2023 draft thread

[Hugh2]

There’s a rumor going around that steel is signing for under slot. Which means, I expect a high end guy at #10 or #11

[Duran Is The Man]

Yup, you only need to have one in the system. That is so very true! Great point!

 

LOL. C'mon man.

[Duran Is The Man]

What they really need is a starting rotation, not a "right handed power bat."

 

could not agree more. it'd be nice to have a constant stream of young pitchers coming up.

[moonslav59]

The Sox Draft Picks with SP's write-up:

 

Kyle Teel: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-blank-with-14th-overall.html

 

Nazzan Zanetello: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-nazzan-zanetello-with-no.html

 

Antonio Anderson: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-antonio-anderson-with.html

 

Matt Duffy: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-matt-duffy-with-fourth.html

 

Kristian Campbell: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-kristian-campbell-with.html

 

Justin Riemer: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-justin-riemer-with.html

 

Connelly Early: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-connelly-early-with.html

 

CJ Weins: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-cj-weins-with-sixth.html

 

Caden Rose: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-caden-rose-with-seventh.html

 

Trennor O'Donnell: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-trennor-odonnell-with.html

 

Blake Wehunt: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-blake-wehunt-with-ninth.html

 

Ryan Ammons: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-ryan-ammons-with-10th.html

 

 

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

The Sox Draft Picks with SP's write-up:

 

Kyle Teel: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-blank-with-14th-overall.html

 

Nazzan Zanetello: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-nazzan-zanetello-with-no.html

 

Antonio Anderson: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-antonio-anderson-with.html

 

Matt Duffy: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-matt-duffy-with-fourth.html

 

Kristian Campbell: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-kristian-campbell-with.html

 

Justin Riemer: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-justin-riemer-with.html

 

Connelly Early: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-connelly-early-with.html

 

CJ Weins: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-cj-weins-with-sixth.html

 

Caden Rose: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-caden-rose-with-seventh.html

 

Trennor O'Donnell: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-trennor-odonnell-with.html

 

Blake Wehunt: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-blake-wehunt-with-ninth.html

 

Ryan Ammons: http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-ryan-ammons-with-10th.html

 

 

 

 

Almost all shortstops or pitchers; draft fans rejoice!

 

Early is especially intriguing -- a guy fans of pitch clocks will be rooting for. All those quick pitches gotta cause batters to be late...

 

Nice work, Moon, pasting the reports. Thank you for your efforts.

[moonslav59]

Almost all shortstops or pitchers; draft fans rejoice!

 

Early is especially intriguing -- a guy fans of pitch clocks will be rooting for. All those quick pitches gotta cause batters to be late...

 

Nice work, Moon, pasting the reports. Thank you for your efforts.

 

It's a pain going in and out of each article.

[Nick]

With enough shortstops in the organization now, days of Kike playing there is nearing to an end. Just a thought in case Cora insists on bringing back Kike year after year on one year deals. Kike is Cora's favorite son.

 

Perhaps Bloom was sending Cora a message.

[Hugh2]

With enough shortstops in the organization now, days of Kike playing there is nearing to an end. Just a thought in case Cora insists on bringing back Kike year after year on one year deals. Kike is Cora's favorite son.

 

Perhaps Bloom was sending Cora a message.

 

These high school kids likely won’t be everyday major leaguers (if they make it) until 5-6 years from now. Which is why you draft BPA and not for need. Team needs will look different years from now.

 

Also, some of these guys are going to move off position. Wait and see, one of these shortstops is going to play 3B, and one will likely play 2nd base at some point.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

These high school kids likely won’t be everyday major leaguers (if they make it) until 5-6 years from now. Which is why you draft BPA and not for need. Team needs will look different years from now.

 

Also, some of these guys are going to move off position. Wait and see, one of these shortstops is going to play 3B, and one will likely play 2nd base at some point.

 

Nazzan Zanetello tells it like it is: "I'm a five-tool player and a five-tool person."

 

Hit -- he'll be an instant hit with the fans

Hit with power -- his powerful personality will make him a team leader

Throw -- he'll throw away any negative press (or posts)

Catch -- and catch himself, before he responds in negative ways

Run -- with positive body language, he'll run through the farm system to Boston

[Hugh2]

Nazzan Zanetello tells it like it is: "I'm a five-tool player and a five-tool person."

 

Hit -- he'll be an instant hit with the fans

Hit with power -- his powerful personality will make him a team leader

Throw -- he'll throw away any negative press (or posts)

Catch -- and catch himself, before he responds in negative ways

Run -- with positive body language, he'll run through the farm system to Boston

 

He's a very exciting player, I hope everything clicks for him. That's how these things go, sometimes they fade away into the void, or you could be seeing the beginnings of a stuf.

