Off-Day News: 2021 MLB Draft Re-visit (6/1/26)

Its another off-day and we're going to take a look at the 2021 MLB Draft unfolded for the Boston Red Sox. Ex-GM Chaim Bloom treated the 2020 season like Rachel Phelps from Major League got the Sox the fourth overall pick in the draft. How did the rest of the draft turn out? Let's find out.

1st Round - INF Marcelo Mayer

As mentioned earlier, the 2020 disaster led to the Sox getting the fourth overall pick. Rather than take the top pitcher available, they selected Eastlake High School shortstop Marcelo Mayer. Mayer lived up to his billing when he tore up the Salem Red Sox and Greenville Drive in 2022, hitting .275 with 13 home runs combined. In 2023 played in just 78 games for Greenville and the Portland Sea Dogs before injuries derailed his season. In 2024, he combined with Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel to form the "Goldust Trio" that terrorized both Portland and Worcester Red Sox....even if Mayer didn't play due to injury. In 2025, mostly due to the demotion of Kristian Campbell, Mayer made his ML debut on May 24th and hit .228 with 4 home runs before, again, injuries derailed his season. This hear he's only hitting .224 with 2 home runs and the whole team is in a slump it seems. Fans are upset and calling him a bust despite being just 23 years old in his second pro season. Bottom line was fans were expecting Nomar Garciaparra and didn't get it so far. Let's see how he performs once they get a new GM and manager that know what they're doing.

2nd Round - OF Jud Fabian

As mentioned in previous years, the Sox got bamboozled by their second round draft pick, outfielder Jud Fabian. The Sox drafted him in the second round one pick before the Baltimore Orioles and strangely, he didn't sign and chose to remain at Florida. A year later, he was drafted in the second round by Baltimore and the story came out that the O's were going to sign him for 3 million in 2021, but the Sox took him and offered 1.8. Now collecting his 3 mill, he's yet to make the majors. A "launch angle" guy has hit just .216 in the minors but with 70 combined home runs in 5 years. The Orioles don't really need another outfielder that is all or nothing so he might need a change of scenery to see if he can hit major league pitching. Worse yet, several picks after Fabian made the majors such as Ryan Bliss, Andrew Abbott, Connor Norby, Ky Bush, Brendan Beck, James Wood and Joe Rock to name a few. Any one of those guys could have made it with the Sox or could have been decent trade bait. Instead they got NOTHING, HOORAY!

3rd Round - INF Tyler McDonough

Another wasted pick it seems is third round pick, infielder Tyler McDonough. Tyler showed promise at the end of 2021 batting .296 in 27 games with the Salem Red Sox and never truly broke out. He never hit above .255 as he hit .230 with Greenville in 2022 and .255 with Worcester last year. This year he got demoted back to Portland and is hitting .214 in 43 games. Its fairly obvious he's not going to make it which is doubly sad since Caleb Durbin sucks right now. To add insult to injury, Carter Jensen, McCade Brown, Mason Black and most importantly, Mason Miller were all taken after McDonough in the third round. Chaim Bloom spent too many years drafting infielders in the first round and almost none of them hit. 

4th Round - RHP Elmer Rodriguez

The good news was their fourth round pick, right handed pitcher Elmer Cruz-Rodriguez, made the majors. The bad news was it wasn't with the Red Sox. Drafted as a 17 year old out of Puerto Rico, Rodriguez utterly dominated Salem from 2022-24 before getting a 7 game cup of coffee with Greenville at the end of the 2024 season. Then the Red Sox pulled off the monumental trade that sent top catching prospect Kyle Teel and other prospects to the Chicago White Sox for ace Garrett Crochet. Needing a catcher, the Sox shipped Rodriguez to the New York Yankees for budding catcher Carlos Narvaez. Narvaez had a solid 2025 season for the Red Sox while Rodriguez went 11-8 with a 2.58 ERA between Single A, Double A and triple A. This year Rodriguez made his ML debut with the Yankees on April 29 and went 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 3 starts before being sent back to Scranton where he's 1-3 with a 2.97 ERA. Currently Carlos Narvaez is hitting just .220 with 2 home runs this year and the entire Red Sox offense is struggling. Whether or not the trade is fair or a bust won't be determined for another few years but I think most Sox fans would rather have Rodriguez pitch on this rancid team for a lot cheaper than Ranger Suarez. Still, for 2 of the first 4 players taken to make the majors, that's still considered a win for Chaim Bloom.

5th Round - C Nathan Hickey

To say 5th round pick, catcher Nathan Hickey, is a bust already is unfair....but the signs look pretty bad. Back in 2021 the Sox had the tag-team of Kevin Plawecki and Christian Vazquez so the feeling was Hickey might take Plawecki's spot if Connor Wong didn't work out. It looked like Hickey was headed for great things in 2023 when he hit 19 home runs between Greenville and Portland but then spent most of 2024 as Kyle Teel's backup in Worcester hitting just .210. With Teel traded in 2024, Connor Wong bottomed out completely in 2025....and Hickey never got a sniff. This year both Narvaez and Wong are struggling and instead of calling up Hickey, they go with journeyman Mickey Gasper. All signs point to Hickey being in no man's land. To add insult to injury, after Hickey was taken, Eric Cerantola, Evan Justice, Christian Scott and Tanner Bibee all made the show. Its not too late for the 26 year old, but hitting .179 with 3 home runs in Triple A isn't going to cut it.

6th Round - C Daniel McElveny

The first real "bust" of the draft was sixth round pick, catcher Daniel McElveny. He played in just 52 games between 2022 and 2023 hitting just .206 and .214 respectively. He got in 55 games for Salem in 2024 hitting just .179 before he was cut loose after the season. He played in just 26 games for the Arizona Complex Rockies hitting .242 before he was released by Colorado in July. He's been out of baseball since and THIS pick came back to haunt Boston. Carson Seymour, Braxton Fulford, Carlos Rodrguez, Spencer Arrighetti, "Big" Dick Fitts and Seattle Mariners ace Bryan Woo were all taken after Daniel in theb 6th round. That's a pretty big swing and a miss by Bloom.

7th Round - RHP Wyatt Olds

How 7th round pick, right handed pitcher Wyatt Olds is still in the system is anyone's guess. He was drafted out of Oklahoma University where he was 4-6 with a 5.17 ERA. He's been straight batting practice ever since....and is still here. In 2022 he was 4-9 with a 5.92 ERA between Greenville and Portland, in 2023 he was 1-9 with a 7.54 ERA between the Florida Complex Sox and Greenville, in 2024 he was 4-4 with a 6.09 ERA between Portland and Worcester. In 2025 he was 7-4 with a 5.05 ERA between Portland and Worcester and this year he's got a 7.25 ERA in 15 games. His minor league record is 19-29 with a 6.01 ERA.....that says it all. How he made it this far when other people who had better numbers were released or traded is anyone's guess. Worse yet, Noah Cannon, Jacob Young and Tristan Peters all made MLB out of the seventh round after Olds was picked. Its only a matter of time before he's given the boot.

