Tag: red sox

Red Sox top prospect Jarren Duran set to make major-league debut against Gerrit Cole, Yankees on Saturday night

At long last, the day of Jarren Duran’s major-league debut has arrived.

After Thursday’s game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues and a left-handed starter kept him on the bench on Friday, Duran will be starting in center field and batting sixth for the Red Sox in their contest against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night.

Duran, 24, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking tops among outfielders in the organization.

The California native joined the Sox in the Bronx ahead of what was then their-four-game series against the Yankees earlier this week and was slated to bat seventh in the opener on Thursday, but multiple positive COVID-19 tests from within New York’s clubhouse resulted in the game getting postponed.

That postponement led to Yankees manager Aaron Boone switching things up with his starting rotation, as left-hander Jordan Montgomery was named Friday’s starter as opposed to the right-handed Domingo German.

The move to swap German for Montgomery, which is something Red Sox manager Alex Cora saw coming, led to Duran being left out of Friday’s starting lineup as Boston went with a more right-handed heavy lineup.

With a right-hander slated to start for New York on Friday, though, Duran is finally set to make his highly anticipated big-league debut. The only problem — if you want to call it a problem — is that that right-hander is none other than bona fide ace Gerrit Cole.

Prior to officially getting called up on Friday, Duran appeared in a total of 46 games for Triple-A Worcester this season. In those 48 games, the 6-foot-2, 202 pound left-handed hitter slashed .248/.351/.564 with 12 home runs and 23 RBI in 154 total plate appearances against right-handed pitchers.

While Duran, who turns 25 in September, will be making his first career major-league start, Kiké Hernández will slide over to shortstop in place of Xander Bogaerts, who is out of Saturday’s lineup because he is “dealing with a little bit of wrist soreness.”

Christian Arroyo, meanwhile, gets the start at second base, leaving Bobby Dalbec to round things out at first base.

Nathan Eovaldi will be making his 19th start of the season as the Red Sox (56-36) go for their third straight series victory over the Yankees (46-44) to improve to 8-0 on the year against their division rivals.

First pitch Saturday night is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Eduardo Rodriguez punches out 8 over 5 2/3 scoreless innings as Red Sox blank Yankees, 4-0; Christian Arroyo, J.D. Martinez both homer in win

A clean-shaven Eduardo Rodriguez led the Red Sox to a 4-0 shutout victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

Rodriguez, making his 18th start of the year for Boston, kicked off the second half of his season with a bang by keeping New York off the scoreboard while scattering just two hits and two walks to go along with eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 solid innings of work.

The left-hander gave up a leadoff single to the very first hitter he faced in D.J. LeMahieu, but nullified it immediately by getting Giancarlo Stanton to ground into a 5-4-3 double play.

After ending the first inning and issuing a leadoff walk to Gary Sanchez to begin things in the second, Rodriguez proceeded to retire the next 11 Yankees who came to the plate against him in consecutive order before walking Chris Gittens on five pitches.

A fielding error committed by Bobby Dalbec allowed Gittens to advance to third, but Rodriguez rebounded by punching out Tim Locastro to retire the side. He then got the first two outs of the seventh rather simply before a two-out double off the bat of Odor marked the end of his evening.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 97 (57 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler was able to improve to 7-5 on the season while lowering his ERA to 5.19, which is the lowest it has been since May 23 (5.06). His next start should come against the Yankees once again again back at Fenway Park on July 22.

In relief of Rodriguez, Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen, and he got out of the sixth by getting Sanchez to ground out to first base.

Houck earns first career save in return

From there, Tanner Houck — fresh off getting recalled from Triple-A Worcester — came on for his first big-league outing in nearly three months.

The 25-year-old right-hander maneuvered his way around a two-out walk and single in an otherwise clean bottom half of the seventh, tossed a scoreless eighth inning, and shut the door on the Yankees in the ninth to preserve the 4-0 win for his side and pick up the first save of his career.

Houck is now lined up to start against the Blue Jays in Buffalo next Wednesday, July 21.

Arroyo and Martinez power Red Sox offense

On the other side of things, the Jarren Duran-less Red Sox were matched up against Yankees left-hander Jordan Montgomery to begin things on Friday.

After going down in order in the first, a leadoff walk drawn by Xander Bogaerts set the tone for the Sox in the second.

