Last night was the first and second rounds of the 2022 draft and Matt Holiday's son Jackson went first overall to the Baltimore before Druw Jones went second to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Texas Rangers picked Kumar Rocker giving them BOTH 2021 Vanderbilt pitchers along with Jack Leiter. The Boston Sox chose yet another shortstop in Mikey Romero from Orange Lutheran High School 24th overall. After drafting Nick Yorke in 2020 and Marcello Mayer last year, its become quite clear that Sox GM Chaim Bloom is going to send Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers packing in a few weeks. Since the Sox desperately need pitching, they could be trading Bogaerts and Devers for elite pitching prospects or major league ready starters. Romero is nowhere near the "can't miss" status of Marcelo Mayer so its going to be a few years before we hear from him again. It should be noted the New York Yankees drafted 6 foot 7 lefty hitting outfielder Spencer Jones from Vanderbilt, guess who they have in mind to replace Aaron Judge and take advantage of the short porch in right field? Adding insult to injury, the Chicago White Sox took 6'9 giant lefty pitcher Noah Schultz, keep that name in mind down the road if Romero doesn't develop.
If drafting Romero wasn't bad enough, the Sox got the 41st pick in the draft as compensation for not signing Jud Fabien last year (who went to the Baltimore Orioles in the second round). Guess what they took....ANOTHER SHORTSTOP! This time they took high school shortstop Cutter Coffey from Liberty High School in California. Pessimistic Sox fans are comparing Chaim Bloom to the Detroit Lions who kept drafting receivers year after year with all these shortstops. No disrespect to Coffey or Romero but that's not what the Sox need. Besides, he's committed to Texas University so he may go there instead.
The last pick of the first day was 79th overall pick Roman Anthony, an outfielder from Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. The Sox got this pick from the Detroit Tigers signing Eduardo Rodriguez. If Anthony develops that would be a hell of a coup to let a declining Rodriguez go for a potential stud....if he develops.....or signs. He's committed to Ole Miss so who knows where he ends up.
The Sox kicked off today's portion of the draft with their third round pick. Bloom shocked the whole world as he finally took a LEFTY PITCHER! Their choice was Southern Miss sophomore reliever Dalton Rogers. Dalton posted a 1.95 ERA in 37 innings last year for the Golden Eagles and are hoping this translates to the minors. The Salem Red Sox are using last year's 9th round pick Christopher Troye as their closer and are going to need another one if Troye gets promoted or falters. That could be Rogers at the end of this year or next.
In the fourth round guess what the Sox drafted? Yet another shortstop. This time they took San Diego University sophomore Chase Meidroth. Chase hit a solid .329 with 10 home runs for the Toreros in his redshirt sophomore season. Sad part is he's probably more reliable than Romero or Coffey at this point. Chaim Bloom REALLY isn't going to be bringing Bogaerts back.
The Sox once again did the right thing in the fifth round by taking another pitcher. This time they chose Old Dominion lefty Junior reliever Noah Dean. Dean pitched in 19 games out of the bullpen for the Monarchs going 3-2 with a mediocre 4.15 ERA. His fastball tops out at 97 so Sox brass are hoping they can add some movement to the fastball so he doesn't get clobbered.
The Sox used their sixth round pick on UNC Greensboro right handed pitcher Alex Hoppe. Hoppe went 8-2 with 3 saves and a 2.97 ERA his senior year although he tailed off at the very end. Bloom may be thinking about his minor league clubs with these picks considering every level has no distinct closer. Drafting Dean and Hoppe to immediately help the lower level bullpens could be the gameplan here on top of hoping they develop into major leaguers.
Keeping with the theme, the Sox took another pitcher with their seventh round pick. This time they took TCU right handed pitcher Caleb Bolden. This one was a crapshoot because he transferred after 4 years with the Arkansas Razorbacks to play a year with TCU where he posted a lousy 6.23 ERA. Last year the Sox picked Wyatt Olds in the seventh round after he had a bad senior year and Olds is currently 1-6 with a 6.39 ERA for Grenville. Hopefully the Sox have better luck with Bolden.
Moving right along the Sox eighth round pick was another right handed pitcher. Miami Redhawks senior Jonathan Brand was arguably Miami's best starter going 8-2 with a 1.40 ERA. Apart from two games, he didn't allow more than 3 runs in any other game he pitched. Getting a guy like that in the eighth round could be a steal if he develops.
Boston's ninth round pick was another crapshot but not for the normal reason. No, they drafted highly touted North Carolina high school catcher Brooks Brannon who's ranked 155th in the entire country. The problem is he's committed to UNC. It would take a lot of money to get him to spur UNC for the pro's already. The Sox missed out on four guys last year who chose college over them so this could be another one.
To close out the first day of the draft, the Sox chose two way player/pitcher Isaac Coffey of Oral Roberts University. As a batter he had 12 hits in 31 at-bats and as a starter he averaged 6 innings a game for the Golden Eagles. If the Sox are looking for a dollar store Shohei Ohtani, they may have found him for $149,000.
This year has a much different vibe than last. The Sox were rolling in July of 2021 and were handed the fourth pick in the draft. This year they're spiraling down the tubes and their first round pick isn't a can't miss like Marcello Mayer is. That's not to say Romero or the other guys featured here won't develop but the Sox are going to need them sooner rather than later. There's still Day 3 tomorrow to pick at least ten more guys so we're not done yet. Some of these guys may start with Salem or the Complex League so get your tickets now.
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