2008 MLB Draft - Red Sox, Day 1
With the 30th pick in the 2008 MLB draft, the Boston Red Sox have selected...
Casey Kelly, SS, Sarasota High School (FL): Kelly is a two-sport, two-way player, which is pretty rare. He is currently committed to play quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers and also plans to play on the baseball team. As a baseball player, he pitches and plays shortstop, so it really depends on what position the Red Sox want Kelly to play. Either way, I expect Kelly to be a huge upside player like Jason Place and Will Middlebrooks from recent drafts. At the dish, Kelly has huge power potential; on the mound, he has the makings of three good pitches. Focusing on football and baseball, Kelly is obviously raw, so he may take a couple years to actually produce some numbers in the minor leagues.
Pick 45: Bryan Price, RHP, Rice University: Price is a big 6-4, 200 lb. right hander who worked out of the Rice bullpen for the last three seasons. He consistently throws in the low 90s with a very good slider. The Sox may use him much like they did Nick Hagadone this season and ask him to start games at the outset of his career.
Pick 77: Derrick Gibson, SS/2B, Seaford High School (DE): Gibson's biggest asset is his speed; the burner from Delaware played shortstop in high school but may profile more as a second baseman in pro ball. He may never hit for a ton of power, but a guy who can run and hit for average always has a spot on a big league team.
Pick 85: Stephen Fife, RHP, Utah: Fife is a 6-3, 210 lb. right hander who consistently hits the low 90s with some sink on his fastball. In addition to touching the mid 90s on occasion with his fastball, he also has a slider, curve and changeup. All four pitches could end up as being average pitches, especially with the quick development Fife has shown since high school.
Pick 108: Kyle Weiland, RHP, Notre Dame: Another right handed reliever, Weiland throws in the low 90s with his sinking fastball and has a good slider and a solid changeup. All three could use some work, but Weiland has the arm to turn out to be a decent player in a few years. If the Sox want him to start, they will need to tweak his delivery a little bit.
Pick 142: Pete Hissey, OF, Unionville High School (PA): Finally getting away from the college pitchers, the Sox selected Peter Hissey, a player that they have been on to for quite a while. Hissey is another two-sport player who is committed to the University of Virginia to play baseball and could walk onto the basketball team. A speedy player, Hissey should not hit for too much power, but he will hit a good amount of doubles and develop into a lead off type hitter.
Pick 172: Ryan Westmoreland, OF, Portsmouth High School (RI): A local boy, Westmoreland has been rumored to have been going to the Sox for a pretty big signing bonus. However, the signing bonus rumors may have just been to scare other teams off so that he could be drafted by his hometown team; either way, Westmoreland can hit, run and throw, and should be an intriguing guy to follow.
Pick 202: Ryan Lavarnway, C, Yale: Catcher is a big need for our system and today the Sox added a guy who has a good bat behind the dish but still needs to work on his actual catching ability. The Sox have drafted a few guys in recent years who have above average bats for catchers but have defensive deficiencies behind the plate, so let's hope that Lavarnway's defense improves.
The first day had a good solid mix of college and high school prospects. The Red Sox have changed their philosophy to draft more high upside guys, so they followed that philosophy with Kelly, Westmoreland and Hissey in the first few rounds. Overall, I cannot complain; I was about to after they drafted Weiland, but the back-to-back selections of the toolsy outfielders helped calm me down. I will be back tomorrow with a list of the Sox' draft picks and the tough signs that the Red Sox may make a run at.
You A Bad Mang is a senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.
Casey Kelly, SS, Sarasota High School (FL): Kelly is a two-sport, two-way player, which is pretty rare. He is currently committed to play quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers and also plans to play on the baseball team. As a baseball player, he pitches and plays shortstop, so it really depends on what position the Red Sox want Kelly to play. Either way, I expect Kelly to be a huge upside player like Jason Place and Will Middlebrooks from recent drafts. At the dish, Kelly has huge power potential; on the mound, he has the makings of three good pitches. Focusing on football and baseball, Kelly is obviously raw, so he may take a couple years to actually produce some numbers in the minor leagues.
Pick 45: Bryan Price, RHP, Rice University: Price is a big 6-4, 200 lb. right hander who worked out of the Rice bullpen for the last three seasons. He consistently throws in the low 90s with a very good slider. The Sox may use him much like they did Nick Hagadone this season and ask him to start games at the outset of his career.
Pick 77: Derrick Gibson, SS/2B, Seaford High School (DE): Gibson's biggest asset is his speed; the burner from Delaware played shortstop in high school but may profile more as a second baseman in pro ball. He may never hit for a ton of power, but a guy who can run and hit for average always has a spot on a big league team.
Pick 85: Stephen Fife, RHP, Utah: Fife is a 6-3, 210 lb. right hander who consistently hits the low 90s with some sink on his fastball. In addition to touching the mid 90s on occasion with his fastball, he also has a slider, curve and changeup. All four pitches could end up as being average pitches, especially with the quick development Fife has shown since high school.
Pick 108: Kyle Weiland, RHP, Notre Dame: Another right handed reliever, Weiland throws in the low 90s with his sinking fastball and has a good slider and a solid changeup. All three could use some work, but Weiland has the arm to turn out to be a decent player in a few years. If the Sox want him to start, they will need to tweak his delivery a little bit.
Pick 142: Pete Hissey, OF, Unionville High School (PA): Finally getting away from the college pitchers, the Sox selected Peter Hissey, a player that they have been on to for quite a while. Hissey is another two-sport player who is committed to the University of Virginia to play baseball and could walk onto the basketball team. A speedy player, Hissey should not hit for too much power, but he will hit a good amount of doubles and develop into a lead off type hitter.
Pick 172: Ryan Westmoreland, OF, Portsmouth High School (RI): A local boy, Westmoreland has been rumored to have been going to the Sox for a pretty big signing bonus. However, the signing bonus rumors may have just been to scare other teams off so that he could be drafted by his hometown team; either way, Westmoreland can hit, run and throw, and should be an intriguing guy to follow.
Pick 202: Ryan Lavarnway, C, Yale: Catcher is a big need for our system and today the Sox added a guy who has a good bat behind the dish but still needs to work on his actual catching ability. The Sox have drafted a few guys in recent years who have above average bats for catchers but have defensive deficiencies behind the plate, so let's hope that Lavarnway's defense improves.
The first day had a good solid mix of college and high school prospects. The Red Sox have changed their philosophy to draft more high upside guys, so they followed that philosophy with Kelly, Westmoreland and Hissey in the first few rounds. Overall, I cannot complain; I was about to after they drafted Weiland, but the back-to-back selections of the toolsy outfielders helped calm me down. I will be back tomorrow with a list of the Sox' draft picks and the tough signs that the Red Sox may make a run at.
You A Bad Mang is a senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.
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