That being the case because Rafael Devers followed by ripping a double off Montgomery to put runners in scoring position, which allowed Hunter Renfroe to bring in a run on an RBI groundout to shortstop to give Boston an early 1-0 lead.

A flyout from Christian Vazquez brought Montgomery within one out of escaping the inning, but Christian Arroyo would not let the southpaw off that easily, as he took a 2-1, 82 mph changeup on the outer half of the plate and crushed it 409 feet to the opposite field for his sixth home run of the season.

Arroyo’s two-run blast put the Red Sox up 3-0, but Montgomery held his own from there, and it was not until their half of the eighth when the Boston bats got going again.

There, facing off against Yankees reliever Justin Wilson with two outs in the inning, J.D. Martinez deposited an 0-2, 94 mph fastball 391 feet to right-center field for his 19th big fly of the year.

In addition to picking up his 19th homer, Martinez also extended his on-base streak to 29 consecutive games dating back to June 10.

On Martinez’s solo shot, the Red Sox jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead over the Yankees, which would go on to be Friday’s final score.

7-0 vs. NYY

With the victory, the Sox put an end to a mini two-game skid to improve to 56-36 on the season while also maintaining a 1 1/2 game lead over the Rays for first place in the American League East.

They are now a perfect 7-0 against the Yankees this year.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. Cole

Saturday’s pitching matchup between the Red Sox and Yankees will feature a pair of All-Stars going at it, with right-hander Nathan Eovaldi getting the ball for Boston and fellow righty Gerrit Cole doing the same for New York.

In sending Eovaldi to the mound, the Red Sox will look to secure their third straight series victory over the Yankees.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Eduardo Rodriguez: Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

Red Sox roster moves: Jarren Duran, Tanner Houck called up from Triple-A Worcester; Austin Brice designated for assignment; Marwin Gonzalez (hamstring strain) placed on injured list

Before opening up what is now a three-game series against the Yankees in the Bronx on Friday night, the Red Sox made a flurry of roster moves.

First off, outfield prospect Jarren Duran was selected to the major-league roster from Triple-A Worcester. In order to create room for Duran on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters, right-handed reliever Austin Brice was designated for assignment.

Secondly, utility man Marwin Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. The beginning of his stint on the injured list was backdated to July 13. To fill Gonzalez’s spot on the major-league roster, right-hander Tanner Houck was recalled from Worcester

The Red Sox made all these transactions official earlier Friday evening. Their 40-man roster is now full.

Duran, 24, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking tops among outfielders in the organization.

Selected by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Long Beach State (Calif)., the left-handed hitter opened the 2021 minor-league season with Triple-A Worcester, where he has slashed .270/.365/.561 with eight doubles, one triple, 15 home runs, 32 RBI, 37 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 24 walks, and 52 strikeouts over 46 games spanning 219 trips to the plate.

While Duran, who turns 25 in September, is not in the Sox’ starting lineup for Friday’s contest, he will likely join the likes of Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts as top Red Sox outfield prospects to make their major-league debuts at Yankee Stadium.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, Duran will wear the No. 40, which was last worn by former infielder Marco Hernandez.

As for Brice, the right-hander wound up getting designated for assignment in order for the Red Sox to clear a spot on their 40-man — and subsequently their 26-man — roster for Duran.

Brice, 29, opened the 2021 campaign in Boston’s bullpen, but was designated on May 21 after getting off to a rough start in which he posted a 6.94 ERA and .867 OPS against over 12 appearances spanning 11 2/3 innings of work.

After clearing waivers and being outrighted to Worcester on May 25, Brice found success with the WooSox, as he put up a miniscule 1.20 ERA in 12 games (15 innings pitched).

That decent run resulted in the righty earning a promotion back to Boston on July 10, though he appeared in just one game for the big-league club this time around and allowed one run on two hits over two innings in an 11-2 loss at the hands of the Phillies on July 10.

In designating him for assignment once again, the Red Sox will have seven days to either trade, release, or outright Brice if he clears waivers.

—

Turning to the second installment of Friday’s roster moves, Marwin Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 13) after re-aggravating and straining his right hamstring in Sunday’s loss to the Phillies.

The versatile 32-year-old sustained the injury while running out a groundball in the second inning of that contest, resulting in him being replaced by Bobby Dalbec at first base in the top half of the third.

