Before we get to the second half of Monday's draft, the Sox made a couple of releases. The Portland Sea Dogs released pitcher Christopher Troye and infielder Luis Ravello. Luis was a Dominican teenager signed back in 2021 and he never hit consistently. He hit .187 for the Florida Complex League, .217 for the Salem Red Sox, .225 for the Greenville Drive and was hitting .162 for the Portland Sea Dogs this year. The Sox just invested in a few shortstops in the draft, that made Ravello expendable. Troye was a 13th round pick back in 2021 and had a good 2023 with Greenville and Portland, but never took the next step. He was 2-2 with a 4.60 ERA last year and was 3-2 with a 7.20 ERA this year for Portland. The Sox took a bevy of pitchers in the draft the last two seasons and a 26 year old floundering in AA isn't going to cut it. Good luck to them wherever they end up.
Now on to the draft. In the 11th round, the Red Sox selected right handed pitcher Barrett Morgan out of Cowley County Junior College in Kansas. He was 3-2 with a 4.03 ERA which doesn't look good as a JuCo pitcher and the double bad news is he might transfer to Texas A&M. As a human being, getting a better education might be a better idea then a quick cash grab to turn pro...but the Sox might benefit if he's actually good. Who knows where he'll end up.
In the 12th round, the Sox selected left handed pitcher Ethan Walker from Kentucky University. He was 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA for the Wildcats this season in 9 starts. Not eye popping stuff but once again the Sox are going to try to teach him control. What do they have to lose at this point?
In the 13th round the Sox did NOT take a pitcher but instead took Wake Forest third baseman Jack Winnay. Why? He's a local kid from Newton who graduated from Belmont Hill. He hit 20 home runs in 2024 and 15 this season for Wake Forest. If nothing else, you can say a kid from Newton got drafted.
In the 14th round the Sox took right handed pitcher Carter Rasmussen out of Wofford College. What is Wofford College? Its a private school in South Carolina. He was 6-2 with a 3.21 ERA but he's making a big jump. He'll be going from facing batters from The Citadel, Mercer and Western Carolina to some of the top minor league prospects. He better be ready.
From Southern Conference to MLB
Good luck King
D3 Hero Jason Gilman
In the 15th round, the Sox took West Virginia outfielder Skylar King. He hit .291 with 3 home runs and 32 rbis this past season and with the Sox taking a bevy of pitchers in the draft, an outfielder was needed as well. Hope he can hit the minors as good as he hit at WVU.
In the 16th round, the Sox went with Division 3 pitcher of the year Jason Gilman out of Kean University. He won a whole bunch of accolades this year including leading D3 in wins and K's. The problem is, it was Division 3. Your local accountant played D3 baseball. Not that he cant make the transition to the majors, but it'll be a tall order to go from Kean to Salem.
The Sox made a crapshot when they drafted Ole Miss right handed pitcher Patrick Galle in the 17th round. He pitched just 14 innings in 11 games the last two years and allowed 11 runs. Why Craig Breslow wanted to take a flier on him is anyone's guess. Still, its the 17th round, not much is left by this point.
The Sox took yet another pitcher in the 18th round when they selected Auburn left hander Cade Fisher. Fisher looked good at Florida in 2023 going 6-0 with a 3.23 ERA then fell flat on his face in 2024 with the Gators. This year at Auburn he was 1-3 with a 4.68 ERA which doesn't sound like a big prospect, but, the draft is almost over.
The Sox made a peculiar pick when they took Christian Military Academy outfielder Fabian Bonilla Huertas in the 19th round. He's committed to Florida Southwestern State College but we'll see if he chooses the Sox over them. If not, just a wasted 19th round pick.
With their 20th and final draft pick, the Sox went with BYU right handed pitcher Garrison Sumner. This might be the most peculiar 20th round pick since Chaim Bloom took Connor Butler who was destined to become a youth pastor. Sumner was straight batting practice, going 3-3 with a 8.32 ERA for the Cougars. I know 600 players had already been chosen by this point in the draft, but there must have been SOMEONE better than a guy who wasn't even good in college. Still, it would be a hell of a story if he turned it around at the pros. Good luck.
After the draft the Sox signed two undrafted rookie free agents. The first was North Georgia University outfielder Andrews Opata. He put up good stats this year hitting .372 with 12 home runs and 62 rbis. Why wasn't he drafted? North Georgia isn't exactly known as a baseball powerhouse or the teams they play. Still, unlike some of the others on the list, its better to draft guys that at least look like they can do well rather than guys who proved they couldn't.
The other undrafted rookie free agent signed was University of Texas San Antonio shortstop Ty Hodge. He was 1 for 18 for Texas A&M then transferred to Houston Christian before transferring to UTSA this season. He hit .292 with 6 home runs and 42 rbis but his failure at Texas A&M is what MLB scouts were afraid of. The Sox took a flier on him and let's see how this plays out.
It was very apparent that Craig Breslow had a mission in this draft, power arms. For the second straight year Breslow took power arms whether their stats were good or not. Legendary University of Kentucky basketball coach Adolph Rupp used to say "I can teach guys how to play basketball, I can't teach height." Breslow's message was "We can work on mechanics, but you can't teach fire." A lot of fans were complaining about the lack of positional players taken, but that's where the trades for James Tibbs and Yophery Rodriguez come into play. The Sox have a loaded team up top with exciting young players but they have a lack of power arms. Breslow is hoping to fix this. Whether he'll be around to see his success is to be determined.
No comments:
Post a Comment