier Sunday night.
Mayer, who does not turn 19 until December, played his high school baseball in Chula Vista, Calif.
In his senior season for the Eastlake Titans, the young infielder slashed an impressive .392/.555/.886 to go along with six doubles, 14 home runs, 45 RBI, 46 runs scored, and 18 stolen bases over 34 games played this spring, per MaxPreps.
According to his Baseball America scouting report, Mayer “is arguably the top defensive shortstop” in this year’s draft class which is loaded at that position.
“He glides around the infield with silky smooth actions and has the hands, footwork and arm strength to stick at shortstop long-term,” his scouting report reads. “He slows the game down and has no problem throwing from multiple angles with an accurate arm. Though he is a below-average runner, he moves fluidly around the dirt and should be at least an above-average defender.
“He’s a plus hitter with excellent barrel control and extension in his swing and drives balls hard in the air from gap-to-gap. He can turn on good fastballs and drive them off the right-field fence or let pitches on the outer half travel deep and line them hard up the middle or the opposite way. He has fringe-average power now, but could tap into above-average power in the future as he fills out his projectable frame. He controls the strike zone and has a calm, steady presence in the batter’s box.”
By selecting Mayer with the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, the Red Sox have made their earliest selection since 1967, when they took right-hander Mike Garman at No. 3.
This is also the second straight year in which the Red Sox, whose drafting efforts are led by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and amateur scouting director Paul Toboni, among others, have selected a prep infielder out of California with the club’s top pick, as Nick Yorke was taken off the board at No. 17 last year.
The recommended slot value for the fourth overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft is approximately $6.664 million, while Boston will have approximately $11,359,600 in total bonus pool space to work with when it comes to signing as many picks from Rounds 1 through 20 as they so choose.
While the Red Sox may be done drafting for now (Sunday), they will be on the clock once again on Monday for picks 40, 75, 105, 136, 166, 196, 226, 256, and 286, and then again on Tuesday for picks 316, 346, 376, 406, 436, 466, 496, 526, 556, and 586.
(Picture of Marcelo Mayer: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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