No draft talk?

We had six of the first 57 picks in this year's amateur draft. I'm pretty excited about how we ended up in the first day of action.

We had #23 overall from the Angels for the OC. We had #26 from the Dodgers for Lowe (we gave #28 to the Cardinals for Renteria). In the sandwich/supplemental round, we had #42 overall from the Mets for Pedro, #45 for Cabrera again, and #47 for Lowe again. We had the 9th pick in the second round (#57 overall), and then we didn't pick again until midway through the 4th round (I won't go that far).

2005 Red Sox draft preview (no longer very relevant, but some interesting commentary on our draft position this year).
MLB.com's Red Sox draft summary.
Another article mostly about Ellsbury and Hansen.
(Much of the information in those articles is summarized below.)


23. Jacoby Ellsbury, cf, Oregon State
2005 PAC-10 Co-Player of Year. Widely compared to Johnny Damon. Baseball America named him the fastest baserunner in college baseball, third-best in college in strike-zone judgement, PAC-10's best defensive outfielder, and the third best defensive player overall in college baseball. 6'1, 190 (seems generous to me -- I've seen him listed elsewhere at 185, and every picture I've seen he looks real skinny). Bats and throws left-handed. 0 errors in 117 chances in the field this season. Finished the regular season tied for second in the Pac-10 with a .415 batting average and a .504 on-base percentage. His 86 hits set a school record and he holds the Beavers' career record in runs scored.

Baseball America's first-round capsules: "Ellsbury has few holes in his game and is capable of beating teams in a lot of ways. He has excellent makeup and instincts. His best tool is his speed, and it’s evident both on the bases and in center field, where he catches everything hit his way. He has been clocked in 6.55 seconds over 60 yards. (I have to add: Good Lord!). He has become more patient, rarely swings and misses and is comfortable hitting with two strikes. His style of play and physical appearance have drawn comparisons to Johnny Damon at a similar age, but scouts say Ellsbury has a better swing. They question whether he’ll grow into the same power, though."

Jason McLeod, Sox' scouting director: "Theo and I were at the University of Washington a couple of weeks ago and we got to watch Jacoby play two games, and then got to watch Johnny the next day because the Red Sox were in Seattle. It's pretty uncanny. They have the same body type, they're both left-handed hitters with speed. They have very similar styles to their game. Jacoby is someone we feel might be able to develop at the Major League level some day like Johnny does now."

Baseball Prospectus weighs in (no link, sorry, I stole the text as I don't have a BP membership): "Ellsbury's a little on the small side, which won't make PECOTA happy, and there are the problems with predictability of high batting averages. On the other hand, his defense is solid enough to stay in center in the long run, and who couldn't use a high-average center fielder with decent secondary numbers?"

Ellsbury's college bio. OREGON STATE CAREER STATISTICS - BATTING
YEAR  AVG.   G/GS  AB   R   H BI 2B 3B HR BB SO HP SB-AT  TB SLUG
2003 .330   53/51 206  56  68 33 10  3  7 26 33 11 14-18 105 .510
2004 .352   49/49 196  56  69 20  8  2  3 30 17 11 20-24  90 .459
TOT. .341 102/100 402 112 137 53 18  5 10 56 50 22 34-42 195 .485

No info available on why he has such a stupid first name, however.

26. Craig Hansen, rhp, St. John's
Closer earned 2005 Big East Pitcher of the Year accolades. Finished regular season 3-2 with 14 saves. 1.68 ERA and .173 BAA in 31 appearances, with 85 K's over 64 1/3 innings. Mostly seems to be projected as a closer, with a live fastball in the mid-90's and a plus slider in the high 80's. Boras client. Baseball America rated his pitches the second-best fastball and first-best breaking ball in college, as well as estimating him to be the closest prospect to the majors of any of the college players taken in 2005. Probably not a likely contributor this year, owing mostly to Boras issues (as well as the fact he's already got ~70 IP this season), but could easily have a 2006 ETA. Has some sort of elbow kink in his delivery that is described as deceptive; little other information available. Childhood Yankees fan, grew up in Long Island. I'm not 100% clear on the situation but he's been starting lately in the college playoffs. Should immediately become popular with female Sox fans. Is huge -- 6'6", 210.

