Sox sign draft pick Casey Kelly .

[NateGrey]

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http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/kelly_casey.jpg

 

 

The Red Sox have announced the signing of shortstop Casey Kelly, the 30th overall pick in the June draft. The 6-foot-3-inch, 195-pound Kelly is also a pitcher, and was ranked as the No. 31 quarterback prospect in 2008 by ESPN.com.

 

As a senior at Sarasota (Fla.) High School, Kelly hit .473 (44 for 93) with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 5e home runs, 31 RBIs, and 11 steals in 2008. The righthander pitched in 12 games, going 8-1 with two saves and a 1.16 ERA. He fanned 77 and walked just 12 over 66 innings.

 

Most teams project Kelly as a pitcher, but he also played shortstop at Sarasota High and after a slow start hit very well at the end of the season. He expressed a preference for playing every day but said he was open to pitching. "That's part of the negotiations," he said.

 

MLB.com analysis on Kelly: "One of the better athletes in the class, whoever drafts Kelly will have to lure him from being a two-sport star at the University of Tennessee, where he is a quarterback recruit. Big and athletic, he has all the tools to play shortstop. The main question is whether he'll swing the bat well enough and that could determine his draft status as a hitter. As a pitcher, he's a bit raw, but has the makings of three outstanding pitches and could be more intriguing to scouts on the mound."

 

 

 

Casey is the son of Pat Kelly, a former major league catcher who played for the Blue Jays in 1980. Pat Kelly also served as the Reds' manager in the Gulf Coast League. Casey had signed a letter of intent to play baseball and football at the University of Tennessee.

 

Kelly has been assigned to the rookie league Gulf Coast Red Sox.

 

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http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2008/07/sox_sign_ss_cas.html

 

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[VA Sox Fan]

Nice pick. Hope it works out.

 

Where ya been Nate? In hibernation because our next President won't be from the Democratic Party?

[jacksonianmarch]

Kelly is a projection pick. Kinda like the Dent pick, but with more power. It is interesting. The sox have gone with a HS player who is raw with lots of skills with their first pick for 2008 and 2006 as well as their 2nd supp pick last yr. This seems to be against the grain from what they used to do when they used to get college guys.

[Soxfan1]

His girlfriend's hot.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

Kelly is a projection pick. Kinda like the Dent pick' date=' but with more power. It is interesting. The sox have gone with a HS player who is raw with lots of skills with their first pick for 2008 and 2006 as well as their 2nd supp pick last yr. This seems to be against the grain from what they used to do when they used to get college guys.[/quote']

 

Probably has something to do with the time line. I'm sure they evaluated the current Red Sox roster and the projected players who will contribute in the coming years. College players are expected to contributed sooner rather than later and the Red Sox are looking at a log jam in a few positions. High school players give them the ability to develop over a longer period of time so you could say they are taking care of the present, future, and long-term future.

 

All those college picks got the system back to where it needed to be (Ellsbury, Pedroia, Papelbon, etc) and now they can focus on guys at the high school age level and not rush them like Anderson, Lin, Almanzar, Bowden, and now Casey.

[yeszir]

Where ya been Nate? In hibernation because our next President won't be from the Democratic Party?

Ignoring the fact that you're terribly wrong, let's not start this s*** up again

[VA Sox Fan]

Ignoring the fact that you're terribly wrong' date=' let's not start this s*** up again [/quote']

 

We'll see Nov 4th. But, sorry and Yes Sir yeszir!

[Soxfan1]

So is CaseyKellyDaFuture?

[Boris]

casey kelly is RAW