Because his stint on the injured list was backdated to July 13, the soonest Gonzalez could be activated is next Friday, July 23, though it certainly seems as though the switch-hitter could very well miss more than the minimum 10 days.

While Jarren Duran essentially takes Gonzalez’s place on the roster in terms of position player-to-pitcher composition, it’s right-hander Tanner Houck who literally takes Gonzalez’s spot on the major-league squad.

Houck, 25, last pitched for the Red Sox on April 18 after beginning the year in the club’s starting rotation and later making a spot start during a doubleheader against the White Sox.

In his three outings (two starts) with Boston this season, Houck — who made his big-league debut last September — posted a 4.35 ERA, a 2.39 FIP, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 12:1 over 10 1/3 total innings of work.

Upon being optioned to Triple-A Worcester in late April, however, the right-hander was forced to miss approximately six weeks of action after experiencing flexor muscle soreness in his throwing arm during his first start of the year for the WooSox on May 4.

Following a lengthy shutdown period, Houck was able to return to the mound for Worcester on June 17 and pitched to the tune of a 4.50 ERA and 3.28 FIP while striking out 22 and walking 18 in five starts (18 innings pitched) between then and the time he was called up on Friday.

The Red Sox plan on using Houck in a hybrid role in which the lanky righty will both start and pitch out of the bullpen when needed. The former first-round pick’s first start of the second half will come against the Blue Jays in Buffalo next Wednesday.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Boston Red Sox)

Jarren Duran not in Red Sox’ lineup for series opener against Yankees with left-hander Jordan Montgomery starting for New York

Jarren Duran’s first career major-league start will have to wait another day, as the outfielder has been left out of the Red Sox’ lineup for their series-opening contest against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

Duran, a left-handed hitter, will start out on the bench Friday with left-hander Jordan Montgomery getting the start for New York.

The 24-year-old top prospect was originally slated to bat seventh on Thursday night against Yankees right-hander Domingo German, but that game wound up getting postponed on account of COVID-19 issues from within New York’s clubhouse.

For whatever reason, the Yankees opted to swap out German in favor of Montgomery, leading Red Sox manager Alex Cora to go with a more right-handed heavy lineup to kick off what is now a three-game weekend series.

Prior to getting called up from Triple-A Worcester this week, Duran had appeared in 46 games for the WooSox.

Over the course of those 46 games, the former seventh-round draft pick actually hit better against lefties (.321/.400/.554 in 65 plate appearances) than he did against righties (.248/.351/.564 in 154 plate appearances).

Even with those splits in mind, Cora did say on Thursday that the Red Sox would try to get Duran more playing time against righties and only against a select number of southpaws.

“He’s very dynamic, a left-handed hitter. We’ll protect him, although his numbers in the minor leagues this year have been great against lefties,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) prior to Thursday’s postponement. “At the same time, there’s lefties and then there’s tough lefties. We’ll check the matchups and make sure we take care of him and protect him. Against righties, he’s a full-go.”

Montgomery, who will be making his 18th start of the year for the Yankees on Friday night, has held opposing left-handed hitters to a .175/.233/.350 line this year, so it would appear that he qualifies as one of those “tough lefties” Cora described.

While Duran will begin things on the bench on Friday, the dynamic outfielder could still make his major-league debut in this series opener.

As noted by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, though, the same thing happened with Andrew Benintendi when the former Red Sox outfielder made his big-league debut as a pinch-hitter against the Seattle Mariners back on August 2, 2016.

Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will line up behind left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez Friday night.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees game is on; Thursday’s postponed contest to be made up as part of split doubleheader on August 17

After Thursday’s game was postponed due to multiple COVID-19 tests, the Red Sox will be playing the Yankees as scheduled at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

Thursday’s contest was postponed approximately 2 1/2 hours before first pitch on account of the fact that the Yankees had at least three players — pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes, and Wandy Peralta — test positive for COVID-19, while three additional players (Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela, and Kyle Higashioka) were going through COVID protocols.

While additional testing and contact tracing had to be conducted following Thursday’s postponement, it now appears that both clubs have been given the go-ahead to continue their series from Major League Baseball.

As for when Thursday’s game will be made up, that will happen in the form of a split doubleheader between the Sox and Yankees in the Bronx on August 17.

