RSS
Home
Red Sox draft so ‘high school’
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Major League Baseball opened its First Year Player Draft last night, televising it for the very first time, on its own MLB Network, and largely failing to recreate the anticipation and excitement associated with the NFL version of the same proceeding.
To a large extent, the lack of electricity reflected how relatively unknown the athletes being drafted were: beyond No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg, most were wholly unfamiliar to any but the most fervent fan. But for people with some working knowledge of the event, the College World Series, and college summer circuits like the Cape Cod Baseball League, it was must-see TV – especially when commissioner Bud Selig misspoke despite reading from note cards and added such folksy touches as telling us the “Los Angeleeze Angels” and “Cincinnatuh Reds” were on the clock.
High School Musical
The Boston Red Sox [Red Sox Examiners Dorval, Paicopolos], for their part, used their first pick (No. 28 overall) on Reymond Fuentes, a high school center fielder from Puerto Rico who happens to be Carlos Beltran’s cousin. A speed demon with the promise of some power, he projects to be a Johnny Damon sort of ballplayer. But there’s a long way to go before he gets anywhere near that, so don’t get carried away too soon.
The Sox’s second pick (No. 77 overall) was Alex Wilson, a right-handed pitcher from Texas A&M who had Tommy John surgery and sat out all of last year. The club’s third selection was David Renfroe, another athletic high schooler from Batesville, Mississippi, who can play multiple positions.
Taking high school players always makes this observer nervous, primarily because we don’t know at this point how someone so young will handle being away from home (an emotional maturation collegians begin as soon as they hit their dorms as freshmen), and we don’t really know how their bodies ultimately will develop (a physical maturation collegians have already largely undergone by the time they graduate). Plus, if they’re good enough to be drafted, they’ve probably committed to a major college program and will simply go to school if they don’t get the dollars they want. So there’s a realistic chance a high-school pick will net a team absolutely nothing.
But what do I know? Evidently also absolutely nothing, for 16 of the 33 picks in the first round were taken out of high school – and seven of these were pitchers, an especially fragile breed.
Local Boy Makes Good
Finally, a local note: Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez was a surprise pick at No. 4 by the Pittsburgh Pirates [Pirates Examiner]. Undoubtedly helped by the Eagles’ fine post-season showing, he joins a beleaguered organization that will certainly give him every opportunity to succeed. His selection marks the second straight year a former Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox backstop was taken at the top of the MLB draft (see Posey, Buster), and it was fun to hear Selig announce him as “Jorge” Sanchez from “Chester, Massachusetts.”
The draft continues today, with rounds 4-30 available on mlb.com at starting at noon Eastern time. It concludes with rounds 31-50 beginning at 11:30 (EDT) tomorrow.
Don't miss a single column!
Click 'Subscribe to Email' above and we'll send you a message when there's something new to read!
Click 'Subscribe to Email' above and we'll send you a message when there's something new to read!
Related Articles:
Comments
With the big day tomorrow, it seems only right that we offer our thanks for all that is right about our Boston Red Sox. Feel free to add your own …
In an off-season typically rife with rumor, here’s a Red Sox thought that hasn’t gotten play: a package deal that would send rejuvenated …
- AL EAST
- Boston Red Sox: Eric Dorval
- Boston Red Sox: Ernest Paicopolos
- Baltimore Orioles: Jay Trucker
- New York Yankees: Pete Sabatini
- Tampa Bay Rays: Rob Quinn
- LOCAL
- Boston Bruins: Mark Marino
- Boston Celtics: John Karalis
- New England Patriots: Sean Crowe
- Boston Pro Soccer: Lisa Eisenmenger
- Boston Sports: Mark Fuery
- Boston Sports History: George Greene
- BASEBALL-RELATED
- MLB: Alex Brown
- Fantasy Baseball: Perry Van Hook
- LEAGUE
- Cape League Home Page
- Bourne Braves
- Brewster Whitecaps
- Chatham Anglers (nee A's)
- Cotuit Kettleers
- Falmouth Commodores
- Harwich Mariners
- Hyannis Mets
- Orleans Firebirds (nee Cardinals)
- Wareham Gatemen
- Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
- RESOURCES
- Beach Chairs and Baseball Bats: A Celebration of the Cape Cod Baseball League (my book!)
- CodBall.com
