Its the final off-day before the All-Star break and its also the final day off before the 2024 MLB Draft coming up on July 14th. Let's take a look at last year's draft and how former Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom did in his final draft before being shot out of a cannon.
1st Round - C Kyle Teel
The only bright side of the Red Sox freefalling in 2022 was it landed them the 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft. Bloom looks to have got one right when he took Virginia University catcher Kyle Teel. Teel's scouting report said he had a major league ready bat but needed to improve defensively. They weren't kidding about his bat as he hit 2 home runs and drove in 20 runs total between the Complex, Greenville and Portland to end the season. This year he's apart of the Goldust Trio with Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony in Portland hitting .301 with 8 home runs and 49 rbis. Its just a question of when he's promoted to Worcester and the only reason he isn't in Boston already is Connor Wong somehow had a breakout year. Still, Teel himself is definitely majors bound, its only a question of when.
2nd Round - SS Nazzan Zanetello
Defying all logic, once again Chaim Bloom neglected to take the best college pitcher available just to take a high school shortstop in the second round. Nazzan Zanetello graduated from Christian Brothers High School and played 13 games for the Florida Complex and Salem Red Sox. This year he's only hitting .191 but has come on strong in the last few weeks, belting 4 home runs and driving in 14 runs. He's only 19 years old so he's got a long way to go. Still, a little improvement is better than none.
3rd Round - SS Antonio Anderson
Want to know why Chaim Bloom got fired and the Boston Red Sox organization has no starting pitching depth? For three years in a row, Bloom drafted nothing but position players in the early rounds. His third round pick was yet another high school shortstop in Antonio Anderson out of North Atlanta High School. He played just 12 games for the Complex and Salem but this year he's hitting just .162 with 4 home runs and 22 rbis. Just like Zanetello, he's got a long way to go. Nothing against Anderson, but Bloom should have been drafting pitchers here. For example, Jake Bloss from Georgetown University was picked in the third round by the Houston Astros and he just made his MLB debut 3 weeks ago. That could have been with Boston if Bloom was smarter.
4th Round - RHP Matt Duffy
Boston's first pitcher taken wasn't until the fourth round just like in 2021 and once again Bloom needs his head examined. Matt Duffy posted a 4.32 ERA for Canisius University when he was drafted and he allowed 5 runs in 4 innings between the Complex and Salem to end the season. This season he's 1-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 13 starts for Salem. Just like Wyatt Olds and Jaret Godman before, once again Bloom drafted a guy who wasn't even that good in college and he's performed as expected. That's not a knock on Duffy, he's doing his best, but the guy who drafted him to begin with.
4th Round Compensation - SS Kristian Campbell
Define irony. This fourth round compensation selection is the pick the Red Sox were awarded when Xander Bogaerts signed with the San Diego Padres, and this just may be the replacement. Kristian Campbell was a redshirt freshman for Georgia Tech when the Sox drafted him and it looks like a steal when he tore up the Complex and Greenville to end the season last year. This year he hit .306 with 8 homers and 25 rbis in Grenville to earn a promotion to Portland and he's been arguably their best player since. He's hitting .406 with 4 home runs and 18 rbis in just 26 games for the Sea Dogs. Because Worcester and Boston are so crowded, they've tried Campbell at second base and the outfield. Its just a matter of time before he and the Goldust Trio are in Worcester. He may not be Xander Bogaerts, but if he makes the majors, that's a hell of an accomplishment in itself.
4th Round Compensation - SS Justin Riemer
The Sox had another fourth round compensation pick they were awarded for letting Nathan Eovaldi walk to the Texas Rangers. They used it to select Wright State shortstop Justin Riemer. Unfortunately Riemer tore his ACL just 12 games into the season for Wright and missed the rest of the season. He's still rehabbing his knee injury this year but he could be back on the field by July or August. Jury is still out on this one.
5th Round - LHP Connelly Early
The Sox' fifth round pick was used to take left handed pitcher Connelly Early out of Virginia University. He was 12-3 in 18 starts for the Cavaliers but only pitched in one game with Salem to end the season. This year he's gone 1-5 but with a respectable 3.53 ERA. Wins and losses don't really matter in the minors as long as you're getting guys out. Hopefully he gets a late year promotion to Portland to see what he can do at the AA level. He's only 22 so he's got a few years to prove himself.
6th Round - RHP CJ Weins
In the sixth round the Sox took right handed pitcher CJ Weins out of Western Kentucky University. Stop me if you've heard this, he was mediocre in college going 1-2 with a 4.35 ERA for WKU before being drafted. He was 0-2 with a 4.81 ERA in Salem when he was traded on July 6th for veteran relief pitcher Trey Wingenter. The fact that Craig Breslow was able to get something for him is remarkable.