8th Round - RHP Hunter Dobbins

Bloom scored with his eighth round pick when he selected right handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins out of Texas Tech University. After missing 2021 with Tommy John surgery and going 0-5 with a 5.22 ERA in 2022 for Greenville, he started to turn it around. In 2023, he was 9-6 with a 3.67 between Greenville and Portland and was 8-5 with a 3.08 ERA between Portland and Worcester in 2024. He made his ML debut with the Red Sox in 2025 and went 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA in 13 games before he tore his ACL and missed the rest of the season. He was traded back in December to send Willson Contreras from St. Louis to Boston and so far the Sox have won the trade. Contreras is their best power hitter, which isn't saying much, while Dobbins JUST came back from knee surgery and allowed 3 runs in 4 1/3 innings in his Cardinals debut, then 1 run in 3 2.3 innings. Just like the Rodriguez/Narvaez swap, the trade is still up for grabs. What's not is the fact Bloom found an MLB pitcher in the eighth round. Dobbins had the goods to make the show, he just couldn't stay healthy in Boston.

9th Round - INF Tyler Miller

In the 9th round, the Sox took Auburn University third baseman Tyler Miller. Miller looked like a house of fire with the Complex and Salem to end 2021 but flopped in 2022, hitting just .219 in 114 games although he did have 13 home runs. Things started to sour in 2024 when he hit just .228 with one home run for Portland and hit just .201 in 82 games in 2025. He was released in March of 2026 and hasn't signed with anyone since. Unlike the others, only one other pick in the ninth round made the show and it was Will Dion that JUST got promoted on May 26th. All in all Miller was just another failed ninth round pick in a sea full of them.

10th Round - RHP Matt Litwicki

In many cases, the prospects didn't make it at least played to show what they had. The Sox 10th round pick, right handed pitcher Matt Litwicki didn't even get a chance. He was an injury case at Indiana University pitching in just 22 games between 2019 and 2021. With the Red Sox, he missed all of 2021 and 2022 due to injury. He pitched in just 6 games in 2023 for the Complex and Salem before being released in August. These days he wears a hell of a suit working for Consolidated Electrical Distributors. To add insult to injury, Billy Cook, Darren Baker, Franco Aleman and Jack Winkler made MLB coming out of the 10th round after Litwicki. Its one thing to play 5 or 6 seasons in the minors and not make it, its another to be released after SIX games.

11th Round - INF Niko Kavadas

Bloom scored in the 11th round when he took slugger Niko Kavadas out of Notre Dame University. Kavadas bashed 26 home runs in Salem, Greenville and Portland combined in 2022 and hit 22 home runs between Portland and Worcester in 2023. In 2024 he was hitting .281 with 17 home runs when he was traded to Los Angeles in the package deal for Luis Garcia. It was a horrible trade as Kavadas along with Matthew Lugo and Ryan Zeferjahn all made their debuts with the Angels. Kavadas became the first member of this draft class to reach the majors. Niko hit 4 home runs in 30 games for the Angels in 2024 and was a 4A player in 2025, hitting 28 home runs for the Salt Lake Bees while getting in 10 games for LA. This year he's back with Salt Lake hitting .329 with 5 home runs. He might turn out to be a classic 4A player, but that's a hell of an accomplishment from an 11th round pick. He might not have made his debut with the Sox, but Bloom still made the right decision.

12th round - RHP Christopher Troye

In the 12th round, the Sox took right handed pitcher Christopher Troye out of USC Santa Barbara University. Once again this is is a case of taking the wrong guy. After having mediocre seasons in 2021 and 2022, Troye looked to be breaking out in 2023 when he allowed just 4 runs in 18 innings for Greenville to get called up to Portland. He posted a 3.77 ERA in 24 games and things appeared to be looking up. Instead he crashed in 2024, battling injuries to go 2-2 with a 4.60 ERA. In 2025 he had a 7.20 ERA for Portland when he was given the boot at the end of July. He's been out of baseball since and is now a real estate developer in Los Angeles. Usually 12th round picks aren't expected to be all-stars but here's the problem. Later in the 12th round the New York Yankees took Ben Rice who hit 26 home runs for the team that knocked the Red Sox out of the playoffs. Especially with Triston Casas' injury, bet they wish they picked Rice over Troye now.

13th Round - INF Zach Ehrhard

This pick doubly hurts because 13th round pick Zach Ehrhard has had quite the journey. The Sox initially took him out of Wharton High School but he chose not to sign, instead going to Oklahoma State. After 3 years there, the Sox took him again in the 4th round of the 2024 draft. Ehrhard hit .342 for Greenville in 2025 and had clobbered 8 home runs for Portland when he was traded along with James Tibbs to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dustin May at the trade deadline. The trade was a disaster as May was so bad he was released in September and Tibbs is hitting .300 with 12 home runs for the Oklahoma City Comets. Ehrhard is currently hitting .274 with 3 home runs for the Comets and the trade gets worse by the day. However, since this was a 2021 pick, we'll judge it by those standards. Zach didn't sign and Matt Svanson, David Festa and Bob Seymour all made the majors from the 13th round. How do you fumble the same guy twice?

14th Round - RHP Jacob Webb

Time's run out for Boston's 14th round pick, right handed pitcher Jacob Webb. Originally he seemed to be the one that would make the majors before anyone else as he allowed just 2 runs in 12 innings in 2021 and made it to Portland in 2022. Then he crashed hard as he was 8-3 but with a 5.03 ERA in 2023 and was 10-3 with a 4.28 ERA in 2024. He did get a cup of coffee in Worcester but it ended badly. In 2025 he was 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA for Portland but posted a 6.35 ERA in Worcester. This year he posted a 6.66 ERA before he was placed on the Development List for Worcester. He tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings in his return, but still. With so many fresh arms coming up, its just a matter of time before this loss is cut. What makes this pick worse is two very familiar faces were taken later. Boston's own Tyler Samaniego was the first pick of the 15th round and Caleb Durbin was drafted by the Atlanta Braves later in the 14th round. While Durbin is sputtering, Samaniego looked good before he was foolishly sent to Worcester. They could have had him all along if Chaim Bloom was just a bit smarter.

15th Round - INF Payton Green

The Sox swung and missed with their 15th round pick, Green Hope High School shortstop Payton Green. Why? He didn't sign. Green ended up going to North Carolina State before transferring to Georgia Tech. He was taken in the 6th round of the 2024 draft by the Miami Marlins and batted .266 with 8 home runs between A and AA in 2025. This year he was hitting .240 with 4 home runs for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos before being called up to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on the 26th. He has 3 hits in 11 at-bats and the word is still out whether or not he can make the majors. Unfortunately for the Sox, one guy did. Blake Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds taken later in the 15th round. If Green makes it to Miami, Bloom had the right idea....just the wrong time.

