2020:
Due to Covid the Sox only took two pitchers in the five round draft. Without going into the undrafted players, 4th round pick was left hander Jeremy Wu-Yelland out of Hawaii. Well, he might have had promise after going 2-4 for Greenville and Salem in 2021....but he had Tommy John surgery in April of last year and won't pitch until at least August. That's just bad luck that Covid cancelled his 2020 season and he missed 2022. Can't blame Bloom for either of that.
The other was 5th round pick, left hander Shane Drohan of Florida State. Drohan had a good 2021 for Salem going 7-6 with a 3.90 ERA and went 7-8 with Greenville and Portland last year with a combined 3.60 ERA. He throws in the early 90's with a good changeup. He'll start the year in Portland but could be in Worcester by the all-star break. He's still only 24 but with the Sox desperate for good lefties, he might be a sink or swim next year in 2024.
2021:
In 2021, without Covid to ruin everything, Bloom had a full draft to work with. His first pitcher was 17 year old Puerto Rican high schooler right hander Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. He finished school in 2021 and made his organization debut in 2022. He pitched in 13 games last year between the rookie league and Salem and struck out 42 batters in 38 innings. He's not going to turn 20 until August so its going to be a while until we see him.
The Sox 7th round pick was a head scratcher when Bloom took Oklahoma University right hander Wyatt Olds. Olds went 4-6 with a 5.40 ERA his senior year and Bloom thought the Sox could fix him. They didn't, he went 4-9 with a 6.01 ERA for Greenville in 2022. He's going to get another chance in Portland this year but if he couldn't get Single A batters out, how's he going to get Double A guys?
Bloom's 8th round pick in 2021 was a crapshot as he took the injured right handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins out of Texas Tech. He missed 2021 and part of 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery and when he made his Sox debut...he sucked. He went 0-5 with a 5.22 ERA in 17 starts for Salem. It would be unfair to judge him for that small sample size so let's see what he's got in 2023 with a full off-season to improve. Still, that's on Bloom for taking an injury case.
If taking an injury case in the eighth round wasn't bad enough, Bloom did it again with 10th round pick Matt Litwicki out of Indiana U. Not only did Matt miss the 2018 season due to TJ, he also missed most of 2019, most of 2020 (Covid) and 2021 with a bad shoulder. It was never said why but he also missed the entire 2022 season as well. 10th round picks aren't exactly can't miss but of all the pitchers chosen in the 10th round, Bloom had to take the one that hasn't pitched yet.
In the 12th round, Bloom selected right handed pitcher Christopher Troye out of UC-Santa Barbara. His 2020 season and most of 2021 was lost due to injury but struggled in Salem in 2022. He went 1-4 with a 4.86 ERA out of the bullpen. 12th round picks aren't surefire major leaguers, but if Tampa's front office can find pitcher after pitcher, why is Bloom struggling?
In the 14th round, Bloom took right handed pitcher Jacob Webb out of Miami Ohio University. This one seems to have worked out as he had a strong finish to the 2021 season then clawed his way to Portland by the end of the 2022 season. He's 24 years old and its time to make a splash in Portland and beyond, he might be the guy to do it. He can touch 98 on the gun and his slider doesn't suck either. How sad is it that Bloom's 14th round pick in the 2021 draft is the closest of any pitcher he's drafted to cracking Worcester at some point this year?
Dominated Single A in 2022
In the 17th round, Bloom made another crapshot when he took right handed pitcher Luis Guerrero from Chipola Junior College. Guerrero must have impressed Bloom by striking out 95 batters in 58 innings with a near 100 mph fastball. Unfortunately most batters in the higher levels can time a fastball and Guerrero went 4-3 with a 4.18 in Salem in 2022 but did manage to strike out 19 batters in 13 innings to finish the season in Greenville. A guy that can throw that hard needs to learn command and some secondary pitchers to fool hitters. Still, he doesn't turn 23 until August so it'll be interesting to see if he can keep momentum going.
Just like Wyatt Olds, Bloom took a chance on a bum in the 19th round when he took Tyler Uberstine out of Northwestern University. Uberstine was 2-3 with a 5.82 ERA in his senior year that was eventually wiped out by Covid. As feared, he struggled in Salem going 4-4 with a 4.63 ERA but did improve by going 1-1 with a 2.43 ERA in Greenville. He turns 24 in June so he's going to have to show something to make it past Portland when the time comes. Still, going from terrible at Northwestern to shining in Greenville is at least progress.
