Its an off-day so its time to continue our coverage of the Chaim Bloom era with his 2022 Draft selections two years later. As of this writing. not a single prospect from the 2020 or 2021 draft has made the majors and....big surprise....no one from 2022 has either. But, let's take a look at who got drafted anyway.
1st round - SS Mikey Romero
Sox fans were very unhappy when Bloom used the 24th overall pick in the draft on yet another high school shortstop in Mikey Romero. After already taking Nick Yorke in 2020 and Marcelo Mayer in 2021, the consensus was they were going to draft another need. Still, the end of 2022 Romero showed promise getting 24 hits in 19 games between the Florida Complex League and the Salem Red Sox. Then in 2023 he was marred with injuries, playing in just 34 games getting just 1 hit in 10 at-bats for the Greenville Drive. This year he's battled injuries again and he's hitting just .225 in 23 games for the Drive. Considering they have David Hamilton and Trevor Story (on paper) in the majors, Nick Yorke in AAA and Marcelo Mayer in AA, the fact they chose Romero was a head scratcher. Worse yet, the Colorado Rockies took Jordan Beck with their first round pick and he made his debut with the Rockies this year. Now Romero is only 20 years old and there's plenty of time to turn it around, but he's got a LOT of competition.
2nd round - SS Cutter Coffey
Once again the Sox looked like they had no idea what they were doing when they used their 2nd round pick, 41st overall to take yet another high school shortstop, Cutter Coffey out of Liberty High School. He hit just .125 for the Complex at the end of 2022 and hit .226 for Salem to begin 2023. He ended 2023 hitting .136 for the Greenville Drive. This year he's turned it around a little bit hitting .252 with 12 home runs and 37 rbis so far for Grenville. Just like Romero, he's only 20 years old so the jury is still out on him. Bloom's reluctance to draft a pitcher early bit him in the ass as Adam Mazur was drafted in the second round by the San Diego Padres and he made his ML debut this year. Hopefully Coffey can turn out better than what he's projected to.
2nd round - OF Roman Anthony
Chaim Bloom's only slam dunk of this draft was actually a compensation pick for losing Eduardo Rodriguez to the Detroit Tigers. High school outfielder Roman Anthony ripped up the Complex before playing 10 games for the Salem Sox to end 2022. In 2023 he was hitting just .228 with one home run for Salem when he got a call to Greenville. Suddenly he exploded, hitting 12 home runs and knocking in 38 runs to earn a promotion to Portland. At 19 years old, he had 12 hits in 10 games to end the season strong with the Sea Dogs. This year he's apart of the "Goldust Trio" with Kyle Teel and Marcelo Mayer, hitting .255 with 7 home runs and 22 rbis. Just like Romero and Coffey, he's only 20 years old but he's closer to Worcester than either of them.
3rd round - LHP Dalton Rogers
Bloom finally came to his senses when he used his 3rd round pick on left handed college pitcher Dalton Rogers out of Ole Miss. Problem is...Rogers really sucks. He was 2-6 in 17 starts with a 5.52 ERA last year for Salem and so far this year he's 2-3 with a 6.38 ERA for Salem. If he's struggling to get Low A batters out, what's he going to do against High A or AA? To make matters worse, two picks after Rogers the Chicago White Sox took Georgia pitcher Jonathan Cannon who made his ML debut in April. Rogers better turn it around or else he's going to be yet another wasted pick by Bloom.
4th round - 2B Chase Meidroth
Ironically the closest to the majors out of anyone is their fourth round pick, Chase Meidroth. Drafted out of San Diego University, Chase ended 2022 with 4 home runs, 12 rbis and a .309 batting average. In 2023 he hit .338 for Greenville in 20 games to earn a promotion to Portland. He hit .255 with 7 homers and 43 rbis for the Sea Dogs. This year he's the starting second baseman for the Worcester Red Sox hitting .294 with 3 home runs and 29 rbis. If it wasn't for the log-jam of infielders not only in Boston but Worcester as well, he might have already made his debut for another team. He might be used as trade bait or if someone else get traded he could be last man standing. Still, he's the closest of anyone on this list to the majors.
5th round - LHP Noah Dean
Needing another lefty starter, Bloom took Old Dominion pitcher Noah Dean in the fifth round. Unfortunately he was batting practice in Salem in 2023, going 2-8 with a 6.29 ERA in 17 starts. This year he's shown improvement as in 11 starts he's 1-2 with a 3.95 ERA. He might make it to Greenville this year if he continues to show improvement. Fortunately no one chosen after him in the 5th round has made the majors yet so Bloom doesn't have to take a bath on this pick yet.