7th Round - OF Caden Rose
Usually its the pitchers that Chaim Bloom looked at and thought they were worth more than they were, but in the 7th round the Sox took the outfield equivalent. Caden Rose hit just .261 with 9 home runs and 26 rbis for Alabama before being picked. This year he was hitting .187 with 4 homers and 16 rbis in 25 games before he went on the 60 Day Injured List. If it comes out years later that on draft night, Red Sox draft personnel had never actually seen these guys play and just looked at the list of who hadn't been drafted yet on TV, it would be far more believable than the thought of Sox scouts seeing a guy barely hitting .260 in college and thought that would translate to the pros.
8th Round - RHP Trenner O'Donnell
In the 8th round, the Sox went with right handed pitcher Trenner O'Donnell out of Ball State University. At least he had good college stats, going 13-8 with a 2.95 ERA in 16 starts before being drafted. This year he's 3-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 12 games with Salem so far. Going to need to improve velocity if he wants to get to the big leagues but at least he's off to a good start.
9th Round - RHP Blake Wehunt
In the 9th round, the Sox chose Kennesaw State right handed pitcher Blake Wehunt. As usual, Bloom chose a pitcher with mediocre stats in college as Wehunt went 4-4 with a 4.83 ERA in 14 starts. Now this year he started well going 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 8 starts for Salem to earn a promotion to Greenville. Unfortunately he's struggling going 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 5 starts there. He'll be 24 in November and getting beat up in High A ball isn't a good sign. Still, he just got there, he may need time to adjust.
10th Round - LHP Ryan Ammons
Once again Chaim Bloom took a pitcher in college with mediocre stats when he took left handed pitcher Ryan Ammons in the 10th round out of Clemson University. He was 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA before being chosen in the draft. He didn't get to pitch in the Complex or for the organization period as he was traded in December to the New York Mets for Justin Slaten. Slaten has performed admirably out of the bullpen for Boston this season but what about Ammons? He went 1-4 with a 2.88 ERA out of the bullpen for the St. Lucie Mets and was promoted to the Brooklyn Cyclones on July 2nd. Things are looking up for him, but the Sox definitely are benefiting from the trade with Slaten's services. Good luck to Ammons in New York.
11th Round - OF Nelly Taylor
The Sox took on a potential feel-good story when they chose Polk State University outfielder Nelly Taylor in the 11th round. He was plagued with a horrible kidney problem that still affects him today but powered through it to bat .353 with 6 home runs and 48 rbis for Polk State in 2023. This year so far he's hitting .234 with 3 home runs and 33 rbis for Salem, but he's still only 21. If he can beat a kidney disorder, hopefully he can beat opposing pitchers and end up in Greenville sooner than later.
12th Round - RHP Max Carlson
Here we go again. Once again Bloom scraped the bottom of the barrel when he took right handed pitcher Max Carlson out of UNC in the 12th round. He was 5-2 with a 5.45 ERA for the Tar Heels before being drafted by the Sox. He started out great in Salem this year going 4-0 with a 2.35 ERA with 5 saves out of the bullpen to earn a promotion to Greenville. He's only pitched in one game for Greenville so far but at least he got there. Hopefully we'll see what he's made of in the next few months. He could be Greenville's closer in the second half of the season.
13th Round - RHP Cade Feeney
Mr. Feeney was drafted in the 13th round out of North Dakota State where he went 6-5 with a 4.57 ERA in 14 starts. This year he's 0-1 with a 3.66 ERA and 3 saves for the Greenville Drive. Maybe moving him to the bullpen was a good idea and he'll thrive there. Otherwise, posting a 4.57 ERA in college as a starter usually doesn't translate well to the pros. Wyatt Olds and Jaret Godman can tell him that.
14th Round - LHP Jojo Ingrassia
In the 14th round, the Sox took left handed pitcher Jojo Ingrassia out of Cal State-Fullerton. He was 5-2 with a 2.42 ERA and 7 saves in 2023 for Cal State and so far this year he's 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA with 1 save for Salem. He might be headed to Greenville soon and he turns 22 on July 24th. Still, rather him put up good stats for Salem than bad.
15th Round - OF Phoenix Call
The Sox took a risk when they drafted high school phenom Phoenix Call out of Calabasas High School in the 15th round because he was almost guaranteed to go to UCLA. Well, he did. Unfortunately for him he hit .222 with no home runs, 2 rbis and a HIDEOUS slugging percentage of .259 his freshman year. He's got at least two more years to go so he has plenty of time to improve, but so far the Sox might have gotten lucky that he chose UCLA over them. Check back on this one next year.