16th Round - INF BJ Vela

Much like Matt Litwicki, 16th round pick second baseman BJ Vela's time in Boston was very short...but no one really knows why. He played in 21 games for the Florida Complex Sox in 2022 and hit .342, not bad right? Well for whatever reason he was released in Spring Training in 2023. His journey wasn't over though, he went back to school and has played the last two years for Texas Wesleyan University. Whether or not he gets drafted again this year or simply goes on to life a normal life, it does seem strange that the Sox gave up on him THAT early, especially with Wyatt Olds and Jacob Webb given five full years. Later in the 16th round, the Detroit Tigers took Alek Jacob. Not the greatest resume but still more than what the Sox got out of Vela.

17th Round - RHP Luis Guerrero

Chaim Bloom scored big time late in the draft when he took right handed pitcher Luis Guerrero in the 17th round. Usually JuCo pitchers are cucka but Guerrero wasn't. He pitched for the Complex, Salem and Greenville in 2022 posting a 3.23 ERA. In 2023 he allowed 10 earned runs in 49 innings for Portland to move up to Worcester. He didn't have a successful cup of coffee, but began the 2024 season there. After being a stallwart all season in the bullpen, he was rewarded with a 9 game cup of coffee with Boston beginning on September 8. In 2025 he bounced between Boston and Worcester with a rehab stint in between. He was 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA for the playoff bound Sox but was shipped off to Tampa Bay in a salary dump for cheap infielder Tristan Gray of the Rays. This year he's floundering in AAA for the Durham Bulls going 1-3 with a 5.47 ERA. Still, he doesn't turn 26 until August and there's plenty of journeymen relievers in MLB and AAA, he's not done yet by a long shot. As it is, to make the majors from the 17th round is a win for Chaim Bloom.

18th Round - OF Phillip Sikes

For a while, it looked like outfielder Philip Sikes was going to follow Luis Guerrero to the majors as an 18th round pick. He hit .253 with Salem and Greenville in 2022 with 11 home runs. In 2023 he hit just .210 but with 9 home runs for Portland and in 2024 he hit .235 but with 11 home runs between Portland and Worcester. Then it crashed in 2025 as he hit just .200 with 6 home runs and was released in Spring Training earlier this year. He hasn't been picked up by anyone else yet and at 27 years old, this might be it. Chaim Bloom took a lot of all or nothing guys like Tyler McDonough, Niko Kavadas and Philip Sikes and only one barely made it. Now normally finding value in the 18th round is like finding a needle in a haystack, and unfortunately it wasn't the Red Sox. The Houston Astros took Will Wagner later in the 18th round. Still, the fact Sikes got to AAA from this spot gets an A for effort but not exactly a win since someone else made the majors.

19th Round - RHP Tyler Uberstine

A lot of people, myself included, thought Chaim Bloom was nuts for using their 19th round pick on Northwestern University right handed pitcher Tyler Uberstine. He was 2-3 with a 5.82 ERA in 8 starts his senior year but became the Complex ace to end 2021. In 2022 he started 21 games for Salem and Greenville before Tommy John surgery wiped out 2023 and most of 2024. In 2025, he went 6-5 with a 3.60 ERA for Portland and Worcester to put him in AAA to start 2026. On April 5th, he put in a yeoman's effort in his ML debut before being sent back to Worcester after the game. Then he got shut down due to shoulder inflammation. He just came back this past Tuesday and started his rehab in Greenville. If his shoulder is sound, he might be back to Boston sooner rather than later. Still, the fact the 19th round pick made MLB over a lot of others on this list is a hell of an accomplishment. That's a big W for Bloom no matter what moving forward.

20th Round - INF Josh Hood

In the 20th round, the Sox picked Pennsylvania University shortstop Josh Hood....and he didn't sign. He transferred to North Carolina State and ended up getting picked in the 6th round of the 2022 draft by the Seattle Mariners. Just like the others on this list, he's all or nothing. He hit .273 with 13 home runs in 2023 between Low and High A then hit .246 with 15 home runs for High A in 2024. Last year he hit just .206 with 12 home runs for the Double A Arkansas Travelers and got even worse this year, hitting just .157 with 4 home runs. If the power numbers dip as he climbs the ranks, that's NOT a good sign when he doesn't hit for average. To make matters worse, later in the 20th round the Mariners took Troy Taylor and the San Diego Padres took Chase Burns. Finding value in the 20th round is even harder than the 19th so kudos to Seattle and San Diego. The Sox got burnt by Hood but it doesn't seem like it'll effect much.

RFA - OF Kier Meredith

Sometimes things work out in different ways and such was the case with Clemson University outfielder Kier Meredith. His four years at Clemson were good but not good enough for the draft as he went undrafted after all 20 rounds. The Red Sox took a flier on him as a rookie free agent and he hit just .265 for Salem in 2022 and just .178 for Greenville in 2023. After the season he voluntarily retired and became a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates. On top of that, he became an assistant coach for Team USA Baseball. A lot of great field managers weren't very good players in their day and it takes a lot of courage to know when to admit you're in over your head. Still, for someone who wasn't even drafted to make a career out of being a scout & coach, that's better than nothing.

Lastly, the Sox took a flier on former local Brighton High School pitcher Jhonny Felix after the 2021 draft. To show signs of things to come, he allowed 10 runs in 3 innings for the Florida Complex to end the 2021 season. In 2022, he allowed 41 runs in 38 innings between the Complex and Salem. In 2023, he allowed 36 runs in 45 innings for Salem before being released in August. Not much you can say since he only cost 20 grand to sign and you didn't waste a draft pick on him. Still, you'd like him to have done better than THAT. Oh well.

The 2021 Draft for all intents and purposes was a success. There aren't any Hall of Fame caliber players as of yet but 6 players made the show with another few still knocking at the door. The word is still out on Mayer, Dobbins, Guerrero, Uberstine, Dobbins and Rodriguez but at least they made it. Fabian, Ehrhard, Green, Webb, Olds and Ehrhard are in AAA while Hood is still in AA. The 2021 season was the last to go right for the Red Sox and to get value out of your 17th and 19th round pick is nothing short of remarkable. Would have been nice not to have wasted your 2nd and 3rd round picks but sometimes that's the way it goes.

Early, Sox Blank Braves (5/27/26)

Looks like the Boston Red Sox bats finally woke up. Recently they've been scoring more runs but the pitching hasn't held up, tonight it did. Connelly Early (5-2, 2.95 ERA) tossed one of his best games of the season against one of the best teams in the league. Early held the Atlanta Braves to just 4 hits in 7 shutout innings as the bats finally woke up. The Sox rode a 6 run bottom of the fourth with Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu both driving in a pair of runs. Marcelo Mayer drove in a run in the bottom of the seventh and a suddenly hot Jarren Duran pounded yet another home run in the bottom of the eighth. In one of their only complete games of the season, the Sox cruised to an 8-0 victory over Atlanta at Fenway Park.

