The Red Sox have the 17th pick in the draft and four of the first 54 selections.
General manager Theo Epstein has pledged to turn the club’s minor league system into a “player development machine,” and this will be an important part of that process.
Boston is said to be leaning heavily towards college players, with pitchers Ryan Wagner (Houston), Pat Maholm (Mississippi State) and Marc Cornell (Ohio University) among those mentioned as possible selections.
Despite the success of Triple-A Pawtucket and the Sea Dogs, the Red Sox system is still thin at all positions.
In the last 10 years, Trot Nixon (1993) and Nomar Garciaparra (1994) are the only first-round selections to make it to the big club.
Slowly but surely
Some players selected will take a little longer to develop than others.
In 1996, the Red Sox chose Shea Hillenbrand in the 10th round out of Mesa (Arizona) Community College. Hillenbrand plodded up the organizational ladder, ending up in Trenton for the 2000 season.
While with the Thunder, Hillenbrand led the Eastern League in hits and was named the Red Sox Double A Player of the Year.
The following spring, Hillebrand caught the eye of manager Jimy Williams, and he was a staple in the Red Sox lineup until he was traded to Arizona for pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim.
Ripple effect
There was a dramatic change in the Sea Dogs’ roster the last few days due to the trading of Hillenbrand and injuries in Portland and Pawtucket.
The Red Sox recalled infielder Freddy Sanchez from Pawtucket. Sanchez hit .384 in 45 games for the PawSox.
Trace Coquillette and Justin Headley were promoted from Portland to Pawtucket.
The Sea Dogs also lost infielder Raul Nieves when an MRI revealed a hairline fracture in his left foot. Nieves, who originally suffered the injury on May 13 against Trenton, will be sent to the Red Sox complex in Fort Myers, Fla., to rehab and miss three to four weeks.
Blake Blasi was called up from Class A Sarasota, where he was hitting .216 while playing second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield.
Bill Foley is assistant sports editor. He can be reached by e-mail at bfoley@sunjournal.com.
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