The two teams were originally slated to play a two-game series against one another at Yankee Stadium from August 17-18, but that has now essentially turned into a three-game set.

“After conducting testing and contact tracing involving members of the New York Yankees’ organization, the Club’s home game vs. the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium will proceed as scheduled,” MLB announced in a statement Friday afternoon. “The postponement of Thursday’s game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, August 17. The first game will be played at 1:05 p.m. (ET), followed by the previously scheduled 7:05 p.m. (ET) game.

According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, weekend weather played a factor in the decision to not make up Thursday’s game right away, as the National Weather Service forecasts that there is a 60% chance of precipitation in the Bronx-area on Saturday and a 70% chance of precipitation on Sunday.

With Friday’s series-opening contest scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. eastern time, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will be making his 18th start of the season for the Red Sox.

The Yankees, meanwhile, will turn to fellow southpaw Jordan Montgomery to do start things off for them.

Friday’s game will be broadcast on both NESN and MLB Network for those watching out of market. First pitch, again, is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time.

(Picture of Yankee Stadium: Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

Thursday’s Red Sox-Yankees game postponed because New York has multiple positive COVID-19 tests

Thursday night’s game between the Red Sox and Yankees at Yankee Stadium has been postponed, Major League Baseball announced earlier Thursday evening.

Per an official statement from the league, the reasoning behind the postponement has to do with positive COVID-19 tests from within the Yankees organization. By postponing Thursday’s game, MLB can now conduct further testing as well as contract tracing to ensure the situation does not worsen.

According to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, the Yankees cancelled their pre-game batting practice session shortly after 4 p.m. eastern time “out of an abundance of caution as they advance through COVID-19 protocols.”

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Thursday’s contest between Boston and New York would be postponed at approximately 4:32 p.m., and the announcement from MLB was released shortly thereafter.

The Red Sox (55-36) and Yankees (46-43) were slated to open up a four-game weekend series in the Bronx on Thursday night, but those plans have since been halted.

As stated by MLB, a makeup date for Thursday’s postponed game has yet to be announced and scheduling updates will be provided as available. Friday’s game is, at the moment, still on schedule for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch time.

On that note, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters (including Hoch) that the decision to postpone Thursday’s game came from the Commissioner’s Office and that “it is too soon to know what this means for the rest of the weekend.”

Cashman also said that Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes, and Wandy Peralta are three of the confirmed COVID-19 cases within the Yankees’ ranks, while there are three more who have “pending cases,” according to The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler.

(Picture of Yankee Stadium: Al Bello/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Chris Sale strikes out 5 over 3 scoreless innings in first start of rehab assignment

Red Sox ace Chris Sale began his highly-anticipated rehab assignment on Thursday afternoon, and it’s safe to say things got off to a positive start.

Starting for the rookie-level Florida Complex League Red Sox in their contest against the FCL Orioles Orange team at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Sale was scheduled to throw two innings, but wound up going three instead.

Over those three frames, the veteran left-hander kept the Orioles off the scoreboard while scattering just four hits and zero walks to go along with five strikeouts on the day.

After working his way around a leadoff single in an otherwise perfect first inning, Sale put himself in a bit of a jam in the bottom of the second, as he fanned the first batter of the inning before putting two straight Orioles on on back-to-back singles.

Faced with runners on the corners and two outs still to get, the 32-year-old dialed it up and punched out both Ricardo Castro and Luis Sena in consecutive order to get out of the inning.

In the third inning, Sale again allowed another runner to reach base on a one-out double, but got Moises Ramirez to ground out and followed that up by striking out the last man he faced — Isaac Bellony — on three pitches to end his outing on an encouraging note.

Of the 13 Orioles who came to the plate against him on Thursday, Sale induced two groundouts and one fly out in addition to the five punchouts. He finished with a final pitch count of 39.

Per SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall, Sale relied on his fastball, slider, and changeup over the course of his three innings pitched. The fiery southpaw topped out at 94 mph with his heater, hovered around 78-79 mph with his slider, and sat between 85-87 mph with his changeup.

Cundall also noted that Sale’s feel for his secondary pitches improved as he threw them more and that the majority of the contact he gave up was weak.