6th round - RHP Alex Hoppe
Bloom tried to make up for the lack of pitchers drafted in the first few rounds by taking four in a row between rounds 5-8. Unfortunately right handed pitcher Alex Hoppe was simply mediocre for Greenville last year going 1-4 with a 3.93 ERA out of the bullpen before getting a promotion to Portland. This year so far he's been worse, going 1-3 with a 5.22 ERA. The guy throws gas but unfortunately its been straight, he better learn movement or else AA will all he'll ever see.
7th round - RHP Caleb Bolden
Third on the list of pitchers is right handed pitcher Caleb Bolden, taken in the seventh round. Once again, Bloom thought he could take a bum in college and try to fix him. Bolden allowed 28 runs in 39 innings for Texas Christian University although he did post a decent 3.67 ERA for Salem before he was promoted to Greenville last year. This year he's been AWFUL for both Greenville and Portland, allowing 23 runs in 30 innings. Just like Wyatt Olds last year, what was Bloom expecting? Its not Bolden's fault for being drafted, he's doing his best. Just another reason why Bloom deserved to be fired.
8th round - RHP Jonathan Brand
Shockingly in the 8th round, Chaim Bloom took a pitcher with good stats in college. He plucked Jonathan Brand out of Miami Ohio University where he showed promise last year going 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA out of the bullpen in Salem. This year he started in Greenville allowing just 1 unearned run in 11 innings to earn a promotion to Portland. So far in Portland....as usual he's been batting practice allowing 13 runs in 19 innings. Amazing how none of the pitchers Bloom has drafted in this draft have been any good above the Single A level. Oh it gets worse, later in the 8th round the San Francisco Giants took outfielder Wade Meckler out of Gonzaga University. Meckler played in 20 games for the Giants last year and looks to make a return this year. That's 20 games more than anyone else on this list.
9th round - C Brooks Brannon
In the 9th round, the Sox took Randleman High School catcher Brooks Brannon. Brannon played just 22 games between the Complex and Salem in 2022 and 2023 although he's hitting .327 with 2 home runs and 8 rbis in 13 games for Salem this year. He's only 20 years old so hopefully he continues to show improvement. Maybe this one may work out, who knows?
10th round - RHP Isaac Coffey
With the 10th round pick, the Sox took right handed pitcher Isaac Coffey out of Oral Roberts University. He had somewhat of a breakout year in 2023 going 11-6 in 23 starts between Greenville and Portland. This year he's 4-2 with a 4.25 ERA in 12 starts with the Sea Dogs. Not exactly eye popping stuff to get him to Worcester. Still, a hot streak might just get him there by the end of this season. Least he's not batting practice...yet.
11th round - RHP Marques Johnson
In the 11th round, the Red Sox took right handed pitcher Marques Johnson out of Long Beach State. He was 2-2 with a 6.55 ERA in Salem when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Mauricio Llovera. Back home for the San Jose Giants, he allowed just 2 runs in 18 innings the rest of the season. Unfortunately he hasn't pitched yet this season due to injuries and its a shame. Being home might have motivated him to pitch well. Not our problem anymore.
12th round - LHP Hayden Mullins
The Sox took a crapshot in the 12th round when they took left handed pitcher Hayden Mullins out of Auburn University. He had already had Tommy John Surgery when he was drafted and didn't make his debut until August of 2023. He pitched in just four games to end the season but this year he's 2-4 with a respectable 3.48 ERA in 13 games for Greenville. Losing a crucial year of development in 2023 sucks but hopefully he can continue to improve as this season goes on.
13th round - SS Gavin Kilen
The Sox took yet another shortstop in Gavin Kilen out of Milton, Wisconsin with their 13th round pick. Unfortunately, he didn't sign and instead chose to go to Louisville University. His Freshman year he hit .265 with 18 rbis but this year he hit .339 with 10 home runs and 44 rbis in 56 games. He's definitely on the fast track to greatness, only question is if he can keep up the momentum in 2025 and beyond. Just like Jud Fabian, good pick to make, just didn't work out.
14th round - SS Travis Sanders
Once again the Red Sox took a shortstop in the 14th round and once again the guy didn't sign. Travis Sanders from Copperas Cove, Texas decided to sign with Texas Tech University instead......but instead played for the Healdsburg Prune Packers in 2023. After spending this year at Texas Tech, he's transferring to Baylor University for the 2025 season. Good luck with that.
