MLB Draft

[Sea Dog 23]

The Sox are finishing up their draft  So far 12 pitchers to 10 field players.  All the draft picks have been college players, with the exception of three high schoolers.  With all thcollege pitchers selected in 2022, there should be about 18 new pitchers in the system, not counting the international guys signed.  Now can the Sox develop those guys better than we've seen the last decade?

After all the hand wringing, Boston's best player out of the draft may be 3rd round pick, high schooler Antonio Anderson of metro-Atlanta.  Committed to Georgia Tech. He can play IF or corner OF.  The kid is a phenomenal talent.  Really nice swing technique.  Already 6-3, 205 at 18 yo.  Reminds me of a young Raffy Devers.  The top pick Kyle Teel is signing under slot, so that leaves money to over slot Anderson (#3) and Nazzan Zanetello (#2)  Those top three are all really good picks, and they stand out from the others, although Matt Duffy at #4 is a really fine pitcher from this draft.

[MongoLikeSox]

I checked out the slew of pitchers they snagged last year while sort of watching the AS game last night. I've seen a few of them pitch already. There are a couple guys who still have not made it out of Rookie ball and a few guys who've hit their short term ceilings either in A, A+ or AA. An expected mixed bag. He hit nicely with a few early round position players, though, and that's without a couple of the bigger names not making their moves yet. 

The highest pitching pick was Dalton Rogers. I've not seen pitch yet, but he's the opposite of a strike throwing machine. His college numbers show the same. Makes me wonder if he would have been selected by the Sox at all this year, given that singular approach to pitcher drafting. 

I'm puzzled frustrated at the myopic, yet bewilderingly inconsistent nature of our organization. Every year it's something different that we covet and something different that we overlook. It's like a 5 year long game of Buzz-Word Bingo.

[longgame]

One constant in the Bloom era has been the lack of any sort of plan or program or stated goals.  It's poor management 101.  We have no idea what they define as success.  I define it as being competitive every year and if your roster stays relatively healthy you should be in the hunt.  If the goal is to be uncompetitive for a long time and hope we win one, I'll start following the Braves or something who seem to be keen on building a winning team.  There seems to be no sort of plan at all - where do they really hope to be this year and what are the steps to get there?  Whatever they decide there turns into a plan of action for the next 6 months.  But the problem is they should have done that years ago, instead of just dumping the All Stars.  Then comes the next year and presumably you've built for it.  Do you need a farm system to be part of that?  Yes, but it's more than just picking good guys.  Most guys need a lot of coaching and development to turn from raw talent into major leaguer.  They don't appear to have that infrastructure in place.  They have a number of key prospects at the top of the organization.  Where and when do they slot in and how do you fill in accordingly, i.e. don't build a team with 10 outfielders and no SS or 1B. 

The shame is they have a fairly talented team, could have had a better one if they didn't decide to go after geriatrics on the pitching side.  But they put themselves in a bad spot right off the bat because even though Story had surgery in January, they never managed to get a SS. There are just so many incompetent tactical moves that you can't imagine what a disaster a strategic Bloom plan would be.

Hopefully the next Baseball Ops guy or whatever they call him will be able to sort all of this out but I'm afraid when that happens he'll be starting from Ground Zero. 

Let's hope the guys on the field today can pull it together in the meantime.

[Sea Dog 23]

I checked out the slew of pitchers they snagged last year while sort of watching the AS game last night. I've seen a few of them pitch already. There are a couple guys who still have not made it out of Rookie ball and a few guys who've hit their short term ceilings either in A, A+ or AA. An expected mixed bag. He hit nicely with a few early round position players, though, and that's without a couple of the bigger names not making their moves yet. 

The highest pitching pick was Dalton Rogers. I've not seen pitch yet, but he's the opposite of a strike throwing machine. His college numbers show the same. Makes me wonder if he would have been selected by the Sox at all this year, given that singular approach to pitcher drafting. 

I'm puzzled frustrated at the myopic, yet bewilderingly inconsistent nature of our organization. Every year it's something different that we covet and something different that we overlook. It's like a 5 year long game of Buzz-Word Bingo.

Mongo, I saw this observation on soxprospects.com from one of the mods.  It seems to explain what Boston Mgt. is doing as to drafting the good hitters on top, and then the pitchers who fit their needs later.  It is what it is!

"And as for "is there a real prospect," let's get these guys in the system and see what happens. It's pretty clear that this point that whether it's intentional or just how their valuation works, they get their stud hitters early and trust their pitching development program to work with guys with specific traits they select later on. Just look at the 2021 draft, for example and the lack of rankings after guys people are excited about here like Dobbins, Troye, and Guerrero. Maybe they're not aces but there are only so many of those guys and they're not getting to, say, the 7th round."

[MongoLikeSox]

Sea Dog, that's about as reasonable of a take on their MO as you can imagine. I guess some sort of strategy is better than no strategy? We'll see if it works.