 

With the picks they have taken, the Sox are probably about at their cap for this draft; so essentially the Sox can't sign anyone over 150K so don't expect any stud. I'm sure they will sign a premium player for insurance if one of their top 3 picks doesn't sign. Also, these things are never predictable, someone could sign for less than expected and you could see a highschooler sign for 250K etc.

 

I would like to see the Sox get creative with pitching though, because, well that's all they can do at this point.

 

For example. Tanner Witt was ranked 76th. If you look at all the top prospects left, and there's a lot, (6 in the top 100), they are all highschool talents. These are guys with bonus demands who didn't make it in the first two rounds and will likely be drafted today, most of them won't sign and elect to go to college, while others will have money thrown at them that teams saved by going under slot with guys the first two days.

 

Someone like Witt does not have the leverage to go back to college, he's recovering from Tommy John, which is why he likely didn't get drafted. But he was a top talent before that happened. I'd happily waste a 11-20 pick on him.

[Dipre]

It's very surprising that the Sox managed to land both Teel and Zanetello.

[notin]

With enough shortstops in the organization now, days of Kike playing there is nearing to an end. Just a thought in case Cora insists on bringing back Kike year after year on one year deals. Kike is Cora's favorite son.

 

Perhaps Bloom was sending Cora a message.

 

Positions don’t matter. Did Cincinnati flop on drafting Matt McLain because they already had Elly De La Cruz in the system? Did the selection of McLain mske it a bad move to acquire Noelvi Marte (BA #63, MLB. com #29, BP #29) as the centerpiece of the Luis Castillo trade?

[moonslav59]

These high school kids likely won’t be everyday major leaguers (if they make it) until 5-6 years from now. Which is why you draft BPA and not for need. Team needs will look different years from now.

 

Also, some of these guys are going to move off position. Wait and see, one of these shortstops is going to play 3B, and one will likely play 2nd base at some point.

 

No matter how many times this point is brought up, some insist on looking at our needs, today and wanting us to draft a player who might fill that need 4-6 years from now.

[moonslav59]

It's very surprising that the Sox managed to land both Teel and Zanetello.

 

I'm always skeptical of catching prospects, but Teel should be able to hit well enough to make an impact, even if not as a catcher.

 

I like our draft. I'm glad we drafted 4 SSs.

[Bellhorn04]

With enough shortstops in the organization now, days of Kike playing there is nearing to an end. Just a thought in case Cora insists on bringing back Kike year after year on one year deals. Kike is Cora's favorite son.

 

Perhaps Bloom was sending Cora a message.

 

So the theory is that Bloom keeps signing Kike only because Cora wants him to?

[Hugh2]

No matter how many times this point is brought up, some insist on looking at our needs, today and wanting us to draft a player who might fill that need 4-6 years from now.

 

If the draft only consisted of college players, and only one layer of minor leagues existed (no Low A, high a, or aa) then drafting for need makes more sense.

 

Think of it this way, Duran has become a staple in this lineup every day. He obviously wasn't ready for that last year, and while some guys are ready a little sooner his trajectory is very very common. Duran was drafted in 2018, that was 5 years ago. You don't draft based on current needs because they could completely flip flop in 5 years.

 

This is exactly why you draft PBA, generally speaking. Lets say you need pitching, but you know you can scout draft and develop shorts stops better. Lets say Mickey Romero turns into a stud prospect, top 10 in all of baseball in two years but Mayer is at SS mashing. Well, you can move him to another position A LA MOOKIE BETTS moving from 2n to RF, or you can trade him for the very thing you need. Moncada+ for Chris SAle (led to a WS). position players are safer and hit more often, pitchers are riskier and at the same time more likely to pop in the later rounds. There's more than one way to skin a cat, but this strategy has worked very well for the Red Sox over the last couple of decades. In hindsight, they draft just as many pitchers as hitters, it's just that at the top of the draft its only 30% pitchers. I do think they need to do a better job at drafting and developing pitchers but that doesn't have to be analogous with going pitcher with your first couple picks all the time.

[moonslav59]

So the theory is that Bloom keeps signing Kike only because Cora wants him to?

 

I think the whole Cora-Bloom-Kike love triangle is non existent.

[moonslav59]

If the draft only consisted of college players, and only one layer of minor leagues existed (no Low A, high a, or aa) then drafting for need makes more sense.

 

Think of it this way, Duran has become a staple in this lineup every day. He obviously wasn't ready for that last year, and while some guys are ready a little sooner his trajectory is very very common. Duran was drafted in 2018, that was 5 years ago. You don't draft based on current needs because they could completely flip flop in 5 years.

