With two days of the draft in the books, let’s take a look at rounds 3-11 for the Boston Red Sox. Did they land any hidden gems?
After an exciting day one of the 2018 MLB Draft, the Boston Red Sox got back to it with rounds 3-10. Just a day after surprising the world by opening their draft with two high school bats, the Red Sox drafted college players exclusively in the next eight rounds.
Furthermore, it’s possible that all of them will be under slot signees which could mean two things. The first possibility is that Triston Casas and Nick Decker, their day one selections, will cost significantly over slot to get signed. The second possibility is that the team has their eye on a tough sign or two that fell out of the first 10 rounds.
There is certainly a decent chance at least Triston Casas will cost more than his draft slot. He’s not far from his BA ranking of 25, or even his MLB rank of 20. But he did have his name tied to the Marlins at the 13th pick.
If the Red Sox had a deal worked out with him before the pick was announced, it may be because they were willing to go over slot to ensure he’d forgo his commitment to the University of Miami. It seems less likely that Nick Decker would be an over-slot signee given his rankings of 74 (MLB) and 110 (BA) relative to his being picked 64th.
What kinds of players could they be targeting on day three?
As of Wednesday morning, there are 12 players in the top 100 ranking by MLB, and 15 by BA’s count. That MLB link is a live page that will update as the draft continues. So it may have a different count by the time you are reading this.
That said, the most intriguing names still available are certainly Cole Wilcox, Kumar Rocker, and Nander De Sedas. Wilcox and Rocker are high school pitchers, and De Sedas is a high school shortstop. Unfortunately, no matter how much money the Red Sox might be saving with under slot draftees in rounds 3-10, it won’t be enough.
The lowest bonus allotment for a first round pick this year was $2,275,800.00. Even if we go to the end of the Competitive Balance Round A, it was $1,664,200.00 at pick 43.
For players who had demands high enough to be skipped over in the first round, it’s unlikely that a team with a combined $2,160,000.00 pool for picks 3-10 is going to free up enough money. More likely, we’ll see more raw, toolsy high school players.