15th round - LHP Nathan Landry
In the 15th round, Bloom chose another lefthanded pitcher. Nathan Landry was a junkballer that spent two years in junior college before pitching for Missouri in 2022. After he was drafted he pitched in 27 games in 2023, bottoming out with a 1-1 record and 7.54 ERA in Greenville. This year he's allowed 21 runs in 34 innings for Greenville. If he can't get Single A batters out, how is he supposed to get AA batters out or beyond? Looks like he may not get the chance if he keeps pitching this badly.
16th round - RHP Garrett Ramsey
The Sox took right handed pitcher Garrett Ramsey out of Ole Miss in the 16th round and he sucked in the Complex for much of 2023 before ending the year in Salem allowing 8 runs in 9 innings. He got cut in Spring Training this year and one has to wonder the reason behind it. You got guys who at least get a crack at AA but Ramsey didn't even get that far. Another wasted pick.
17th round - OF Deundre Jones
The Sox took Lutheran South High School outfielder with their 17th pick and he hit .191 with 2 home runs and 10 rbis in 2023 for the Complex. He was released in Spring Training this year which makes you wonder why they gave up on a kid who wasn't even 21 yet. Was he really THAT bad? If so, its another indictment on the total failure of the Chaim Bloom regime.
18th round - RHP Austin Ehrlicher
In the 18th round, the Sox took right handed pitcher Austin Ehrlicher out of Santa Rosa junior college. He was a "draft & follow" and didn't play in 2022 or 2023 due to an elbow injury. He pitched in a whopping 2 games this year although he allowed no earned runs in 6 innings. He's only 21 so they may keep him round to see if he's got anything if he recovers....if.
19th round - RHP Jaret Godman
Remember back in 2021 when Chaim Bloom drafted Wyatt Olds out of Oklahoma University even though he was awful? Bloom didn't learn his lesson as he took Olds teammate Jaret Godman with the 19th round pick in 2022. Just like Olds, Godman totally sucked in college too. Naturally he pitched in 7 games for Greenville in 2023 going 0-1 with an 8.22 ERA before he called it quits after the season. It takes a good and smart man to realize when he's in over his head. Once again, its not Godman's fault, its the guy who looked at his 6.98 ERA at Oklahoma and said "oooh that's good!"'
20th round - LHP Connor Butler
With the 20th and final pick in the 2022 draft, Chaim Bloom took BIOLA left handed pitcher Connor Butler. BIOLA stands for Bible Institute Of Los Angeles. Father Butler pitched 27 innings between the Complex and Salem in 2023 and allowed 23 runs before he was cut in Spring Training this year. Not that 20th round picks are safe bets to make the majors anyway, but you have to wonder what Boston scouts were doing when they looked at his 4.50 ERA for a small college and thought he was their guy. No offense to Butler himself, but the ones who picked him were out to lunch.
URFA - C Matt Donlan
Just like in 2021, the Sox picked up two undrafted rookie free agents following the 2022 draft. The first one was UConn catcher Matt Donlan. He hit just .260 with 12 home runs for UConn in 2022 before hitting just .148 to end the year in Salem. In 2023 he hit .125 for Greenville and .222 for Portland upon his promotion. This season he's hit .146 in 16 games for the Sea Dogs and it doesn't look like he can hit at all. Still, he wasn't even drafted and he got further than picks 11 through 20. That's an indictment of Bloom's failure, not Donlan's.
URFA - SS Bryant Zayas
The other undrafted rookie free agent was shortstop Bryant Zayas out of Miami Christian University. He did have good numbers for MCU hitting .323 with 4 home runs and 19 rbis but didn't make his debut until 2023. He hit .242 with one home run and 14 rbis last year for the Complex before being cut in Spring Training. Once again, they gave up quickly on him without giving him a real chance. That's just the way it is sometimes.
All in all this might be Bloom's biggest failure when all is said and done. It looks like Roman Anthony and Chase Meidroth are the real deal and the word is still out on Mikey Romero, but the talent dropoff totally nosedives after those three. Here's the worst part, with the exception of Isaac Coffey, not a single pick from 9 through 20 reached Portland. Noah Dean, Alex Hoppe, Dalton Rogers and Jonathan Brand aren't lighting the world on fire either. Now its only been two years, but when only three guys look like they have a shot at the majors out of 22, that's an utter failure. Now if Meidroth and Anthony make the majors either with the Sox or elsewhere, at least that's something. Still, that's three draft and ZERO major leaguers so far for Bloom.
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