                                                           Ward approves of the win

Early got the ball in the top of the first inning and Ronald Acuna Jr walked to start. Acuna stole second and Mauricio Dubon reached when Marcelo Mayer booted a grounder for an error. Matt Olson popped up to third and Ozzie Albies grounded into a double play to end the inning. Elder got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran flied out to right to start. Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit to right and promptly stole second. Wilyer Abreu grounded out to third but Willson Contreras got a base hit to left. Chad Epperson waived Rafaela home despite Ceddanne not even around third yet and he was thrown out easily to end the inning.

Austin Riley walked to start the top of the second and Michael Harris struck out swinging. Jorge Mateo got a base hit to right but Ha-Seong Kim flied out to center. Chadwick Tromp struck out swinging to end the inning. Masataka Yoshida flied out to center to start the bottom of the second and Mickey Gasper flied out to left. Nick Sogard dropped down a bunt and Elder threw the ball away allowing Nick to reach third. Naturally with a man on third, Mayer flied out to right to end the inning.

Acuna struck out swinging to start the top of the third and Dubon lined out to left. Olson walked but Albies grounded out to second to end the inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third but Duran got a base hit to center. Rafaela got a base hit to center and naturally with a runner in scoring position, Abreu lined out to left. Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning as Fenway booed like crazy.

Riley struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth and Harris grounded out to second. Mateo got a base hit to left and Kim flied out to center to end the inning. Yoshida got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the fourth and Gasper walked. Sogard dropped down a bunt to move the runners over but naturally with runners in scoring position....Olson booted an easy grounder by Mayer to score Yoshida and move Gasper to third. Somehow Kiner got a base hit to left to score Gasper and Duran got a base hit to left to load the bases. Rafaela got a base hit to left and Tromp booted it to score Mayer and Kiner, moving Duran to third. Dylan Dodd came in to pitch and a wild pitch moved Rafaela to second, then Abrey got a base hit to center to score both runners. Abreu stole second but Conteras popped up to short. Yoshida lined out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 6-0.

                                                 Rafaela with the MEAN look in his eyes

Tromp flied out to right to start the top of the fifth and Acuna grounded out to second. Dubon flied out to center to end the inning. Carlos Carrasco came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Gasper lined out to right to start. Sogard grounded out to second but Mayer got a base hit to right. Kiner popped up to second to end the inning.

Olson lined out to center to start the top of the sixth but Albies got a base hit to right. Riley and Harris both struck out swinging to end the inning. Duran got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the sixth but Rafaela flied out to center. Abreu lined out to left but Contreras took strike three to end the inning.

Early returned for one final inning in the top of the seventh as Mateo grounded out to third to start. Kim struck out swinging but Tromp doubled off the glove of Abreu. Acuna lined out to right to end the inning. Early was awesome, pitching 7 shutout innings allowing just 4 hits and 3 walks.

                                                            Fantastic stuff

The Sox struck again in the bottom of the seventh as Yoshida lined out to left to start. Gasper got a base hit to center then moved to second on the grounder to second by Sogard. Mayer got a base hit to right to score Gasper but Kiner struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-0.

                                                     Mayer needed that one

Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Dubon got a base hit to center to start. Olson lined out to right but Albies walked. Riley flied out to center and Harris lined out to second to end the inning. The Sox put the exclamation point on in the bottom of the eighth when Duran jacked his 8th home run of the season to start. Rafaela grounded out to first, Abreu also grounded out to first and Contreras grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-0.

                                                       Duran gets the Wally Head

Watson returned to close out the top of the ninth and Mateo flied out to center to start. Kim struck out swinging and Tromp lined out to third to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-0.

                                                           Sox win

Hero of The Night is Connelly Early. He tossed 7 shutout innings allowing 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7

                                                        Hero Early

The Good:

Jarren Duran was 4 for 5 with a home run and 2 total runs scored.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 3 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.

Mickey Gasper was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Nick Sogard was 1 for 3.

Marcelo Mayer was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.

Ryan Watson tossed 2 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

The Ugly:

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 5 but drove in 2 runs.

Willson Contreras was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored.

Final Thoughts:

Now that's more like it. Amazing what happens when your leadoff hitter does his job and there aren't three automatic outs in the lineup. Not that Nick Sogard, Mickey Gasper and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are going to be all-stars but compared to what Trevor Story, Caleb Durbin and the team of Carlos Narvaez & Connor Wong were doing, its an improvement. Duran's resurgence was badly needed with the season slipping away and the addition by subtraction has gotten the Sox more runs lately. Connelly Early might not get the Cy Young award with too many no-decisions but AL Rookie of The Year is definitely in play. Long starts like his shorten the game and save the bullpen which was badly needed. Being 8 games under .500 at the end of May would normally be a death knell but this team would be a hell of a lot better if they consistently scored runs. They've scored 14 runs the past two games and while tomorrow's starter makes it unlikely they'll score a lot in the third game, but its better than usual. The Sox have a tall task if they want to take the series against Atlanta tomorrow, old pal Chris Sale awaits. Standing in his way is Peyton Tolle (2-2, 2.45 ERA) of the Red Sox. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Off Day News: Final 2020 Draft Revisit (5/25/26)

Its an off-day and this will be the last time we take a look back at the ill-fated 2020 MLB Draft for the Boston Red Sox. Its been 6 years and nothing good has come out of it...for Boston anyway. Let's see how the draft turned out and never speak of it again.

1st Round - INF Nick Yorke

                                                         

The good news was first round pick Nick Yorke did make the majors....the bad news was it wasn't with the Red Sox. Yorke showed promise in 2021 and 2022 after Covid ended then hit .268 with 13 home runs for the Portland Sea Dogs in 2023. Yorke was in Worcester in 2024 hitting .310 with 6 home runs when he was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitching prospect Quinn Priester at the trade deadline. Yorke had an 11 game cup of coffee with the Pirates and 22 games in 2025. He made the Pirates out of Spring Training this season but was optioned back to Indianapolis after hitting .197 with one home run. The bottom line was former Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom drafted a production line of infielders in the early rounds from 2020-23 and deemed Yorke expendable. It was the right pick to make, its too bad he just had to seek his fortunes elsewhere. On top of everything, the Sox traded Priester too and Quinn went 13-3 with Milwaukee in 2025.

