Sox go heavy on bats early, then load up arms
When it comes to the early rounds of the MLB Draft, the Red Sox appear to have a formula: Take big bats.
The Red Sox selected strong hitters out of high school with recent first-round picks, taking Triston Casas in 2018, Nick Yorke in 2020, Marcelo Mayer in 2021, and Mikey Romero in 2022. The team didn’t have a first-round pick in 2019.
Leading Boston’s draft operation for the first time, new amateur scouting director Devin Pearson largely didn’t deviate from the trend, but there was a slight twist. Instead of taking another high school first-rounder, the Sox hope they found their catcher of the future Sunday in Virginia’s Kyle Teel, one of the country’s most dominant college hitters, at No. 14 overall.
The Red Sox took college or junior college players with 17 of their 22 picks. But with the picks in the second and third rounds, they went with high school shortstops.
Like with Nazzan Zanetello, who the Sox took at No. 50 overall out of Christian Brothers (Mo.), Pearson said Boston was attracted to the character of North Atlanta product Antonio Anderson (No. 83 overall).
“I think we grew a lot of comfort in his ability to make really good swing decisions as a young high school hitter,” Pearson said. “Also his physical projection, and then just his makeup and how he works. I was really, really excited to get him, and I think he’s going to be a really good one.”
Pearson said he expects the switch-hitting Anderson to develop above-average power, a projection shared by scout Kirk Fredriksson, who covers Georgia and East Tennessee. Some scouts believe Anderson will lose the range to play short when he puts on size, but Fredriksson is not going to be the one to force him to slide over to third base.
“He’s got really exceptionally good hands, and soft hands and quick hands,” Fredriksson said. “And he really adapts to hops very well, as well as anybody. That’s a thing that’s really hard to find in kids his age, so he’s got a chance to stay right where he is.”
Like with Anderson in Monday’s third round, the Sox began Tuesday by taking an athletic position player, grabbing Nelly Taylor from Florida’s Polk State College in the 11th round. The Clearwater, Fla., native had to give up contact sports for a few years after being diagnosed with kidney cancer at age 5 and only chose to forgo a potential basketball career a year and a half ago, but Taylor was one of the best junior college players in Florida last season and led the state in stolen bases (31). The Florida State signee made a huge jump at the plate this season, leading the team in nearly every major offensive category.
“We’re betting on these really good athletes with bat speed and twitch and makeup that we believe in to reach their ceiling,” Pearson said.
Boston’s farm system has a dearth of starting pitching, however, and the Sox took 13 pitchers with their final 17 picks. It has been six years since the Red Sox have taken a pitcher in the first two rounds, when they selected Tanner Houck with their first-round pick in 2017.
Pearson had previously said the trend didn’t mean the Sox were adverse to selecting pitchers in top rounds, and he disputed the notion that Canisius College’s Matt Duffy was an under-slot pick in the fourth round.
“I think we took Matt Duffy because we really liked the talent there, Pearson said of the 2023 MAAC Pitcher of the Year, who posted a 4.32 ERA but struck out 124 batters in 83‚ innings with just 25 walks. “We think he’s going to be a starter.
“We’re really excited about this group [of pitchers] that we got. I think, especially with [director of pitching development] Shawn Haviland and [pitching coordinator] Chris Mears and what they’re doing on the development side, we expect to develop some of these pitchers and [have them be] really good prospects for us.”
The Red Sox also took lateround fliers on intriguing high school prospects, including shortstop Phoenix Call out of California’s Calabasas High School in the 14th round and Middleton, Idaho, native Robert Orloski in the 20th round, the first prep pitcher drafted by the Sox since 2021. Pearson said he was unsure whether the Sox would be able to sign Call (UCLA) and Orloski (Texas-San Antonio) away from their college commitments.