Red Sox select HS third baseman Triston Casas 26th overall

The Red Sox opted for power with their first-round pick in the first-year player draft Monday, selecting 18-year old Triston Casas, a lefty-hitting third baseman from Plantation Fla.

Cassas attended the same high school as current San Diego Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer and former Red Sox infielder Deven Marrero -- American Heritage School. He has imposing size (6-4, 238 pounds) and plus power.

"Coming into today, I definitely knew of a couple of teams interested in me,'' said Casas on a conference call with reporters. "I'm glad the way board fell. I feel like Boston's a great fit for me; I couldn't be happier with the way the day turned out for me, to be honest.''

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Casas recently took part in a workout for Red Sox scouts and evaluators at Fenway, and raved about the experience.

"It was my first time in Boston and I really loved my time there,'' he said. "I loved the city. I feel like the park fits my swing well.''

That's because Casas is a left-handed hitter who frequently hits the ball the other way and the left field wall is an inviting target.

"I've kind of had that ability (to go the other way) ever since I started playing baseball,'' he said. "It was instilled in me at a young age to try to become a complete hitter and just let the power happen.''

He has excelled on the international stage. While playing for USA Baseball, he won the MVP of the Under-18 World Cup, belting three homers and knocking in 13 in nine games. He's said to have good plate discipline for a power hitter, though he can be streaky at times.

Defensively, Casas is regarded as an average third baseman, albeit with good arm strength. Given his size, it would surprise few is he ended up moving across the infield to play first base.

Casas joked that the place on the field he feels most comfortable is "in the lineup,'' but added he was confident he could handle any number of positions.

"To me,'' he said, "it doesn't matter.''

Casas has committed to the University of Miami. As the 26th pick in the draft, his signing bonus is slotted to be in the area of $2.6 million. That will put manager Alex Cora, a proud Miami alum, in the unusual position of recommending someone not attend the "U."

But Casas didn't sound like he was about to play hard-to-get in contract negotiations.

"It was kind of evident that I wanted to get drafted and playing baseball is something I want to do for a living,'' he said. "The quicker I can get started, the better. I'm not going to lie -- I love the city of Boston and love this fit, so it's going to be hard for me to turn this down.''

The Sox have had mixed success with selecting high school players with their first pick, trading off a number of them (Casey Kelley, Rey Fuentes, Michael Kopech) in order to land more established stars. Still others -- including Henry Owens, Trey Ball and Jason Place -- have been mostly busts, while others of more recent vintage (Blake Swihart and Jay Groome, most notably) are still developing.