Bloom also signed Jhonny Felix as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2021 and all that needs to be said about him is he's allowed 52 runs in 41 innings since he signed....ugh. If he doesn't come out of the gate throwing bullets in 2023, he's had it.
2022:
Bloom waited until the third round in the 2022 draft to take his first pitcher and he selected left hander Dalton Rogers from Southern Miss University. The 22 year old appeared in just 2 games for the Rookie complex after being drafted so this year is going to be the big one. All eyes are on him when he gets started in 2023.
In the 5th round, Bloom picked injured pitcher Noah Dean from Old Dominion University. He had nerve replacement surgery before the 2022 season and didn't pitch at all. Hopefully he'll be ready to roll in 2023.
Bloom must have blindfolded himself, spun around three times and threw a dart at a board to take 24 year old Alex Hoppe out of UNC Greensboro in the sixth round. He had a hell of a senior year in college but he's already 24 and hasn't thrown a pitch since drafted. He's either going to be a late bloomer or a wasted pick, hopefully it won't be the latter.
Once again Bloom took a reclamation project when he selected Caleb Bolden with his seventh round pick. He was originally drafted in the 17th round by the Rays back in 2017 but decided to go to Arkansas. Bloom was in the Rays front office at the time and must have recognized the name so he took a chance. He only pitched in 2 games after being drafted last year so he'll have to prove himself this year.
In the eighth round, Bloom selected Miami Ohio University right hander Jonathan Brand. He actually had a standout senior year at Miami going 8-2 with a 1.40 ERA in 13 starts. He only pitched in 2 games after being drafted so like the others, this year we'll see what he's got.....we hope.
In the 10th round, Bloom took right handed pitcher Isaac Coffey out of Oral Roberts University. Like the others, he only pitched in 2 games after being drafted. Still, Bloom took a ton of pitchers in this year's draft so law of averages mean at least one of them will work out.....right?
In the 11th round, Bloom took Marques Johnson out of Long Beach State University. He didn't pitch at all after being drafted and will turn 23 in July. He's got some catching up to do but like many on this list, he'll get his chance.
In the 12th round, once again Bloom went with a high risk pick when he took injured Auburn University left hander Hayden Mullins. Mullins had Tommy John surgery in 2022 and like Dalton Rogers, may not pitch in 2023. Still, if they can get something out of him down the road, for $125 grand in the 12th round, that would be impressive.
In the 15th round, Bloom took Quebec native Nathan Landry out of Missouri University. Once again he only pitched in two games after being drafted but if the Sox want the next Rheal Cormier (RIP), may as well give Landry a chance to shine in 2023.
In the 16th round, Bloom chose Ole Miss right handed junkballer Garrett Ramsey. Ramsey did have a good senior year in college but didn't make his debut after being drafted. Bloom took A LOT of pitchers in the 2022 draft which was a good thing because Salem was relying on Dominican prospects and Greenville relied on Dave Dombrowski's trash last year. Hopefully Ramsey can show something when he gets the chance.
Just like in the 19th round in 2021, Bloom took another bum in the 19th round in 2022. Jaret Godman was batting practice for the Oklahoma Sooners the last two years. Ironically he lost his job as Oklahoma's closer and they went on to win the College World Series. The bright side is he has nowhere to go but up in 2023.
Rounding out the 2022 draft, Bloom took left handed pitcher Connor Butler from Biola University. What's that you ask? Its a private Christian Division 2 school. He has serious control issues but he was a D2 reliever, were you expecting Shohei Ohtani? If he gets beyond Greenville it'll be nothing short of a miracle.
One of the reasons Greenville and Salem struggled a bit in 2022 was their lack of pitching. The last of Dave Dombrowski's Dominican prospects were mostly in Salem while his late round trash was in Greenville. With the glut of pitching drafted last year, the dregs of the Dombrowski era will be replaced by Bloom's picks. He's had 3 drafts now to load the farm system up with pitching and this year will be make or break.
In a completely unrelated transaction, BJ Vela the 16th round pick in 2021 was released on March 23rd. He hit .342 for the FCL last year and yet wasn't even given a chance this year. The reason why hasn't been released publicly but he's the first casualty of the 2021 draft not including the three kids that didn't sign. Bye bye BJ.
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