mvp 78

Cuz you know I can treat you better!

You're graduating on Saturday. What do you need to sleep for?

@IanMBrowne Red Sox making a strong run on right-handed pitching early in the draft, taking Seton Hall's Zach Shellenger in sixth round.

@alexspeier The Red Sox took RHP Alex Scherff in the 5th round - one of the bigger prep arms in the draft. He'll be an over-slot sign. http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/alex-scherff-establishes-elite-2017-arm/#I5M34RYtR0q7L84Q.97

Thought this was interesting on the Netzer pick: @SPChrisHatfield Third-round pick Netzer hit well on the Cape last summer. Sox like to scout that league in their own back yard.

@mlananna I see Jake Thompson as a reliever. Throws from stretch exclusively. When I saw him, he pitched off his slider. FB velo jumps in short stints

@SPChrisHatfield Reading up on Thompson, I wonder if Sox will stick him in bullpen and let him climb quickly, or try to work on command, third pitch as SP.

@SoxProspects In the 4th Round (131st overall), the Red Sox select Oregon State RHP Jake Thompson. Big slider.

With their third-round pick (101st overall) the Red Sox select Brett Netzer, a second baseman out of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The junior was ranked as the 237th best prospect in the draft by Baseball America, while MLBPipeline.com had him ranked at 197. Netzer is known for his offense, with a quick bat from the left side of the plate that has consistently hit for average during his three years in college. After batting .318 as a freshman, Netzer hit .384 in 2016, though he regressed slightly this season, finishing the year at .342. Over the last two seasons he has combined to walk 54 times while striking out in only 47 of his 445 at-bats. Both Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com view him as an average defender with a subpar arm and average speed, so most of his value will be tied to his hit tool. Standing at 6-foot, 190 pounds, Netzer put up decent power numbers in college, hitting 24 and 25 extra-base hits in 2016 and 2017, respectively. He also added eight extra-base hits in 99 at-bats in the Cape Cod League, where he hit .283/.360/.424 in 26 games with Hyannis. Not surprising that they went middle IF. He's not a very highly regarded prospect though. Maybe hoping to save slot $$ on this pick?

They are "known for their defense" but it doesn't look that way when I watch the games. Per Baseball Ref WAR, they are replacement level.

Phillies are loaded with young arms that aren't developing into front line starters. There's certainly potential, but the results aren't there yet.

I hope not.

And not to go on too much of a tangent with Moncada and Kopech, but Kopech is still struggling to find the k zone and Moncada still k's a ton and can't field. Neither developed much over the past 6 months.

Chavis' glove is terrible. There are also some injury concerns that may force him to LF. Right now, he's the worst defensive 3B in the organization. At this point, I'm not sure why Devers is still in AA. He should be in AAA no matter what they think about Chavis. I'm not sure the current FO believes AAA is a necessary step anymore. Maybe they are keeping him in AA until they figure out if Pablo can play the entire season?

Dustin Pedroia's worst defensive WAR season (excluding his cup of coffee in 2006) is also his worst Fielding % year. That stat has some value even if you want to ignore it.

Swihart is hurt and his trade value is pretty low. Vazquez and Leon are both replacement level players that I don't think many teams would be all that interested in.

Porcello's FIP is at his career average. I think he's been ok and has just given up a few too many long balls. He hasn't been the groundball pitcher he once was, but his k/9 and BB/9 are looking pretty good. I'm not sure it's time to hit the panic button on him just yet. He's fine as a #3 starter.

He's arguably the best Sox pitcher that day. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200410160.shtml

No, because CHAVIS CAN'T PLAY THE FIELD. You can move Chavis to AA and have him continue to DH.

I don't agree that there is a wrong way with looking at stats. If people want to talk about pitching wins, batting average and how great save totals are, more power to them. Whether you agree with someone or not, there is no "wrong way" to look at baseball if you are enjoying it.

Millar and Dempster were two fine professional players.

I don't care about Price's contract. It's the cost of doing business and not having any high end arms in the minors.

Team has been much better since Pablo came back. Not a coincidence.

"The right way to think about baseball." That sentence is just gross.

SP is always a need, so I'm fine with the 1st pick. The OF depth in the system is weak, so the 2nd pick looks like the right direction too. I wouldn't be surprised if they go with another OF in the next few rounds. Most people assume the Sox are going to grab Daniel Flores © on July 2nd. Maybe they'll get one of the OFers from Venezuela too.