In a chat on BaseballAmerica.com, Jim Callis thinks “…the Red Sox have drafted the most highly regarded talent. To have the best draft, they’ll have to sign a lot of those guys. No reason they won’t, though, that’s their approach.”
Callis is dead on; a successful 2010 amateur draft will be if Yawkey Way signs most of the amateurs mentioned below.
The Red Sox first draftee Kolbrin Vitek should sign quickly as he has a verbal agreement with the club. Theo Epstein also believes that their second pick, Bryce Brentz, will be property of the team soon as well.
The same can not be said for the highly touted and recently injured, Anthony Ranaudo, who will pitch in the Cape Cod League. The Red Sox will continue to evaluate him to better understand his value or signing bonus. Ranaudo is highly unlikely to be signed before the August 15, 2010 deadline. Unless something odd occurs, the Red Sox will probably meet the demands of Scott Boras and Ranaudo. The club would only select him this early if they were willing to pony up the cash to attain the big pitching talent.
The Red Sox next pitcher drafted, Brandon Workman, sounds like a guy who has moved on from Texas.
“It worked out all the way around,” Workman said Tuesday night. “I’ve had some of the best times of my life at UT the last three years, and now the baseball side has worked out.”
Workman will be playing in Lowell this summer.
The Red Sox third round pick, Sean Coyle, was not as clear on his intentions as Workman. But Yawkey Way is aware of his financial demand.
“If you want to tell them a number, fine,” Coyle said. “They leave that up to you. They did know that, say, sixth-round money wasn’t going to get me to pass up North Carolina and the chance to play with my brother.”
Again, it is unlike the Red Sox to waste a valuable asset — a third-round pick — on a player they are unwilling to meet his price. A deal is likely to get done.
Garin Cecchini is similar to Ranaudo as he has a injury history and the Sox will probably continue to evaluate him during the summer. Cecchini lost nearly a year due to a torn ACL. It has been reported that he wants $1.75 million to keep him out of LSU. The Sox had to be aware of his demand prior to the draft. We will know the fate of Cecchini on August 15, 2010 for the same reasons as Ranaudo.
It does not appear Kendrick Perkins will sign soon either. The Perkins family wants some time to decide between the Red Sox and Texas A&M. Thankfully, the Olde Towne Team is not also competing with football.
“I enjoyed football and love the contact but baseball is always what I wanted to do,” Kendrick Perkins said. “I stuck with it since I was a little kid. I had a good summer in baseball and it’s less pain on my body. It’s what I wanted to do.”
It is unclear now if Perkins would qualify as a two-sport athlete. If so, the Red Sox could offer him a larger bonus, than initially anticipated, and pay it out of five years. This could tilt the scales in the teams favor.
Adam Duke, the Red Sox 16th round selection, is on the fence about signing with the club or going to Oregon State. The pitcher indicated that the Olde Towne Team “…were thinking of drafting him as early as the second round today, but the price wasn’t right for the right-handed pitcher or the team.” If true, Yawkey Way clearly likes the high school arm from Utah. Duke said he will try to demonstrate his worth to the Red Sox over the summer. He will be another August 15, 2010 decision.
We will not know if the Red Sox had a successful 2010 draft until August 15, 2010. If they can sign most of the names above, then the strategy and process was probably a victory.