When the Major League Baseball Draft begins Sunday night, a pair of New Englanders are sure to hear their names called.
Philips Andover’s Thomas White is poised to be a first-round selection as the left-hander has dazzled scouts with a fastball that gets into the upper 90s. While White holds a commitment to Vanderbilt, those around the league expect White to sign should the money be somewhere around his asking price.
White is represented by The Boras Corporation and is currently projected as the No. 25 overall pick to the San Diego Padres by MLB.com, although many evaluators think he may go higher. If White is not selected in the first round, it is likely due to the fact that he has told organizations he is determined to play for the Commodores.
Worcester Academy’s own and current Maryland junior Matt Shaw is also expected to be selected in the first round. Shaw is seen as one of the more polished bats in the draft due to his ability to hit for power out of a middle infield position to go along with his high walk rate and low strikeout rate. While he currently plays shortstop at Maryland, he proves the versatility of all three infield positions and outfield slots. Shaw is a sure fire first-rounder; a pick in the top 10 would come as no big surprise.
Travis Honeyman hails from Massapequa, N.Y., but has thrived during his tenure at Boston College. Honeyman would almost certainly be a first-round selection if not for an injury that sidelined him for nearly a month. While a Day 1 selection is possible, a call early on Monday is more likely for the outfielder.
A pair of arms from the Bay State in Northwestern left-hander Sean Sullivan (Andover) and Harvard right-hander Jay Driver (Wellesley) should find professional homes by the end of day Monday.
Coleman Picard (Auburn), Evan Sleight (Framingham), and Wyatt Scotti (Barnstable) will likely have their professional dreams realized before all is said and done. Sleight has announced his intentions of a graduate year at Alabama although those plans could shift depending on the circumstances. Scotti had a 3.91 ERA over 76 innings for Northeastern.
The draft is set to begin Sunday night at 7 p.m. with rounds one and two including compensatory picks taking place. Rounds three through 10 will come Monday before the draft finishes up with rounds 11 through 20 on Tuesday.