MLB Draft 2013: Red Sox surprise with first two picks
The Guru
Contributing Writer
With their highest pick since taking Trot Nixon in 1993 the Boston Red Sox surprised many in the first round of Thursday's amateur draft.
The Red Sox selected 6-foot-6, 18 year-old left-handed pitcher/outfielder Trey Ball from New Castle (IND) High School with the No. 7 pick of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft.
While Ball is considered an interesting outfield prospect, the Red Sox will likely keep him as a pitcher.
Seems like a risky pick considering it was generally thought Ball would be a late first or early second round pick.
Ball was named the Gatorade Indiana Baseball Player of the Year after finishing the season with a 0.76 ERA and an average of over 14 strikeouts per seven innings pitched.
Jim Callis of Baseball America said, "He has put the [pitcher/outfielder] debate to rest by showing a 91-94 mph fastball and an improved curveball this spring."
Here's Ball in the outfield, on the mound and at the plate:
Ball does have a commitment to the University of Texas, but with Red Sox using such a high pick it's an almost a certainly he will sign with Boston.
The pick could be a good one, because Ball has so much upside, and plenty of time with which to try and reach it. However, when the Red Sox look back in a few years on this one they could be wondering how they got so lucky or how they simply outsmarted themselves.
The Red Sox used their second round selection to tab Teddy Stankiewicz, a hard-throwing right-hander from Seminole State Junior College in Oklahoma. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound pitcher went 4-5 with a 2.52 ERA, 70 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 60 2/3 innings this year. Stankiewicz was originally drafted by the New York Mets out of high school, but elected to play a year of junior college ball instead.
Thoughts on the Red Sox selections? Comment below.
Follow The Guru on Twitter @TheGuruGS
More musings from The Guru.
Contributing Writer
With their highest pick since taking Trot Nixon in 1993 the Boston Red Sox surprised many in the first round of Thursday's amateur draft.
The Red Sox selected 6-foot-6, 18 year-old left-handed pitcher/outfielder Trey Ball from New Castle (IND) High School with the No. 7 pick of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft. While Ball is considered an interesting outfield prospect, the Red Sox will likely keep him as a pitcher.
Seems like a risky pick considering it was generally thought Ball would be a late first or early second round pick.
Ball was named the Gatorade Indiana Baseball Player of the Year after finishing the season with a 0.76 ERA and an average of over 14 strikeouts per seven innings pitched.
Jim Callis of Baseball America said, "He has put the [pitcher/outfielder] debate to rest by showing a 91-94 mph fastball and an improved curveball this spring."
Here's Ball in the outfield, on the mound and at the plate:
Ball does have a commitment to the University of Texas, but with Red Sox using such a high pick it's an almost a certainly he will sign with Boston.
The pick could be a good one, because Ball has so much upside, and plenty of time with which to try and reach it. However, when the Red Sox look back in a few years on this one they could be wondering how they got so lucky or how they simply outsmarted themselves.
The Red Sox used their second round selection to tab Teddy Stankiewicz, a hard-throwing right-hander from Seminole State Junior College in Oklahoma. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound pitcher went 4-5 with a 2.52 ERA, 70 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 60 2/3 innings this year. Stankiewicz was originally drafted by the New York Mets out of high school, but elected to play a year of junior college ball instead.
Thoughts on the Red Sox selections? Comment below.
Follow The Guru on Twitter @TheGuruGS
More musings from The Guru.