2nd Round - None

3rd Round - INF Blaze Jordan

As mentioned many times, 3rd round pick Blaze Jordan was a known name long before the 2020 draft hitting 400 foot bombs as a teenager in his native Mississippi. After clubbing 19 home runs his first three years of high school, Covid ruined his senior year but it didn't stop the Sox from taking him with the 89th pick of the draft. He developed slowly as most high schoolers turned MLB prospects do, but it was worth the wait.....for the most part. His breakout season was in 2023 for Greenville and Portland smashing 18 home runs and driving in 86. In 2024 he dealt with a broken finger that limited him to 7 home runs but in 2025 he was back to his old self, hitting 12 home runs and driving 62 runs between Portland and Worcester by the end of July. That's when the numbers game came into play. The Sox made a calculated decision with Triston Casas out for the season to stick with Dominic Brown as their first baseman rather than promote the 22 year old Jordan. Instead, Jordan was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for veteran relief pitcher Steven Matz. Matz solidified the bullpen that had been shaky and helped the Sox make the playoffs. Meanwhile given new life in St. Louis, Jordan is currently hitting .329 with 9 home runs for the Memphis Redbirds. A call to St. Louis will be here sooner rather than later. With all this in mind, was this a good pick? He hasn't made the majors yet so on a technicality, the Sox missed out on Cleveland Guardians outfielder Petey Halpin taken just 6 picks after Jordan. However, hindsight is 20/20. Had the Sox known Triston Casas would never come back, they might have traded a different prospect for Matz. Still, He won't turn 24 until December so if Blaze does make his debut this year, that's a feather in Chaim Bloom's cap. For a not so fun fact, Kyle Harrison was taken by the Giants 4 picks before Jordan for more salt in THAT wound.

4th Round - Jeremy Wu-Yelland

Injuries are a bitch and look no further than Boston's fourth round draft choice in the 2020 draft, Hawaii University left hander Jeremy Wu-Yelland. After failing as a starter, Yelland tossed 13 innings allowing just 1 run before the 2020 season was cancelled. The Sox took him in the fourth round 118th overall and put him back in the rotation where he was 2-4 with a 3.91 ERA between Salem and Greenville. Then disaster struck as he had Tommy John surgery in April of 2022 which wiped out most of his 2023 season as well. In 2024 he pitched like absolute crap for Greenville but after missing the first month of 2025, he rebounded to go 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA in Portland. That's where the story ends because he's been on the Injured List ever since. If he doesn't come back soon throwing darts, he's a gonner. The Sox have a bevy of pitchers from the 2024 and 2025 drafts coming up and Yelland turns 27 in June. To add insult to injury, just three picks after the Sox took Yelland, the Milwaukee Brewers took outfielder Joey Wiemer who made his ML debut in 2023 and is hitting close to .290 with Washington this season. Yelland had the 95 mph fastball, its too bad his body isn't holding up. There's still a small fraction of hope they might get something out of him, but time is running out.

5th Round - Shane Drohan

Just like Nick Yorke, the good news was Boston's fifth round pick, left handed pitcher Shane Drohan out of Florida State University made the majors....it just wasn't with Boston. Drohan had a very peculiar journey as he posted a 7-4 record with a 3.96 ERA in 2021 for Salem and a 6-7 record with a 4.00 ERA for Greenville in 2022. In 2023 he started the season 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA in 6 starts to earn a promotion to Worcester where he....totally crapped the bed going 5-7 with a 6.47 ERA. Unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft, Drohan was picked up by the Chicago White Sox where he battled injuries and ineffectiveness before the White Sox sent him back to the Red Sox in 2024. He missed 3 months in 2025 and was batting practice in 3 starts for Greenville....then suddenly found his groove in Worcester going 5-1 with a 2.27 ERA to end the season. Then then came the fateful trade that sent him, David Hamilton and Kyle Harrison to the Milwaukee Brewers for Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Siegler and a second round draft pick. Drohan actually made his MLB debut as a starter against the Red Sox on April 8th before being sent down to AAA. He was brought back up as a relief pitcher where he's thriving, posting a 2-1 record with a 2.63 ERA. Much like Blaze Jordan with St. Louis, it took a very long time but it looks like Drohan is off and running with Milwaukee. He's 27 years old now and he definitely seemed expendable with the bulk of the Sox draft choices being pitchers the last few seasons, a change of scenery might be what the doctor ordered. Then again, imagine HIM in the Sox bullpen now instead of Ryan Watson.

RFA - RHP Jacinto Arredondo

With only five rounds, the Red Sox ended up signing SIXTEEN rookie free agents following the draft. First up was right handed pitcher Jacinto Arredondo out of Tampa College. He was originally committed to Auburn back in 2017 but was one of the casualties when Sunny Golloway was fired...which is a story for another day. He was named D2 College World Series MVP for Tampa in 2019 and just like everyone else, his 2020 season was cut short due to Covid. Signed by the Sox, he was 2-2 with a 4.09 ERA out of the bullpen for Salem in 2021 but was batting practice in Greenville in 2022 posting a 3-1 record but with a 6.30 ERA. Realizing he was in over his head, he chose to retire in January of 2023. It takes a brave man to know when its not going to work out and chooses to retire rather than waste everyone's time. Currently he's the head baseball coach at South Sumter Prep School in Florida. Last year he was named Coach of The Year for their league. Nice to see Arredondo find success in coaching he didn't pitching with Greenville.

RFA - RHP Jordan DiValerio

Another rookie free agent signed was right handed pitcher Jordan DiValerio out of St. Joseph's University. Supposedly Chris Sale himself was apart of recruiting Jordan to sign with Boston. Unfortunately DiValerio was straight batting practice in his time in the organization. He was 4-0 with Greenville in 2022 but with a 5.32 ERA. In 2023 he was 5-6 with a 5.08 ERA for the Drive and got cut in Spring Training in 2024. He hooked on with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League and went 20-6 as a starter the last two seasons. Who knows, maybe someone will sign him as a reclamation project for the 2026 season? Either way its good to see him still active in the baseball world.

RFA - RHP Brian Van Belle

Much like Nick Yorke, its a shame that it took going to another organization for right handed pitcher Brian Van Belle to make his major league debut. Van Belle had allowed just 2 earned runs in 26 innings for Miami Ohio University when Covid wiped out the season. He showed flashes of promise in his rise from the Greenville Drive in 2021 to the Worcester Red Sox in 2024 but his ERA was rarely below 4.20. In 2025, he was 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA when he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds for a brown sack full of money. He was almost immediately traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for old pal Zack Littell. He had a 4 game cup of coffee for the Rays but injured his arm and not only missed the rest of the season, but he won't pitch this year either. Its a shame how he was just coming into his own when he went down. He'll be 30 at the start of the 2027 season but hopefully he bounces back.

RFA - Catcher Jose Garcia

In some cases you had guys that made it like Nick Yorke, Shane Drohan and Brian Van Belle...and then you have guys like Florida International University catcher Jose Garcia that didn't come close. Garcia caught 21 games between the Florida Complex and the Salem Red Sox in 2021 and caught 37 between Salem and Greenville in 2022. His problem? He couldn't hit. He hit just .216 in 2022 in Salem and just .177 in Greenville in his 5 game appearance. In February 2023 during Spring Training he realized he was in over his head and called it quits. Once again, it takes a smart and courageous man to walk away rather than waste people's time.

