The Red Sox may have have snapped their streak of selecting high school shortstops in the first round, but if their draft so far has been any indication they’re still placing a heavy emphasis on the position.
Three of Boston’s first four selections on Monday were shortstops, and overall the club has drafted four in total over the first two days of the 2023 MLB Draft.
Antonio Anderson, out of North Atlanta High in Georgia, was Boston’s third-round pick at No. 83 overall. The 6-foot-3 shortstop was ranked as the No. 68 prospect in the draft by Baseball America and is considered a polished left-handed hitter with good plate discipline and power potential.
Anderson was followed by Matt Duffy, a right-handed pitcher from Canisius College, in the fourth round at No. 115. Duffy is the reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year who posted a 4.13 ERA with 119 strikeouts and 28 walks in 80.2 innings this past season.
Boston then made back-to-back picks at No. 132 and No. 133 overall, which the club acquired as compensation after Xander Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi were extended qualifying offers this past offseason and subsequently signed elsewhere in free agency.
The Red Sox used those picks to land a pair of college shortstops, Georgia Tech’s Kristian Campbell and Wright State’s Justin Riemer. Campbell batted .376 with four home runs, 16 doubles and a 1.033 OPS for the Yellow Jackets this past spring, and Riemer batted .323 with three home runs in 12 games before going down with a torn ACL.
From that point the Red Sox shifted gears and began loading up on pitchers. Boston selected University of Virginia left-hander Connelly Early (fifth-round, No. 151), Western Kentucky righty CJ Weins (sixth-round, No. 178), Ball State righty Trennor O’Donnell (eighth-round, No. 238), Kennesaw State righty Blake Wehunt (ninth-round, No. 268) and Clemson lefty Ryan Ammons (10th-round, No. 268). The Red Sox also selected University of Alabama outfielder Caden Rose in the seventh round (No. 208).
Early was college teammates with first-round pick Kyle Teel, and O’Donnell and Wehunt jump out thanks to their massive size — both are listed at 6-foot-7, 240 pounds. The Red Sox will make 10 more selections on Tuesday between rounds 11-20 on the draft’s final day.