Red Sox select Shaun Anderson with their third-round pick

With their third-round pick (88th overall) in the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Red Sox have selected Shaun Anderson, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Florida. Anderson was ranked 151 in Baseball America's pre-draft rankings, and MLB.com had him at 140.

Anderson has been the closer for the University of Florida, but that is more due to the depth of their system than his talent. He is amazingly already the fourth Gators pitcher taken in this year's draft after A.J. Puk (6th overall), Dane Dunning (29th), Logan Shore (47th), and if not for that depth, the 6-foot-4 junior would likely start for a majority of college programs. Last summer on the Cape, Anderson was able to give a taste of what he would be like in the rotation. Of the 8 games he pitched in, he started three of them, finishing the summer with a 4.09 ERA and a more impressive 0.82 WHIP with 15 strikeouts and 6 walks over 22 innings. Baseball America says that during that time, his fastball was sitting in the low 90s but his changeup and slider showed promise.

Back at Florida this season, MLB.com notes that he has been hitting 95 mph and showcasing a four-pitch mix. The rest of the arsenal is made up of a low-80s changeup, an 81-83 mph curve/slider hybrid, and a cutter at 86-88 with excellent control. His stats have been tremendous as the closer. He owns a 1.05 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 56 strikeouts to only 6 walks over 43 innings, and has converted 13 saves. Before suiting up for the Gators, Anderson attended American Heritage in Florida, the same high school as 2016 second-rounder C.J. Chatham, as well as Deven Marrero and Eric Hosmer.

There has been no word on the 21-year-old's desired signing bonus, but he is not a senior and therefore still has some leverage since he could always choose to return to Florida. One would guess that he will not be one of the extremely low bonus draftees that are often seniors and taken in rounds 6 through 10. This is important to keep an eye on as the Red Sox work to sign their top draft pick, lefty Jason Groome, who may command an over-slot bonus. The Red Sox may have to wait to begin trying to sign Anderson as his one-seeded Gators take on Florida State in the best-of-three NCAA Super Regionals with Game 1 tomorrow, Game 2 Sunday, and Game 3 (if necessary) on Monday.

Scouting info was compiled from industry publications including Baseball America, Perfect Game USA, ESPN, and MLB.com.

Photo Credit: Shaun Anderson by Rob Foldy.

Will Woodward is a Senior Staff Writer for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter @SPWill.

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