In the second round, Sox GM Craig Breslow FINALLY picked a starting pitcher in the top 50 when they selected TCU left handed starter Payton Tolle. Tolle struggled his first two years at Wichita State but transferred to TCU his junior year. He was 7-4 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 starts and supposedly can hit 96 on the gun. The Sox haven't developed a left handed power pitcher since Jon Lester and its about time they at least tried to.
Tonight we got to see rounds 3-10 and in the third round the Red Sox took Florida University relief pitcher Brandon Neely. This was a bit of a head scratcher as he was 3-4 with a 5.13 in 28 games this past season. Its one thing to draft one of the later round picks with a high ERA in college, but to use your third round pick on a bum is a big risk. Hope it works out.
In the fourth round the Sox selected a familiar face, none other than their own 2021 13th round pick, Zach Ehrhard. Zach was taken in the 13th round back in 2021 as a high school shortstop but he elected to go to Oklahoma State University. This past year he hit .330 with 14 home runs and 57 rbis in the outfield and the Sox chose him again. He would have made $125,000 if he signed in 2021 but he's signing for $600,000 this time around. He better be worth it.
In the fifth round, the Sox picked State College of Florida left handed pitcher Brandon Clarke. Clarke is another crapshot because he went 6-2 with a 4.36 ERA in 14 starts for SCF. If he's posting a 4.32 ERA in junior college, how's he going to get pro batters out? Still, Luis Guerrero is knocking on the door in Boston and he was a junior college guy.
Keeping the pitching train rolling, in the sixth round the Sox took right handed pitcher Blake Aita out of Kennesaw State. Aita was 7-4 with a 3.90 ERA in 16 starts for Kennesaw State his sophomore year and the Sox are hoping he can translate to the pros. The one weakness for the organization is starting pitching and Breslow is at least trying to fix it.
In the 7th round, the Sox took a crapshot on South Alabama outfielder Will Turner. Turner had a hell of a sophomore season when he hit .349 with 9 home runs and 52 rbis in 2023 but fell off a cliff hitting just .218 with 9 home runs and 24 rbis this year. That dropoff is probably why he fell all the way to the seventh round. Breslow is banking that this season was just a fluke and he'll be better off when 2025 starts.
The Sox got creative when they took Greater Atlanta Christian shortstop/right handed pitcher Conrad Cason in the eighth round. He was one of the top shortstops and pitchers in Atlanta prep schools but the problem is he's committed to Mississippi State. Does he want to collect $219,000 now or do what Zach Ehrhard did and play 3 years of college ball and try to make it to a lower round? The choice is his.
The Sox filled another positional hole when they used their 9th round pick on Arkansas University catcher Hudson White. White spent two years at Texas Tech before playing for Arkansas this season where he hit .297 with 8 home runs and 33 rbis for the Razorbacks. The Sox already have Kyle Teel and Nathan Hickey as the possible heir apparent to Reese McGuire but you can never have too much depth, hopefully White can pan out too.
To end Day 2 of the draft, the Sox picked up left handed starting pitcher Devin Futrell out of Vanderbilt University. Futrell seemed on the fast track when he was 17-6 between his freshman and sophomore seasons in 28 starts, but fell off a cliff this year as he went 4-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 10 starts. Just like with Will Turner, Craig Breslow is banking on this year being a fluke and the real Futrell will show himself in the majors.
All in all Breslow's gameplan was starting pitching and he picked five of them in the first 10 rounds. They might have taken a pitcher in the first round had Braden Montgomery not fallen into their laps. All signs point to Montgomery being a stud but hopefully some of the starters Breslow drafted can develop as well. The Sox had a hole in their organization and Breslow filled it as best he could. Also notice how, apart from Brandon Neely, Breslow wasn't taking guys that sucked in college like Chaim Bloom did? Turner and Futrell had lousy junior years but good freshman & sophomore campaigns. Hopefully tomorrow the Sox can find some diamonds in the rough for rounds 11-20.
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