I looked through the Red Sox year to year drafts recently. There was been quite a long drought of decent drafts starting in 2012 and lasting maybe 5 years or so, until Trader Joes's last couple of drafts. 5 years of almost no talent is tough, especially considering we got our hands slapped at the cookie jar and had some restricted foreign free agent signing years. We're starting to see some of the 2017-2019 guys come up and are close to establishing themselves in Boston. Trader Joe's last few drafts.

As a barometer, I can't help but think of a prospect named CJ Chatham. He spent several years in our top-30 rankings. Almost no power, but hit .280-.300. It would have gotten him a look big league look 40 years ago, but not in today's OPS game. Fasg forward a few years and we have a 24 year old AA OF'er named Phillip Sikes. He's fast as hell with a little bit of pop, but looks like a .250 hitter so far. SoxProspects has him rated #39. Just a few years ago, he would have easily been in our top-30 along side Chatham. That's not a knock on him nor SoxProspects.com. That's a statement of what's ranked above him up and down the minors. It's not an empty well any longer. This might be as deep as I've ever seen it for us.

The pro-Bloom contingent will be quick to point out this is under his charge. They would have a point to some extent. The whole baseball world scoffed at the Blaze Jordan and Nick Yorke draft picks a few years ago. Me thinks there's some slow-cook Crow recipes simmering away and getting ready served up by the guys & galls in charge of those selections.

[SeaBeachFred]

Sea Dog, that's about as reasonable of a take on their MO as you can imagine. I guess some sort of strategy is better than no strategy? We'll see if it works.

I looked through the Red Sox year to year drafts recently. There was been quite a long drought of decent drafts starting in 2012 and lasting maybe 5 years or so, until Trader Joes's last couple of drafts. 5 years of almost no talent is tough, especially considering we got our hands slapped at the cookie jar and had some restricted foreign free agent signing years. We're starting to see some of the 2017-2019 guys come up and are close to establishing themselves in Boston. Trader Joe's last few drafts.

As a barometer, I can't help but think of a prospect named CJ Chatham. He spent several years in our top-30 rankings. Almost no power, but hit .280-.300. It would have gotten him a look big league look 40 years ago, but not in today's OPS game. Fasg forward a few years and we have a 24 year old AA OF'er named Phillip Sikes. He's fast as hell with a little bit of pop, but looks like a .250 hitter so far. SoxProspects has him rated #39. Just a few years ago, he would have easily been in our top-30 along side Chatham. That's not a knock on him nor SoxProspects.com. That's a statement of what's ranked above him up and down the minors. It's not an empty well any longer. This might be as deep as I've ever seen it for us.

The pro-Bloom contingent will be quick to point out this is under his charge. They would have a point to some extent. The whole baseball world scoffed at the Blaze Jordan and Nick Yorke draft picks a few years ago. Me thinks there's some slow-cook Crow recipes simmering away and getting ready served up by the guys & galls in charge of those selections.

Been hearing some good reports about Blaze Jordan and hope he will get a good look as a RH power hitter who could emerge as a hitter who could also hit for a high average. Surprising I hadn't heard much about him before this season but will keep my out to see how he develops the rest of this season and next.  One thing is certain to me and that is our front office must not pick the wrong prospects to bring up.  We must hit the right keys with the right prospects if we are to be a dominant team by the latter 2020's.

[MongoLikeSox]

There were a few moves over the All-Star break.

The bigger one I didn't know about until Friday was was Niko Kavadas getting promoted to Worcester. I thought was a bit premature given a massive K-Rate in a down season. Blaze Jordan went to Portland, which was due to happen and probably became a factor in Niko's promotion due to Worcester needing bodies and a bit of a bottleneck in Portland.

So Portland is now sporting an infield of Binelas, Mayer, Yorke, Meidroth and Jordan. One extra with Meidroth filling in wherever, probably. He was drafted as a SS, fwiw.  Between those 5 guys and Hickey at Catcher and Rosier in RF, that's a team to watch these days. Pitching is up and down due to promotions and such, but it's not void of talent. I think 3 of the starters have been promoted in the past few weeks.

[Sea Dog 23]

There were a few moves over the All-Star break.

The bigger one I didn't know about until Friday was was Niko Kavadas getting promoted to Worcester. I thought was a bit premature given a massive K-Rate in a down season. Blaze Jordan went to Portland, which was due to happen and probably became a factor in Niko's promotion due to Worcester needing bodies and a bit of a bottleneck in Portland.

So Portland is now sporting an infield of Binelas, Mayer, Yorke, Meidroth and Jordan. One extra with Meidroth filling in wherever, probably. He was drafted as a SS, fwiw.  Between those 5 guys and Hickey at Catcher and Rosier in RF, that's a team to watch these days. Pitching is up and down due to promotions and such, but it's not void of talent. I think 3 of the starters have been promoted in the past few weeks.

Mongo, I'm not sure how many of those guys at Portland will ever see Fenway.  My lizard brain tells me the Sox are looking for a pitcher at the deadline.  It could be Detroit's ERod, our old friend.  I would imagine the Tigers, if it's them, would be asking for at least two of our young pups at Portland or Greenville high-A.  The next couple of weeks will be tantalizing.  Olney can't stand himself,  pondering the Angels trade of Ohtani to NYY.  They probably won't happen, but you know every viable trade scenario always has to go through Cashman.