RFA - RHP Graham Hoffman

Injuries are known to derail careers and one of the casualties was right handed pitcher Graham Hoffman out of South Florida University. He had Tommy John surgery in 2019 and Covid wiped out 2020. He missed 2021 with a right flexor strain although he looked like he was turning the corner in 2022 between Salem and Greenville. In 2023 he bottomed out going 2-2 with a 6.55 ERA before he was released in August. These days he's a Corporate Banking Credit Associate in his home state wearing one of the finest suits and ties you'll ever see. Good to see him doing well, its a shame multiple injuries kept him from baseball success.

RFA - INF Jake MacKenzie

A lot of people felt the Sox gave up too soon on infielder Jake MacKenzie but he hasn't exactly burnt them since he's been gone. After having 3 good seasons for Fordham University, the Sox picked up MacKenzie as a rookie free agent after the 2020 draft. He played in just 54 games between Salem and Greenville in 2021 and suddenly was released in spring training in 2022. Why? Who the hell knows. After spending 2022 and parts of 2023 in the Independent League, MacKenzie was signed by the Colorado Rockies. After hitting .310 for the Complex Rockies, he was promoted to Spokane for a 5 game cup of coffee. That would be it for MacKenzie in pro ball as he ended up playing for Quebec in the Frontier League in 2024. The Sox cut their losses early with MacKenzie and it didn't come back to haunt them.

RFA - RHP Maceo Campbell

The Sox got what they paid for when they signed right handed pitcher Maceo Campbell out of Longwood University after the 2020 draft as a rookie free agent. Campbell pitched in just 16 games for Longwood and allowed 22 runs in 22 innings. What possessed then Sox GM Chaim Bloom to sign him is anyone's guess. He was 4-5 between Greenville and Salem in 2022 with an ERA over 6 and allowed 38 runs in 36 innings in 2023 for Greenville. He was released in spring training in 2024 and has been bouncing around the independent leagues ever since. No disrespect to Campbell as a human being and he did his best on the mound, but what about his stats at Longwood prompted Chaim Bloom to take a flier on him?

RFA - RHP Cole Milam

The Sox took a crapshot when they signed Southern Illinois Edwardsville right handed pitcher Cole Milam after the 2020 season. After having hideous 2018 and 2019 seasons in college, Milam looked to have been on the verge of a breakout in 2020 when Covid came to cancel the season. In 2021, he had an 11 game stretch where he looked like he knew what he was doing for the Complex but allowed 12 runs in 20 innings to finish the season in Salem. Rather than give it another shot in 2022, Milam called it quits in December 2021. Now he's a Certified Financial Planner for Gatewood Health Solutions in his home state of Illinois. If you need some financial planning in Illinois, he's the guy to see. After all, he wears an impeccable tie.

RFA - RHP Merfy Andrew-Marmolejos

What happens when a one trick pony's one trick isn't even that good? You get right handed pitcher Merfy Andrew-Marmolejos. He was already 22 years old when he enrolled at ASA College in Miami and proceeded to allow 32 runs in 26 innings in 2018 and 2019. Transferring to St. Thomas, he was 3-0 in 5 games before Covid wiped out the 2020 season. What caught the eye of the Sox? He could hit 101 on the gun. The problem is, he had absolutely no idea where it was going in college and then in the pro's, it had no movement. He allowed 23 runs in 19 innings between the Complex and Salem before he allowed 12 runs in 10 innings for the Complex before being released in July 2022. He looks to be having the time of his life on Instagram these days so its good to see him in high spirits. It's too bad his fastball was straight as an arrow.

RFA - 1B Cuba Bess

What a strange journey its been for Cuba Bess, who was signed as a first baseman out of Grand Canyon University following the 2020 draft. He hit .250 for the Florida Complex Red Sox in 2021 and was inexplicably cut in spring training in 2022. He was picked up by the Colorado Rockies and made it to Spokane in both 2022 and 2023. After getting cut by the Rockies, he spent time as a personal trainer before playing in the independent league in 2025 for the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers. Least he's still in the game somewhere.

RFA - RHP Robert Kwiatkowski

As sad as it sounds, a lot of these prospects barely made it past A ball. One that did was right handed pitcher Robert Kwiatkowski out of Marshall University. Also unlike the others, he looked to be on the fast track in 2021 when he went 6-0 with a 3.58 ERA for Salem. His breakout season was in 2024 when he was 11-2 with a 2.92 ERA out of the bullpen for Portland which earned him a late season promotion to the Worcester Red Sox. He was 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA and just as it looked like he had it figured it out....he was scooped up by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft. Pitching for the Knoxville Smokies in 2025, he was 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA when he was released in June. How his career fell apart just by the change of scenery is anyone's guess but those are the breaks. Still, he made it further than a lot of other people on this list.

RFA - C Juan Montero

As sad as it sounds, only 2 players remain with the organization that were drafted or signed in 2020 and the second one is Puerto Rican Baseball Academy catcher Juan Montero. Quite simply, he can't hit for beans. After playing 2 years in the Complex, he hit .247 with no home runs in 23 games with Salem in 2023. In 2024 he played in 50 games and batted an even .200. In 2025 he got in 26 games between Greenville and Portland hitting just .188. He was activated just 6 days ago for Worcester and hasn't got in a game yet. This is a classic case of being a damn good defensive catcher that can't hit at all. Reports say he's a good clubhouse leader which actually compares him to the legendary Bob Uecker. Uecker made a lifetime career out of self deprecating humor about how bad he was as a player, yet didn't want anyone to know he was pretty good defensively. I doubt Juan Montero is due to be baseball's next big comedian but hey, at least there's nothing wrong with his glove or throwing arm.

RFA - RHP Henry Nunez

Recently 2021 draft pick Elmer Rodriguez made his ML debut with the New York Yankees after he was drafted out of the Puerto Rican Baseball Academy by the Red Sox. What's that got to do with right handed pitcher Henry Nunez? He wasn't taken out of the Academy but he too was a Puerto Rican teenager signed by the Sox after the 2020 draft. Unlike Rodriguez, Nunez was batting practice for the Florida Complex Sox in 2021 although he was 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA in 2022. He was released in Spring Training in 2023. He's been out of baseball since then, oh well.

RFA - RHP Casey Cobb

One of the disappointments in this crop was right handed pitcher Casey Cobb. He allowed 1 run in 12 innings for Alabama University when Covid wiped out the 2020 season. Signed by the Red Sox, he looked like the right choice when he was 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA between Salem and Greenville in 2021. Then he fell apart in 2022 going 4-4 with a 6.27 ERA between Greenville and Portland. After posting a 5.62 ERA in Greenville in 2023, he was released in November. He pitched in the independent leagues in 2024, he was out of baseball. Its too bad, after 2021 he looked like a breakout star and he fizzled.

RFA - RHP Joey Stock

Another casualty of the 2021 season was right handed pitcher Joey Stock. It seemed nothing could go wrong for not only the Boston Red Sox but their farm system as well. Not just Casey Cobb, but Joey Stock from Saint John's allowed 9 runs in 26 innings between the Complex and Salem in 2021. In 2022 he was 5-4 with a 2.85 ERA between Salem and Greenville making it look like he was ready to break out in 2023. Instead he fell flat on his face going 1-5 with an 8.31 ERA. He decided to retire in October rather than try again in 2024. Like its been said many times, it takes a man of great courage to realize he's in over his head and walk away. Its too bad everything went to hell after 2021....for everyone really.