16th Round - RHP Isaac Stebens
In the 16th round, the Sox took Oklahoma State closer and right handed pitcher Isaac Stebens. Stebens was 4-1 with a 2.24 ERA and 6 saves in 2023 and was unhittable in Salem to start the year. He allowed just 1 earned run in 11 innings for a 0.82 ERA to earn a promotion to Greenville. Unfortunately he's 2-2 with a 5.13 ERA and just 2 saves for the Drive out of the bullpen. Still, he may need time to adjust and might come back stronger next year. At least he's gotten this far.
17th Round - OF Dylan Schlaegel
In the 17th round, the Sox took Mansfield Legacy High School outfielder Dylan Schlaegel as a risk because he was committed to little known Dallas Baptist University. He ended up going to DBU and sat out the 2024 season. His life, his choice. His favorite bible verse is Psalm 23, maybe Connor Butler will be proud.
18th Round - LHP Zach Fogell
In the 18th round, the Sox took left handed pitcher Zach Fogell out of UConn. Fogell actually spent his freshman year back in 2019 for Brown University but Covid wiped out 2020 and the whole entire Ivy League refused to play the 2021 season. After 2022, Fogell transferred to UConn where he was unhittable in 2023 going 8-1 with a 1.89 ERA out of the bullpen. The kicker was he was already 22 by then so he had an advantage over the other students. He pitched 4.2 innings between the Complex and Salem to end the season and didn't allow an earned run. He started this year in Salem allowing no runs in 5 innings before being promoted to Greenville. So far with the Drive he's 3-2 with a 3.52 ERA out of the bullpen. On the bright side, he hasn't really hit a wall yet but the downside is he turns 24 on July 23rd. Him hanging around Single A when a lot of guys his age are in AAA or the majors is not a good look. Still, would rather him get guys out than suck completely.
19th Round - OF Stanley Tucker
Instead of taking a bum pitcher in the 19th round for the third year in a row, Bloom switched it up and took Texas Tech outfielder Stanley Tucker. Tucker has been god awful at the plate, batting .195 for the Complex and .077 for Salem to end 2023. This year he's hitting just .181 with one home run for Salem. Most 19th round picks are cucka anyway so no big loss if he doesn't pan out. Still, would have been nice if he could at least get out of Salem.
20th Round - RHP Robert Orloski
With their 20th and final pick, the Sox took Middleton High School right handed pitcher Robert Orloski. Orloski ended up not signing with the Red Sox and instead chose to go to University of Texas San Antonio. His freshman year he was 3-5 with a 5.94 ERA in 11 starts....not exactly setting the world on fire. The Sox may have dodged a bullet since he didn't sign with them, time will tell on this one.
URFA - C Drew Ehrhard
After the draft was over, the Sox signed two rookie free agents. The first was Zach Ehrhard's OLDER brother Drew. Drew has the designation of being one of the oldest "draft picks" in franchise history after spending six years at Tampa University. After signing with the Sox, he has just 16 at-bats in 11 games between the Complex and Greenville. Somehow he got promoted to Portland and is on their Development List. Technically he made AA faster than a lot of guys drafted. Zach Ehrhard is still at Oklahoma State.
URFA - RHP Cooper Adams
The other undrafted free agent the Sox signed was right handed pitcher Cooper Adams out of Mt. St Mary's University. He was 8-3 with a 5.03 ERA in 14 starts before starting this season in Greenville. Not surprising he is 0-4 with a 5.94 ERA for Greenville. Once again, he had a lousy ERA for a small college, what was Bloom expecting him to do when he signed?
All in all we got a lot of guys on this list who show potential with two of them on the fast track to Worcrester. Kyle Teel and Kristian Campbell are the two biggest prospects but guys like Connelly Early and Trenner O'Donnell are sneaky picks that might make it some day. Its only been one year so judging any of them on the same level as the 2020 and 2021 draftees would be unfair and even 2022 to a degree. Still....with four drafts under his belt, Chaim Bloom has exactly ZERO major leaguers. Now he's got the Goldust Trio in Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel along with Chase Meidroth, Luis Guerrero, Nick Yorke and Niko Kavadas knocking at the door....but otherwise everyone else is a longshot, bust or already gone. How many other major league teams have exactly ZERO draft picks make the majors in the last four years? That's why Chaim Bloom is gone, folks. Hopefully Craig Breslow has more successful coming up next week. It would be wise to take the best starting pitcher available at pick 12 when the time comes. Bloom neglected the rotation in favor of position players, maybe Craig will fix that.
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