The Red Sox closed out the 2023 MLB Draft selecting 17 college players with 17 of their 22 picks. Boston selected 13 pitchers with their final 17 selections.
Red Sox amateur scouting director Devin Pearson echoed that the Sox were looking for athletes.
“I’m going to sound like a broken record,” Pearson said. “But (the focus was) athletes and makeup, man. We’re betting on these really good athletes with bat speed and twitch and makeup that we believe in to reach their ceiling.”
Here is the list of players the Sox drafted on Day 3:
Round 11: 328th overall - OF Nelly Taylor, Polk State College
The 20-year-old was the first player the club selected out of junior college.
The left-handed hitting sophomore batted .353/.467/.620 with 19 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 48 RBIs, 46 runs scored, 31 stolen bases, 36 walks, and 42 strikeouts in 51 games (229 plate appearances) for Polk State this past season.
Defensively, he didn’t commit a single error in 127 chances in the outfield. He was named a first-team All-Suncoast Conference selection, Suncoast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, a second-team All-FCSAA selection, and an FCSAA and Rawlings Gold Glove recipient.
The Red Sox can sign him for up to $150,000 without it counting toward their bonus pool.
Round 12: 358th overall - RHP Max Carlson, North Carolina
He was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 385th best prospect in the draft. The 21-year-old posted a 5.45 ERA with 76 punchouts in 76 innings for Tar Heels this season.
“Carlson pitches in the 90-93 mph range and touches 95, and uses a low-80s changeup as his primary secondary and swing-and-miss pitch,” wrote Baseball America. “He generated a 40% miss rate with the changeup this spring, which was far and away his most effective bat-missing offering. He’ll also mix in a low-80s slider, but he used the pitch at just a 7% rate.”
Round 13: 388th overall - RHP Cade Feeney, North Dakota State
This season the righty posted a 4.57 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 78 strikeouts to 12 walks in 14 starts (80 2/3 innings) for the Bison this past season.
The North Dakota native operates a three-pitch mix, fastball, changeup and slider. Feeney now turns the page on his collegiate career and will head east to play for the Sox organization, which is who he was hoping to be drafted by this year.
Round 14: 418th overall - LHP Jojo Ingrassia, Cal State Fullerton
Boston bound!
— Titans Baseball (@FullertonBSB) July 11, 2023
Congrats to Jojo Ingrassia on being selected in the 14th round of the MLB draft by the @RedSox! #TusksUp | @Jojoingrassia35 pic.twitter.com/wgf0gvtBqe
Ingrassia spent his first two years at San Diego State before transferring to Fullerton as a junior. He was the Titans’ closer this season posting a 2.42 ERA and collecting seven saves. The southpaw operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of an 89-92 mph fastball, a 79-81 mph slider, and an 82-85 mph changeup, per Perfect Game California.
Round 15: 448th overall - SS Phoenix Call, Calabasas HS (California)
Call is committed to playing college baseball at UCLA and looks like a long shot to sign with the Red Sox.
The prep school shortstop is considered one of the state’s best high school infielders. Baseball America ranked Call as the No. 253rd best prospect in the draft.
The 18-year-old has “athletic and toolsy with 70-grade run times from home-to-first from the right side, as well as plus arm strength and sneaky power from his 6-foot, 170-pound frame.”
Call will likely shift off shortstop as he develops and could profile as a center fielder as a professional.
“Yeah, we’ll kind of see how that one falls,” Pearson said to MLB.com. “I think, as you guys know, a lot of things can happen post-draft, and having as many options as you can with good athletes to try to sign is what our goal is. Phoenix has a UCLA commitment, so it’s not going to be an easy sign by many means, but we’ll just kind of see how things play out.
“He’s one of the rare types where he has the ability to be a plus center fielder and a plus shortstop,” added Pearson. “He’s one of the best high school defenders I’ve ever seen.”
Round 16: 478th overall - RHP Isaac Stebens, Oklahoma State
Stebens spent two years in JUCO before transferring to Oklahoma State.
In 18 relief appearances this season, he posted a 2.24 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 85 strikeouts to 24 walks over 64 1/3 innings in which he held opposing hitters to a .212 batting average against. He also recorded six saves.
Stebens likes to work in late games with everything on the line.
“It’s the amount of pressure that I put on myself,” Stebens said to Tulsa World before his collegiate season ended. “I just enjoy the game being on the line. It’s not the pressure of the runners or anything like that. People like to think of it as pressure, but I like to think of it as a confidence boost that your coach is willing to put you in that situation.”
The 6-foot, 194-pounder operas a 95 mph fastball, slider and changeup. He has the option to return to college for his senior season.
