In the first round the Red Sox made everyone throw up when they took North Carolina University shortstop Jake Schaffner 20th overall. He was projected to go in the second or third round so this is an "underslot" pick. What that means is first round picks that know they're going first want first round money. Someone like Schaffner will sign for loss. Essentially the Sox are so cheap they don't even want to spend money on DRAFT PICKS! He did hit .356 with 6 home runs for the NCAA runner up including driving in 2 runs in the Game 2 victory over Oklahoma U. The word on the street is this was a pick to save money, hope it works out.
The Sox didn't have their own second round pick due to signing Ranger Suarez but the second round pick they got in the Kyle Harrison trade was 67th overall. The first pick now made sense by picking Schaffner's roommate, outfielder Owen Hull. Hull had a hell of a year for UNC hitting .393 with 9 home runs, 87 runs batted in and 18 stolen bases. The Tar Heels was one of the best teams in the nation, falling one game short of winning it all. The Sox took the ace of the NCAA Champions last year, Anthony Eyanson and he'll be in Worcester by the end of this season. The Sox are hoping for similar success with Hull.
In the third round, Sox GM Craig Breslow pulled a Chaim Bloom and took shortstop Jace Mataczynski out of Hudson High School in Wisconsin. Ask Chaim Bloom how drafting high school shortstops this high in the draft have worked out so far for Boston. Maybe Mataczynski bucks the trend as he's 6 foot 4 and 195 pounds. Either way he won't be a finished product for at least 3 years.
The Sox didn't have a fourth round pick since they signed Ranger Suarez so their first pitcher drafted wasn't until the fifth round when they took 6 foot 6 monster Lucas Davenport, a right handeder out of Baylor. His college stats were garbage, going 5-4 with a 6.25 ERA for Baylor this year. The thinking is the taller someone is, the better chance they have of overpowering hitters. Guess they forgot that Henry Owens was a junkballer. Still, drafting a pitcher who was a bad starter in college doesn't usually translate to pro success. Maybe Davenport will be different.
In the sixth round the Red Sox took another poor starter, Abilene Christian left handed pitcher Brett Lanman. The 6 foot 5 Lanman was 1-6 with a 5.35 ERA for ACU and pundits are laughing at the Sox for taking bad player after bad player. I have no idea what Breslow intends to teach these guys since they're not true fireballers like last year's crop was. If they don't work out, can't stay no one will be surprised.
In the seventh round the Red Sox took someone no one had ever heard of, little known left handed pitcher Kide Adetuyi out of Florida Atlantic University. He's only 6'1 and tops out at 93 on the gun. He was 2-3 with a 4.19 ERA at FAU this year and fans are saying this guy reminds Craig of Craig himself, who was a 6 foot tall lefty from Yale. The Sox picking no-names and bums to save money is absolutely embarrassing.
In the eighth round the Sox took yet another big, bad pitcher. This time it was left hander Josh Volmerding out of Cal Poly who stands 6 foot 4. He was 1-1 with a 6.51 ERA this year while missing 6 weeks with a knee injury. He tops out at 95 on the gun and once again, Breslow's strategy is to take cheap, bad pitchers and make them good. Historically that doesn't work.
In the ninth round the Sox took 6 foot 2 outfielder Martin Shelar out of Marist High School in Georgia. He hit .506 with 19 home runs this year so at least he had good stats. He's going to be a 2-3 year project although he's got the physique of Gabe Kapler. Maybe he can be a pro wrestler if baseball doesn't work out.
To round out the first half of the draft, the Sox took another project. In the tenth round Boston took Bishop Heelan High School right handed pitcher Kaleb LeFavor. The kid stands 6 foot 7 and posted a 0.79 ERA in 17 innings this year. The thinking is they can get him in the gym to improve his velocity, turning him into Jacob Misirowski. While that would be best case scenario, the bottom line is he's going to take a bit to develop. Hope he does.
The bottom line was this draft was high risk, high reward. Craig Breslow is banking on his development staff in the minors to turn these kids & bums into something great. The first round pick was clearly just to save money for the later rounds so they can get the later round picks not to commit to a university, but Owen Hull was a stud at UNC. If even just one of the pitchers they drafted makes the majors, that would be a hell of an effort. Or....Breslow could have taken the entire crop because John Henry told him he doesn't get any money to spend, even on draft picks. Only way to find out is to come back next year. Tomorrow will be picks 11-20.