[MongoLikeSox]

Mongo, I'm not sure how many of those guys at Portland will ever see Fenway.  My lizard brain tells me the Sox are looking for a pitcher at the deadline.  It could be Detroit's ERod, our old friend.  I would imagine the Tigers, if it's them, would be asking for at least two of our young pups at Portland or Greenville high-A.  The next couple of weeks will be tantalizing.  Olney can't stand himself,  pondering the Angels trade of Ohtani to NYY.  They probably won't happen, but you know every viable trade scenario always has to go through Cashman.

I've not paid a great deal of attention to the Ohtani thing. That would be a perfect fit for NY. They're always an injury away from disaster. If Ohtani goes down, you lose your top LH bat and 2nd best pitcher.

Meidroth is an extra piece. Something could be up with him. I think he's been pressing since coming back from the break. 5K's in two games. I've only seen one of the AB's, but it looked bad. The whole team hasn't clicked yet, but it's onlt been two days. 

Mayer got lifted late in the game. I hope that's nothing. It's almost impossible to get news.

[Sea Dog 23]

With the 12 pitchers the Sox signed in the July draft, they seemed to replicate that pattern with the IL draft.  One of their top signings was an 18 yo Cuban Jose Martinez,  and a 19 yo kid named Salcedo, who stands 6-1 190 and is already 19 yo.  Four other pitchers taken and they have made an offer to a high school pitcher in Korea, Chan Sol-Lee, but he must survive the KBA draft to come available.  How many of these guys can emerge and become a Bello or a Wilkelman Gonzalez?

[longgame]

Mongo, I'm not sure how many of those guys at Portland will ever see Fenway.  My lizard brain tells me the Sox are looking for a pitcher at the deadline.  It could be Detroit's ERod, our old friend.  I would imagine the Tigers, if it's them, would be asking for at least two of our young pups at Portland or Greenville high-A.  The next couple of weeks will be tantalizing.  Olney can't stand himself,  pondering the Angels trade of Ohtani to NYY.  They probably won't happen, but you know every viable trade scenario always has to go through Cashman.

I've not paid a great deal of attention to the Ohtani thing. That would be a perfect fit for NY. They're always an injury away from disaster. If Ohtani goes down, you lose your top LH bat and 2nd best pitcher.

Meidroth is an extra piece. Something could be up with him. I think he's been pressing since coming back from the break. 5K's in two games. I've only seen one of the AB's, but it looked bad. The whole team hasn't clicked yet, but it's onlt been two days. 

Mayer got lifted late in the game. I hope that's nothing. It's almost impossible to get news.

That's an interesting take Mongo, I hadn't thought about it that way but you are right, that's a lot of cards in one hand.  And if he's in NY he's guaranteed to go down!  I really have to wonder what could happen. He's such a great player, but at what cost.

[Sea Dog 23]

The Korean pitcher , 6' - 1" Chan-Sol Lee did agree to terms on a contract with the Sox for $300,000.  It goes against Boston's international signings pool.  His high school coaches timed his fast ball at 97+, although he needs to work on his command.  He's not as big as Ohtani, no chance, but about the size of Kikuchi of Jays.

Boston inked right-handed pitching prospect Chansol Lee to a minor league contract Monday, according to Major League Baseball’s official transaction log. Lee, 18, was expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming KBO League draft but will forego his eligibility overseas to join the Red Sox.

[MongoLikeSox]

The 1st Rounder, Teel, played all of 3 games in the Florida Complex League and got sent to A+ Greenville. They decided to bypass A- Salem. He made his A+ debut last night with a 3-5 night and 2RBI. Even had a Caught Stealing. 

[Sea Dog 23]

The 1st Rounder, Teel, played all of 3 games in the Florida Complex League and got sent to A+ Greenville. They decided to bypass A- Salem. He made his A+ debut last night with a 3-5 night and 2RBI. Even had a Caught Stealing.

Teel played three years at Univ of Virginia.  This past season he was the conference MVP, and recognized as the top college catcher.  Has the skills to play outfield, as he did for UVA as a frosh.  So he is well seasoned to get into A ball.  He just might have the potential of Rutchman of the O's, who got all the way to Baltimore in just 2+ years from the draft.

[SeaBeachFred]

The 1st Rounder, Teel, played all of 3 games in the Florida Complex League and got sent to A+ Greenville. They decided to bypass A- Salem. He made his A+ debut last night with a 3-5 night and 2RBI. Even had a Caught Stealing.

Teel played three years at Univ of Virginia.  This past season he was the conference MVP, and recognized as the top college catcher.  Has the skills to play outfield, as he did for UVA as a frosh.  So he is well seasoned to get into A ball.  He just might have the potential of Rutchman of the O's, who got all the way to Baltimore in just 2+ years from the draft.

That is very good news Sea Dog.  I think we have struck gold with this draftee and hope we can see him at Fenway within two or three years.