Round 17: 508th overall - OF Dylan Schlaegel, Legacy HS (Texas)
Currently committed to playing at Dallas Baptist. This past spring, the right-handed hitting prospect hit .391/.641/.739 with four doubles, two triples, six RBIs, 14 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, 14 walks, and four strikeouts in 10 games.
Schlaegel fits the mold of an athletic player, he runs well and has quick bat speed, per SoxProspects. He offers a strong arm in the outfield and has also pitched while in high school. He will turn 19 in September and he can sign for up to $150,000 without dipping into their bonus pool.
Round 18: 538th overall - LHP Zach Fogell, UConn
Fogell will turn 23 later this month, is a native of Rhode Island and began his collegiate baseball career with Brown before transferring to UConn.
Fogell is Shipping Up To Boston!#HookC | #UConnBred pic.twitter.com/rkC1hEqTnn
— UConn Baseball (@UConnBSB) July 11, 2023
He had a strong senior season for the Huskies posting a 1.89 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 60 strikeouts to 23 walks in 36 relief outings (47 2/3 innings) for the Huskies. The southpaw offers a three-pitch mix that consists of a low 90s fastball, slider and changeup. The Red Sox can offer the lefty up to $150,000 without it counting toward their bonus pool.
Round 19: 568th overall - OF Stanley Tucker, Texas A&M
The 21-year-old played in just 20 games for the Aggies this season. He went 6-for-22 (.273) at the plate with two doubles, two RBIs, eight runs scored, four stolen bases, five walks, and six strikeouts.
Tucker began his collegiate career at Wharton County Junior College in 2021 and then transferred to New Mexico Junior College, where he hit .407/.487/.785 with 20 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs, 90 RBIs, 82 runs scored, 37 stolen bases.
Tucker has one more year of eligibility remaining and can forgo signing with Boston. The Red Sox can offer Tucker up to $150,000 without it counting toward their bonus pool.
Round 20: 598th overall - RHP Robert Orloski, Middleton HS (Idaho)
The 18-year-old was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 465 prospect in this year’s draft class.
The Idaho native is coming off a dominant senior season in which he went 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and 92 strikeouts to 19 walks in 11 appearances over 56 innings of work. In the process, he was named the Gatorade Idaho Baseball Player of the Year.
At 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, Orloski “has a high-energy windup and fast arm, with a few moving parts and some effort throughout his finish,” per his Baseball America scouting report. “He has mostly pitched in the 88-92 mph range, but will sit in the low 90s early in starts with bat-missing qualities to his fastball.”
Orloski told the Idaho Statesman that the Sox heavily scouted him while in high school but indicated that he hasn’t been offered the money he is looking for to forgo college.
“It’s all good,” Orloski said. “I’m still kind of waiting. I haven’t received the money I wanted. So we are still waiting to see if I can get that. If not, I’ll go to college.”
Overall thoughts on the draft
Two years ago, Marcelo Mayer was considered the consensus top overall pick, instead the Pirates went with catcher Henry Davis. Mayer then fell down to No. 4 overall and the Sox landed their future shortstop.
This year, University of Virginia catcher Kyle Teel fell into Boston’s lap at No. 14 overall.
"We didn’t really know it was going to be a possibility until the draft played itself out,” said Pearson after the first round. "I think we expected him to go higher. But a draft is a draft. To be able to add a catcher in the middle of the first round, a college catcher, doesn’t happen all the time. For us, it was kind of a no-brainer at that point to draft him."
Nazzan Zanetello is an intriguing pick in the second round that will likely move off shortstop and develop in the outfield. As he adds more muscle, he will have the potential to be a power hitter as he develops in the system.
“He’s one of the best athletes in the draft, in my opinion,” said Pearson. “He’s explosive. He’s got speed. He’s got the ability to play a really good shortstop, athletic enough to play a really good center field.”
He has excellent bat speed but also is free swinger where he’ll need to reel that in as he elevates within the system. Despite Teel being the first-round pick, Zanetello might be the star of the Sox draft.
He fits the mold of what the Sox scouting director has been echoing about his first draft.
Boston added more pitching depth to the system. A lot of the pitchers are similar throwing from a three-quarter arm slot and offering a three-pitch mix. They all don’t throw particularly hard, but with added development in the system, the new pitchers can add velocity as they grow with the Red Sox.
Bloom’s front office will continue to stockpile shortstops with hopes to develop these athletes all over the diamond. Every one of the players drafted at the position offer similar profiles offensively and defensively.
Overall, the Sox drafted well, I'd grade them a B, they added arms to the system while adding athletes to develop at other positions. The Red Sox are mimicking other organizations (ex. the Rays) by adding college pitchers to the mix. Many of them they’ve drafted under Bloom are starting to flourish such as Hunter Dobbins, Dalton Rogers and Shane Drohan, only time will tell with this new group.
The signing deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern time on July 25.