Sale, as you may recall, is on the road back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent on March 30, 2020 — his 31st birthday — after experiencing inflammation in his throwing elbow throughout the latter half of the 2019 season.

The seven-time All-Star last appeared in a major-league game on August 13, 2019, when he struck out 12 over 6 2/3 innings against the Indians at Progressive Field.

In working his way back from Tommy John, Sale has now reached the point where he can face live hitters, as he has done on a frequent basis since late June.

Under the pretext that he wakes up Friday morning without feeling any sort of pain or discomfort in his left elbow, Sale could be in line to make his second rehab start early next week seeing how he has been pitching every five days.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora had previously said that the club would like to keep Sale close to Boston while he rehabs so that he has easy access to the team’s medical staff. With that condition in mind, it appears likely that Sale’s next outing will come with Double-A Portland, per Cora.

The Sea Dogs open up a 12-game homestand at Hadlock Field beginning on Tuesday, July 20, so that should be the date for Sale’s next rehab start if he continues to pitch on four days rest. He probably would see his workload increase to four innings as well.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox to call up Tanner Houck for upcoming series against Yankees, joining Jarren Duran on major-league roster

Jarren Duran will not be the only fresh face joining the Red Sox in New York, as the club is also planning on calling up right-hander Tanner Houck ahead of Thursday’s series opener against the Yankees in the Bronx, according to WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche.

Houck, 25, opened the 2021 season in Boston’s starting rotation and posted a 4.35 ERA and .806 OPS against over three outings (two starts) and 10 1/3 innings pitched across two separate stints with the team, the second of which concluded after he yielded three runs over 4 1/3 frames as the 27th man in the first game of a doubleheader against the White Sox on April 18.

Since then, the lanky righty had to be shut down for approximately six weeks beginning in early May after experiencing flexor muscle soreness in his throwing arm, but was able to return to the mound for Triple-A Worcester on June 17.

In the five starts he has made with the WooSox since returning to action last month, Houck has put up a 4.50 ERA and 3.28 FIP to go along with 22 strikeouts to seven walks over 18 total innings of work.

At the moment, how the Red Sox plan on using Houck is unclear. As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the former first-round pick could be used as a starter, a multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen, or a hybrid-type who is capable of doing both when needed.

That being said, Sox manager Alex Cora did hint earlier this month that Houck’s role with the club during the second half of the season was going to be a multifaceted one.

“He’ll be versatile,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) back on July 1. “We’ve been talking about a few things. After the All-Star break, how are we going to do this? And where or how are we going to use him? Where and how are we going to use everybody else understanding that we’re going to play all those games in a row against division rivals. And we don’t have an off day until August 2.

“So we’ll stretch him out,” added Cora. “That’s the most important thing. And then we’ll decide how we’re going to use him. But versatility is something that might come into the equation and he might fit that bill.”

For the Red Sox to add both Duran and Houck to the major-league roster, a series of roster moves will need to be made.

While Houck is already on Boston’s 40-man roster, the same cannot be said for Duran, so a spot will need to be created there for the speedy outfield prospect.

Additionally, Cotillo notes that Marwin Gonzalez is likely headed to the injured list after the veteran utility man re-aggravated his right hamstring on Sunday.

Reliever Austin Brice, who was added back to the 40-man roster on Saturday, meanwhile, is a candidate to be designated for assignment in order to open up a spot on the 40-man for Duran, though that is just pure speculation at this point.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox to call up top outfield prospect Jarren Duran for upcoming series against Yankees, per report

The Red Sox are planning on calling up top outfield prospect Jarren Duran for their upcoming series against the Yankees in the Bronx, according to the Worcester Telegram’s Joe McDonald.

Duran, who has been playing with Triple-A Worcester this season, was not in the WooSox’ lineup for the first game of their doubleheader against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Polar Park on Wednesday, nor will he be in their lineup for the nightcap.

Instead, as noted by McDonald, Duran is on his way to New York to join the Red Sox as they prepare to kick off the second half of their season with a four-game series against the Yankees that begins on Thursday night.

Duran, 24, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking tops among outfielders in the organization. The Red Sox selected the California native out of Long Beach State in the seventh round of the 2018 amateur draft.

