Baseball is Coming Back (6/24/20)

After Spring Training was cancelled back in March, both the MLB and Owners played back and forth with the idea of resuming the season. Today an agreement was reached that there would be a 60 game season starting July 24th. Spring Training will resume on July 1st giving players a month to get back in shape.

This is good news for the Red Sox who dont have the rotation to survive a normal 162 game season. If Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi can pitch well, maybe the Sox can sneak into the wild card game. See you all in a month

2020 MLB Draft Day (6/10/20)

Even though there is no baseball to be played this season (as of right now), the 2020 MLB Draft was held anyway. The Detroit Tigers took Spencer Torkelson first overall and the top pitcher Max Mayer from Minnesota University went to the Miami Marlins 3rd overall.

The Boston Red Sox first selection was 17th overall and they chose 18 year old Archbishop Mitty High School second baseman Nick Yorke. The California native hit .457 in his 4 years in high school. Imagine getting on base half of the time you're at the plate. Whether or not this translates to minor league (let alone Major) league success remains to be seen. With the Red Sox having a hole at second base with Dustin Pedroia rumored to be retiring, the Sox may need Yorke in a few years if he's any good.

                                                    This kid could be a star in a few years

The Sox had no second round pick due to being stripped of it for the "video violations" in 2018 so their third round pick was DeSoto Central High School third baseman Blaze Jordan. For those that don't remember, Jordan was the kid who hit a 350 foot bomb at age 11 back in 2013 and a 500 foot blast two years later. Jordan was a tremendous power hitter but fell to the third round because aluminum bats aren't used in the minors or majors. He hit .442 his senior year before he was drafted and if his power DOES translate, we're looking at a potential stud in a few years.

                                                Teenage phenom Blaze Jordan

The Sox used their fourth round pick on Hawaii University's Jeremy Wu-Yelland. This pick is a bit of a mystery as Wu-Yelland had terrible 2018 and 2019 seasons for Hawaii. Still, the lefty was looking good for Hawaii when the 2020 season was shut down due to Covid. The Sox feel he's developing into his body and could be a player in years to come.

                                                   4th round pick - Jeremy Wu-Yelland

The Red Sox selected another pitcher in the fifth round, this time they took Florida State pitcher Shane Drohan. Drohan was considered a prospect in high school but he was also a big football star. He didn't quit football until his sophomore year at Florida State. He was 3-1 as a starter in the 2019 season for the Seminoles and his senior year was cancelled due to Covid. Sox brass are hoping the fact he didn't put up eye opening numbers his college career was his commitment to football, not because of a lack of talent. Time will tell if this works out.

                                              5th round pick - Shane Drohan

Because of Covid, there were only five rounds this season so there will definitely be some undrafted free agents to be signed in the upcoming weeks and months. Its a shame the virus wiped out everything this season but this could be a blessing in disguise for Sox fans. Wu-Yelland may have gone higher if he had a full season in Hawaii and the same could be said for Drohan. A lot of people think Yorke could be the real deal and Blaze Jordan could be a power hitter in the minors. All in all the Sox only drafted four guys but there isn't going to be a season anyway. There are rumors the season could be salvaged but it doesn't look good. Either way hopefully next year things get back to normal and you'll be seeing Yorke, Jordan, Drohan and Wu-Yelland in Salem, Greenville and Gulf Coast.