RFA - RHP Nate Tellier

Stop me if you've heard this, a right handed pitcher taken by the Red Sox after the 2020 draft had a good 2021 and fell apart after. This time I'm talking about Attleboro's own Nate Tellier out of Umass-Dartmouth. He was 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA in 2021 between the Complex and Salem when...you guessed it...he fell apart in 2022. He was 0-3 with a 6.31 ERA in 2022 and the good news was he went 6-1 for Greenville in 2023....bad news was he had a 7.13 ERA. He was released in Spring Training 2024 and now makes a living as one of the Savanah Bananas traveling opponents. Least he gets to have fun every day now.

The bottom line was the 2020 draft was an unmitigated disaster that produced some talent, albeit the Sox don't get to enjoy it. Only 3 players made the show with 2 more still in the Red Sox system and another one in AAA with the St. Louis Cardinals. Still, the fact there were only 5 rounds limited the talent pool and turned the 2020 collegiate and high school athletes into a signing free for all. Still, the name of the game is MLB talent and Shane Drohan, Brian Van Belle and Nick Yorke made it with Blaze Jordan knocking at the door. It would have been nice to get more out of the rest of them but that's how it goes. This was the final look back at the 2020 draft class and hopefully 2021 will be a lot more successful when all is said and done.

Off-Day News: 2019 Draft Re-visit (5/21/26)

Today is an off-day and for the first time ever, we're going to take a look back....way back...to the Boston Red Sox 2019 MLB draft. Before 2020 there were FORTY rounds and it would be way too long to go through all of the selections. However we're going to take a look at some of the names you might recognize, even if they didn't make their careers in Boston. So let's see some of the highlights of Dave Dombrowski's last draft before getting the axe in September 2019.

2nd Round - INF Cam Cannon

Famously the Sox didn't have a first round pick in 2019 because they were over the Luxury Tax and MLB rolled a 20 on Smite. Their first pick was in the second round 43rd overall, infielder Cam Cannon. Why take him? He hit 8 home runs and hit .397 his senior year for Arizona State....just like another fella named Dustin Pedroia who had retired back in April of 2019. He looked to have a breakout in 2021 where he hit .302 with 8 home runs for the Greenville Drive in 2021 before getting a late call up to the Portland Sea Dogs where he tacked on 3 more home runs. In 2022 he played in just 51 games where he hit .245 between Florida Complex, Portland and Worcester. He was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Rule 5 Draft and hit .206 in 46 games for the Reading Fighting Phillies before being released. Unfortunately this was a wasted pick since he never got to the show and to add insult to injury, he was chosen ONE pick after the Orioles took Gunnar Henderson. 3 picks after Cannon, the Miami Marlins drafted Nasim Nunez who may not be hitting well for the Washington Nationals but does have 20 stolen bases this year. The Cincinnatti Reds also picked up Rece Hinds and Brandon Williamson with two picks in the second round after Cannon was taken. After spending a few years in the indy leagues, now he's a highly recommended real estate agent. If you need a house in Arizona, give Cam a call. 

2nd Round - INF Matthew Lugo

The good news was Boston's other second round pick made the Majors....bad news was it wasn't with Boston. Infielder Matthew Lugo was a can't miss kid out of Beltran Academy in Puerto Rico....owned by his uncle Carlos Beltran. In 2022 Lugo broke out with 18 home runs, 78 rbis and a .288 batting average for the Greenville Drive. He was limited to just 83 games with Portland in 2023 but was on the verge of a breakout in 2024. He hit .315 with 11 home runs to get the call to Worcester where he was hitting .250 with 5 home runs. Then Sox GM Craig Breslow idiotically sent Ryan Zeferjahn, Niko Kavadas, Lugo and Yeferson Vargas to the Los Angeles Angels for relief pitcher Luis Garcia. Garcia sucked in Boston while Lugo, Kavadas and Zeferjahn all made their ML debuts with the Angels. Lugo played in 31 games for the Angels last year but shockingly got demoted this year. He's not even playing in AAA, the 25 year old is with the Rocket City Trash Pandas in AA. Still, if those 31 games is all he ever plays, that's more than other guys taken in the second round ever played. Bet the Sox wish they had that trade back.

3rd Round - RHP Ryan Zeferjahn

Speaking of right handed pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn, he was taken in the third round of the 2019 draft out of Kansas University. It looked like a bad pick when he was batting practice for the Salem Red Sox in 2021 and the Greenville Drive in 2022....but got a 6 game callup to Portland at the end of 2022 going 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA. That looked like a fluke when he was 0-4 with a 5.02 ERA in 2023 for Portland but only allowed 2 runs in 13 innings to start 2024. He was promoted to Worcester where he was 0-3 with a 5.47 ERA when he was traded in the package for Luis Garcia. It looked like no big loss but then suddenly he was promoted to make his ML debut with the Angels. He posted a 2.12 ERA to end 2024 and went 6-5 with a 4.74 ERA out of the bullpen last year. This year he's 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA and while those may not be eye popping stats, at least he's in the show. He's not selling real estate or in Double A like the previous two. Even though he showed no promise with the Sox organization, this pick is still considered a success considering how far he got....even if it wasn't here.

4th Round - RHP Noah Song

Forget baseball career, the LIFE of right handed pitcher Noah Song should be a movie someday. Song pitched for four years in Annapolis for the US Naval Academy before getting picked by the Red Sox in the 4th round of the 2019 draft. After being the Lowell Spinners' ace to end 2019, he was subsequently drafted to become a real life Top Gun, going to flight school and missing the 2020-22 seasons. He was then taken by Philadelphia in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft by the man who drafted him, but since he didn't make the majors, he was returned to the Sox at the end of the 2023 season. Then he had to have Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2024 season and most of 2025. He allowed 29 runs in 47 innings to finish 2025 between Portland and the Worcester Red Sox. This year he's 1-1 with a 6.17 ERA and it doesn't look like he's going to make it. Still, to be a real life Lieutenant Top Gun and pitch in AAA all before turning 29 is nothing to sneeze at. Still, it can't be considered a true success since he didn't get the call to Boston. He was the last pick of the fourth round and one pick later, the first of the 5th, the Baltimore Orioles took Darrell Hernaiz who's now playing for the Oakland A's. Still, since everyone else from the 2019 draft is gone, this makes Song the last of the Lowell Spinners to still be with Boston. Who knows, maybe there will be a Hollywood ending where he's pitching at Fenway this year. We can dream, right?