Baseball America's first-round capsules: "Hansen pounds the strike zone with a fastball that has been clocked consistently in the mid-90s and tops out at 97 mph. The velocity on his slider has been even more impressive, sitting at 85-86 mph with a high of 90. Though his fastball command wavers, he has an excellent approach to pitching and isn’t afraid to go right at hitters. He should be even more effective against wood bats. He’s suited to be a closer because of his temperament, short arm stroke and full-effort delivery."

Baseball Prospectus: "Hansen is your basic big, flame-throwing righthander. The level of competition he has faced is a little suspect, but he also dominated in the Cape Cod League." (I found these numbers, and they're shocking: 22IP, 0.00 ERA, 41K, 2BB. This guy's ready to play.)

Hansen's college bio.

Article on Hansen.

42. Clay Buchholz, rf/rhp, Angelina (Junior) College (TX)
Announced as an outfielder, but will enter the organization as a pitcher. Won Region 14-East Conference Player of the Year honors, going 12-1 with a 1.05 ERA, striking out 129 hitters in 85 2/3 IP over 15 starts. Currently playing for the Dupage Dragons of an independent, MLB-sanctioned central-Illinois league. Bats left, throws right. MLB.com says he has above-average velocity on his fastball, an above-average slider, a breaking curve, and a straight change. Was charged with stealing over $70,000 in computer equipment from a local middle school, leading to his "transfer" from McNeese State to Angelina J.C. Named by BA the 51st best prospect going into the draft. 6'3", 190.

McLeod: "He hit third in the lineup, but we drafted him as a pitcher. He's very athletic, has a live body. He has the same type of body that Matt Clement has. He's young in terms of his pitching ability. We see him as a kid who has a young, fresh live arm with a lot of upside. He's pretty polished for kid who hasn't pitched full time at this stage of his development, someone we feel has a lot of room to improve."

45. Jed Lowrie, 2b, Stanford
2004 PAC-10 player of the year, winning that conference's triple crown. Hit .317 in 2005, leading Stanford with 14 homers, 66 RBI, .594 slugging, .416 OBP, 41 walks, 133 total bases. Started all 59 games at second base for the Cardinal, making six errors in 295 defensive chances (.980). 6'0", 180. Born in Oregon, supposedly personal friends with Ellsbury. Above-average defender with good range, average arm.

McLeod: "We like what he does from a defensive standpoint. We think he's a very good defender who can provide production."

Jed Lowrie's college bio.

Article on Jed Lowrie as one of three Stanford players drafted in the early rounds.

Baseball America prospect summary on Jed Lowrie (from 2004, before his last college season).

47. Michael Bowden, rhp, Waubonsie Valley (IL) HS
Low 90's fastball, above-average secondary pitches with a sharp, late-breaking 12-6 curve, above-average control with four pitches (FB, CB, slider, change). Big: 6'3", 215, and only 18 years old. Described as "physically mature". Right-handed. 8-1 his senior year with an 0.46 ERA in 10 games and 61 IP, striking out 135 (!!), allowing 18 hits and 7 walks. Smooth, easy release, durable. Excellent athlete, supposedly would rate as a corner-infield college prospect if it weren't for his pitching talent. Not a lot of info available on HS players (or post-first-rounders), but I like what I've found about this kid.

McLeod: "He really turned it on this spring. He worked real hard in the offseason. Every time one of us went in there to see him, week after week, he performed very well. He showed very good command of his pitches for a high school kid."

57. Jonathan Egan, c, Cross Creek (GA) HS
Smooth, compact stroke, power threat to both fields, good bat speed, great strength. Another big guy at 6'4" 210. 68 ABs, 16 HR and 45 BI. Bats and throws RH. Very little information available defensively although MLB.com says "aptitude behind plate."

BA: "East Cobb (Ga.) product Jon Egan has been known for his prodigious power for some time, and again showed advanced bat control and power potential in Wilmington. The 6-foot-4, 206-pound catcher was one of just five players to homer in the four-day event, ripping a shot over the left-field fence and another off the base of the wall in left-center during batting practice."

So... discuss.