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Boston Red Sox: 2018 MLB draft day three recap and full grade

By Damian Dydyn

SECAUCUS, NJ - JUNE : Triston Casas talks with MLB Network host Alexa Datt after being selected 26th overall by the Boston Red Sox during the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft at Studio 42 at the MLB Network on Monday, June 4, 2018 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
SECAUCUS, NJ - JUNE : Triston Casas talks with MLB Network host Alexa Datt after being selected 26th overall by the Boston Red Sox during the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft at Studio 42 at the MLB Network on Monday, June 4, 2018 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
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The draft has been completed and we now look forward to the signing period. How did the Red Sox do? Were there any day three surprises?

That’s it. It’s over. The MLB draft is done. We covered days one and two for the Boston Red Sox already. Now it’s time to dig through the 30 rounds of picks made on day three. Let’s see if we can find any gems worth talking about. The basics of the first two days are pretty simple, though. On day one the team made two picks. And with both of them they bet on loud power as the carrying tool. Both Triston Casas and Nick Decker are prep bats who are very far away. But both have intriguing ceilings.

On day two, the team made ten selections, and five of them were cost saving picks. Teams have a limited pool tied to the draft slot allotments for each pick. It is also contingent upon the signing of those players. So freeing up money with under slot draft picks is a necessity of the modern draft. When a team fails to sign a pick in the first ten rounds, they lose access to the slot allotment for that pick. They can’t redistribute the funds to another player. In order to pay a pick over slot value, you need to pay one of the picks from the first ten rounds under slot value to compensate.

Why did they pick so many under slot players?

The fact that five players picked in those first ten rounds will likely sign for significantly under slot value means one of two things:

  1. They expect to pay one or more of the other players drafted in the first ten rounds significantly over slot value.
  2. They planned on drafting tough sign prospects who fell out of the first ten rounds to try and convince them to forgo commitments to their college of choice, or to return to school.

In the case of the Red Sox, it was option two. Casas may sign for a little over slot, but none of the other five picks from the first ten rounds are likely to. They then went out and drafted a number of interesting players in rounds 11-40. This made their plan clear.

Next: Who stood out on day 3

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