 

This is exactly why you draft PBA, generally speaking. Lets say you need pitching, but you know you can scout draft and develop shorts stops better. Lets say Mickey Romero turns into a stud prospect, top 10 in all of baseball in two years but Mayer is at SS mashing. Well, you can move him to another position A LA MOOKIE BETTS moving from 2n to RF, or you can trade him for the very thing you need. Moncada+ for Chris SAle (led to a WS). position players are safer and hit more often, pitchers are riskier and at the same time more likely to pop in the later rounds. There's more than one way to skin a cat, but this strategy has worked very well for the Red Sox over the last couple of decades. In hindsight, they draft just as many pitchers as hitters, it's just that at the top of the draft its only 30% pitchers. I do think they need to do a better job at drafting and developing pitchers but that doesn't have to be analogous with going pitcher with your first couple picks all the time.

 

Very well said.

 

I will add that the percentage of pitchers taken high in the draft has fallen below 30%, recently. I guess it depends on what is meant by high, but...

 

Drafts:

2020: 0 of top 3 rounds (2 of 5) we lost the 2nd pick

2021: 0 of 3 (1 of 5)

2022: 0 of 3 (1 of 5)

2023: 0 of 3 (1 of 5)

4 year totals:

0 of 11 players taken in rounds 1-3

5 of 19 players taken rounds 1-5 (all 4th or 5th rounders)

 

Top IFA bonuses given:

1.5 OF Bleis

1.4 SS Cespedes

1.2 SS De Leon

1.1 SS Encarnacion

.85 C Jog Garcia

.85 C Lira

.60 SS Santana

.55 SS Ravelo

.53 SS Arias

.50 SS Ruiz

.45 P Paez

.45 2B Liendo

.40 CF Yuten

.40 OF Paniagua

.30 P Mejias

 

Zero out of 10 players given $500K+ bonuses were a pitcher

2 out of 15 given $300K + were pitchers.

 

I'm not complaining, but the percentages have shifted greatly towards non pitchers.

[notin]

So the theory is that Bloom keeps signing Kike only because Cora wants him to?

 

I’d be surprised if Cora had no input. But how much is another matter. This does have to be a group effort…

[moonslav59]

I’d be surprised if Cora had no input. But how much is another matter. This does have to be a group effort…

 

Kike looked like a really good signing after 2021. His injury was the excuse for 2022, but he has been up and down over his whole career, offensively. Many are turned off by the .238 career BA and .311 OBP, but he has decent power and gap power. A .409 SLG is pretty good for a 2Bman or CF'er.

 

He's been a plus defender at multiple positions for many years. What GM does not like that? He wasn't meant to be a FT SS, but he had done pretty well there, in scattered playing time, up until this year.

 

When we signed him he had a .244 BA and .749 OPS in his previous 3 season ('18-'20.) He had a very solid second half to 2021 and a great playoffs, and for those who believe in clutch hitters, he was one with LAD, before- several times.

 

The extension, last summer, was criticized by some, but mostly for being too high in price, not so much about not wanting him. There was one poster who swears he does not hate anybody, who was very strongly against the $10M deal.

 

Had he not played SS, this year, I doubt there would be much complaining about him. Had he hit better, maybe it would not be so bad, but he's done nothing for us, this year.

 

With the way Duran is playing in CF, and Duvall and Refsnyder on the roster, his only place to play is 2B. It's not like Arroyo is doing all that great, so maybe he can turn things around at 2B over the last 3 months of 2023. I'm not predicting it, but it is possible.

 

He's worth nothing in trade- maybe a little, if we pay the full boat.

[Hugh2]

Sox 11th round pick

 

Nelly Taylor, OF, Polk State College.

[Hugh2]

Sox 11th round pick

 

Nelly Taylor, OF, Polk State College.

 

Ranked 363 by perfect game, scouts think he could add power and stick in centerfield.

[Hugh2]

Sox take another pitcher, Max Carlson from North Carolina.

[mvp 78]

Ranked 363 by perfect game, scouts think he could add power and stick in centerfield.

 

Already have Jarren Duran. Waste of a pick.

[Hugh2]

Already have Jarren Duran. Waste of a pick.

 

Hmmmm, so what you’re saying is……they should draft a short stop

[Hugh2]

I would love to see the Sox draft Tanner Witt

[mvp 78]

Hmmmm, so what you’re saying is……they should draft a short stop

 

It's the only way to effectively shift now: have everyone play SS.

[Hugh2]

Looks like the pitchers are coming in

[Dipre]

It's the only way to effectively shift now: have everyone play SS.

 

mvp's playing 4d chess while y'all are playing checkers.

[Hugh2]

Sox have drafted 9 pitchers and 4 infielders 2 outfielders and 1 Catcher so far