Coming into play Wednesday, the 6-foot-2, 202 pound left-handed hitter was hitting .270/.365/.561 to go along with eight doubles, one triple, 15 home runs, 32 RBI, 37 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 24 walks, and 52 strikeouts over 46 games (219 plate appearances) for the WooSox.

Earlier in the spring, the speedy Duran helped United States baseball qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but he was left off of Team USA’s Olympic roster due to the USOC being wary of the fact that the Red Sox would want to call him up at some point over the summer.

Because Duran — who turns 25 in September — is not currently on the Red Sox’ 40-man roster, the club will need to make a corresponding roster move on Thursday in order to add him to the major-league squad.

While it is unclear at the moment what that move will look like, one thing is for certain: Duran will be making his big-league debut under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium.

As noted by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, who confirmed McDonald’s report, Duran joins Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts as prior top Red Sox outfield prospects to make their major-league debut in the Bronx.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ 11th-round pick Niko Kavadas identified by Baseball America as underrated draft selection

Of the 15 college players the Red Sox selected in the 2021 MLB first-year player draft this week, 10 attended schools that are in Power Five conferences (the ACC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac-12, and SEC).

While the likes of University of Florida outfielder Jud Fabian stick out in regards to big names Boston took from the college ranks in this year’s draft, their 11th-round selection has garnered some attention as well.

To kick off the third and final day of the draft on Tuesday, Boston took University of Notre Dame first baseman Niko Kavadas with the 316th overall pick.

Kavadas, 22, was regarded by Baseball America as the 158th-ranked draft-eligible prospect coming into the week, and one BA writer in particular views the Fighting Irish slugger as perhaps the most underrated member of Boston’s 20-man draft class.

“Calling Kavadas underrated seems odd considering he was one of the best and most successful players in college this year,” Baseball America’s Ben Badler wrote on Wednesday. “But he was an 11th-round pick, so he fits the bill. Kavadas has massive power and he draws walks. That’s pretty much the extent of his plus tools, but it’s a very important skill and one that can carry a player all the way to the big-leagues.”

In his senior season for Notre Dame this spring, Kavadas — an Indiana native — produced a slash line of .302/.473/.767 with eight doubles, 22 home runs, 64 RBI, 42 runs scored, two stolen bases, 50 walks, and 55 strikeouts over 47 games (220 plate appearances).

While Kavadas is known for what he can do at the plate, there is some concern regarding the left-handed hitter’s defensive range as well as his speed on the base paths.

Per his Baseball America scouting report from earlier this year, Kavadas “is a well below-average runner with limited range who will be limited to first base or DH at the next level. He has the raw power to profile there and he can send the ball out of the park in any direction, and he did a nice job getting into hitter’s counts and then hammering fastballs this spring.

“He did struggle more against breaking and offspeed stuff and was also less successful than scouts would have liked to see against 93-plus mph velocity, which are valid concerns for his pure hit tool at the next level.”

On top of that, Kavadas turns 23 in October, so he is a bit older than the prototypical college prospect. That being said — or as BA noted, “there’s real power for a team that thinks he’ll be able to regularly get to it at the next level with a wood bat.”

Red Sox amateur scouting director Paul Toboni seems to buy into this philosophy as well, as he told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier) on Tuesday that Kavadas’ power tool is at “the top of the scale” already.

“If he were in the major-leagues right now, my guess is that the power would line up with the best of them,” Toboni said. “He’s an interesting player and a great kid.”

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, it’s safe to say Kavadas is an intimidating presence when he steps in the batter’s box.

By taking Kavadas in the 11th round of this year’s draft, the Red Sox can sign the slugging corner infielder for up to $125,000 without tapping into their bonus pool total.

If they do exceed the $125,000 limit in order to sign Kavadas (which seems to be a legitimate possibility based off speculation within the industry), or any other Day 3 pick, that would require them to dip into their bonus pool.

As things currently stand, Boston has $11,359,600 in total bonus pool space to work with, though that cap could increase to approximately $11,927,580 if the club was willing to incur some tax-related penalties by surpassing the limit by up to 5%.

The Red Sox, like all major-league teams, will have until 5 p.m. eastern time on Sunday, August 1 to sign as many of their draft picks as possible, though Toboni did say he only expects 13-15 of the club’s draftees to actually sign.

(Picture of Niko Kavadas: Michael Caterina/South Bend Tribune via AP)