6th Round - LHP Chris Murphy

Another success was Boston's sixth round pick, left handed pitcher Chris Murphy out of San Diego University. Murphy allowed just 6 runs in 33 innings for the Lowell Spinners to end 2019 and was batting practice as a starter between 2021-23. Still, the lack of options out of the bullpen led the Sox to promote Murphy and his 6.32 ERA from Worcester to Boston on June 7, 2023. After having Tommy John surgery in 2024, he came back in late June 2025. He was 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA down the stretch for the Sox as they marched to the playoffs only to be upended by the New York Yankees. Then just to save a few dollars, Murphy was traded to the Chicago White Sox in November for catching prospect Ronny Hernandez. Fans were irate at the time but this year he's allowed 7 runs in 6 innings earning a demotion to the Charlotte Knights where he's 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA. If the 27 year old's best days are behind him, at least he can say he was apart of a playoff team in Boston. To those that say Dave Dombrowski couldn't draft, four out of his first six draft picks in this draft made the show.

10th Round - OF Steve Scott

In the 10th round, the Sox took outfielder Steve Scott out of Vanderbilt University. Why is this pick noteworthy? His minor league career wasn't anything to write about but its about the pick they DIDN'T make. Scott had a hell of 2021 hitting 16 home runs and driving in 71 runs between Salem and Greenville. In 2022, the Portland Sea Dogs made the playoffs due to 7 home runs in 59 games courtesy of Scott. In 2023 he made it to Worcester where he hit just .228 but with 13 home runs. With the log jam in the Red Sox outfield at the time (and still to this day), Scott was released in Spring Training in 2024. He spent two years with the Toledo Mud Hens but was released after hitting .138 last year. Just another failed 10th round pick in a sea full of them right? Problem is just two picks after the Sox took Scott, the Kansas City Royals took slugger Vinnie Pasquantino. Pasquantino hit 32 home runs and was third in the American League with 113 rbis last season with the Royals. We just saw Pasquantino for three games leading to today's off-day as well. As good as Dombrowski's picks were, taking Scott over Pasquantino haunted them big time.

14th Round - 1B Jordan Beck

Sometimes guys are drafted in the wrong place at the wrong time, such was the case when the Sox used their 14th round pick on an Alabama high school first baseman named Jordan Beck. Beck refused to sign with the Red Sox and ended up going to Tennessee University. This increased his draft stock enough to be drafted by the Colorado Rockies 38th overall in 2022. He played in 55 games with the Rockies in 2024 and belted 16 home runs while driving in 53 runs in 2025. This year he's only hitting .183 with a home run but the fact he made the show to begin with has to be considered a success...or half of one in this case. Dave Dombrowski's scouting department knew they had MLB caliber talent, he just chose to go to Tennessee instead. Oh well, what are you gonna do?

26th Round - LHP Brandon Walter

Dombrowski scored late in the draft when he took left handed pitcher Brandon Walter out of Delaware University in the 26th round. He was 5-4 with a 2.92 ERA between Salem and Greenville in 2021 and was 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA in 9 starts with Portland in 2022. He got a cup of coffee with Worcester to end 2022 and was pitching well in the Worcester rotation in 2023 when he got the call to Boston on June 22nd.....as a relief pitcher. He allowed 17 runs in 23 innings before being sent back to Worcester. In 2024 he missed the first few months of the season recovering from a rotar cuff injury when he was released. He was picked up by the Houston Astros although he didn't pitch. In 2025 he was 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA for the Sugarland Space Cowboys before being brought up by the Astros as a starter. Shockingly he was 1-3 but with a respectable 3.35 ERA in 9 starts. Unfortunately he's been injured this season but he's still a success story. With the rotation in shambles in 2023, its a wonder the Sox didn't put Walter in it outright but, that's another Chaim Bloom failure. Hopefully Walter recovers but either way, another Dombrowski draft pick that can be considered a success.

32nd Round - RHP Bradley Blalock

Another late round success was 32nd round pick, right handed pitcher Bradley Blalock out of Grayson High School in Georgia. After going 5-6 with a 2.99 ERA for the Gulf Coast Red Sox in 2019, he was 3-6 with a 4.27 ERA in 23 starts for Salem in 2022. He had Tommy John surgery in 2022 but it seemed to have fixed him. In 2023 he was 6-1 with a 2.82 ERA between Salem and Greenville when he was infamously traded for Milwaukee Brewers utility infielder Luis Urias at the 2023 trade deadline, more on that later. He was 5-2 with a 4.08 ERA for the Biloxi Shuckers when he made his major league debut in July of 2024 with 10 scoreless innings. That prompted the Brewers to trade him to Colorado at the deadline where he was 1-3 with a 6.07 ERA to end the season. Last year he was AWFUL, going 2-6 with a 9.36 ERA in 12 starts for the Rockies. This season he's currently 1-3 with a 4.74 ERA for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Miami Marlins AAA team. So why was the trade to Milwaukee so infamous? Not just Red Sox fans but Rafael Devers and Kenley Jansen of the Sox themselves were screaming at then-General Manager Chaim Bloom for help at the trade deadline. Just like his predecessor Dave Dombrowski in 2019, the only move Bloom made was trading Blalock for Urias. The Sox went right in the tank and Bloom was fired in September. If nothing else, Blalock is forever linked to the downfall of Chaim Bloom through no fault of his own. Becoming the 7th player to make the majors is nothing to sneeze at if you're Dave Dombrowski's scouting department.

37th Round - LHP Connor Prielipp

Hey look! Its tomorrow night's starter against the Red Sox, left handed pitcher Connor Prielipp of the Minnesota Twins. The current odds on favorite for AL Rookie of The Year was actually drafted by the Red Sox in the 37th round back in 2019....but just like Jordan Beck, he didn't sign. He ended up going to Alabama University where he was taken 48th overall in the 2022 draft by Minnesota. It looked like he wasn't headed very far when he went 1-9 with a 4.03 ERA between AA and AAA but turned it around this year. He was 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA in 3 starts before making his ML debut. He's currently 1-2 with a 2.88 ERA and if he keeps his ERA down, that might be good enough for Rookie of The Year. Just like with Jordan Beck, the scouting department knew he had talent, he just didn't sign.

So there you have it, there's our one and only look at the 2019 MLB Draft for the Boston Red Sox. 7 guys made the majors with an 8th shockingly still in the system. Cam Cannon was the Sox first pick due to Luxury Tax issues and the Sox missed out on Vinnie Pasquantino by two picks, no disrespect to Steve Scott. The rest of them were slam dunks, even if two of them didn't actually sign and 3 made their debuts elsewhere. Chris Murphy was an integral part of the 2025 playoff run and the trade in 2024 opened the door for Lugo and Zeferjahn to find MLB success. Who the hell thought Brandon Walter would become a stud in 2025 and hopefully his injury heals. The name of the game is development and for a lot of grief Sox fans have given Dave Dombrowski about gutting the farm system, it wasn't like he wasn't making good picks since seven made the show (with a possible 8th) in his final draft. If Craig Breslow isn't fired by the all-star break, it'll be interesting if he can draft 7 major leaguers in a single draft. Time will tell.