The Boston Red Sox drafted Pat Light in the first compensation round (37th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft.
The Boston Red Sox usually say they look for the best talent available in the MLB Draft.
In previous years, the Red Sox have gotten away with this philosophy because they used a loophole in the rules to take players who fell in the draft because they were seeking money that lower market teams could not spend in the higher rounds. Some of these players were two-sport stars in high school who were being recruited by Division 1 schools for sports like football. For example, Will Middlebrooks, was offered a scholarship to play quarterback at Texas A&M. The new rules that was put in place last December before the CBA expired was each team had a certain threshold for spending on their draft picks. The Red Sox could not spend over $6, 884,800 on signing bonuses. If the team goes over this cap number in the first 10 rounds or signs players to $100,000 contracts after the 10th round, they will be forced to pay a tax based on the percentage they went over their cap number. Basically, this is like a hard salary cap for the MLB, except it only constitutes the team’s draft selections. Another tidbit is any player who the organization fails to agree to terms on a deal with in the first 10 rounds, the Red Sox would lose its slot allocation for that round.
The Red Sox have lost most of their top pitching prospects in previous years to trades like when the Red Sox shipped Justin Masterson and Nick Hagadone to the Cleveland Indians for Victor Martinez in July 2009 or when they sent Casey Kelly to the San Diego Padres for Adrian Gonzalez in December 2010. The Red Sox drafted Matt Barnes, who is dominating Single A with a 1.59 ERA in 34 innings pitched, in the 1st round of last year’s draft. Anthony Ranaudo struggled with injuries early in the season and he has pitched just 19.2 innings in Double AA Portland. In the 2012 Draft, the Red Sox took two pitchers on the first day (left-handed Brian Johnson of the University of Florida and Monmoth righthander Pat Light). The Sos added eight RHP’s on the second day. Three of these righthanders were highly-touted high school prospects (Jamie Callahan in the 2nd round, Ty Buttrey in the 4th round, and Carson Fulmer). They also picked up the University of Florida closer Austin Maddox.
With their first choice at the 24th slot, the Red Sox tabbed Deven Marrero of Arizona State University. The last time the Red Sox used their first pick on a shortstop from Arizona State, it turned out pretty well. They chose Dustin Pedroia in 2004 in the second round. Marrero can play defense at an exceptional level. The 6-foot-1-inch shortstop was a projected top-1o pick before his junior season. He hit .397 as a freshman, .315 as a sophomore, and .284 because of a sprained ankle this past season. Marrero also had a .340 OBP and a .430 slugging percentage this past season. Scouts say he is a line-drive hitter, but he has the potential to develop power as his career progresses.
Johnson, who was drafted 31st overall, has a ceiling as a number 3/4 starter, which may not make many people excited for a first-round selection. He throws four pitches. His fastball runs from 88-92 miles per hour, but his other pitches (curveball, slider, and changeup) are all above-average. Johnson has excellent command and he has been compared to Miami Marlins’ southpaw Mark Buehrle.
Light stands at 6-foot-6-inches and was taken with the second of two compensation picks awarded to the Red Sox when the Philadelphia Philles signed Jonathan Papelbon. His fastball runs in the mid-90′s and Light’s slider is his out pitch. This season, Light was 8-3 with a 2.40 ERA. In his 101.1 innings pitched, he struck out 102 hitters and walked just 16. While most scouts say Light should be an effective reliever, they also say he should be worked as a starter initially in the minor leagues.
The Red Sox added five college seniors in rounds 5-10, which was unexpected.
According to Mike Andrews of Soxprospects.com, the franchise hopes to sign the majority of these players they took on the second day for low money while focusing the rest of their money on players like Buttrey and Fulmer. The Red Sox have until July 13th to get their picks signed, which means these players could be on the field in the minor league system in 2012 instead of 2013.
The Red Sox hope they will be able to replenish the farm system with a depth of pitchers and these pitchers can make their way to Yawkey Way in a few years.