Minor Notes: Draft overload plus Beeks called up to big club

Here are Thursday's minor league notes:

• It was an extremely busy week with the 2018 MLB Draft taking place this Monday through Wednesday. The Red Sox made 40 selections, and you can find them all on our draft page. 
• On Day 1 of the draft, the Red Sox selected Triston Casas (pictured, left), a left-handed hitting corner infielder from American Heritage High School in Florida, and with their second-round pick took outfielder Nick Decker, out of Seneca High School in New Jersey.
• SoxProspects.com Executive Editor Chris Hatfield and Director of Scouting Ian Cundall stayed up after the draft to record a podcast with their initial thoughts on the Red Sox first two picks, Casas and Decker.
• The Red Sox elected to select two high schoolers with their first two draft picks, something vice president of amateur scouting Mike Rikard said he'd do before the draft if they represented the best players available. Mike Richardson of MLB.com takes a look at what Rikard and Co. saw in their top-two picks while also noting how the Red Sox targeted collegiate arms on Day 2.

• Day 2 saw the Red Sox add eight more selections in rounds three through ten and SoxProspects.com had write-ups on all eight. They were, in order of round: Right-hander Durbin Feltman, catcher Kole Cottam, right-hander Thad Ward, outfielder Devlin Granberg, second baseman Jarren Duran, catcher Elih Marrero, left-hander Brian Brown, and second baseman Grant Williams.  
• Although most draft picks won't have a chance to make an impact on the big league club for a couple of years, Boston's third-round pick may buck that trend. Feltman, one of the elite closers in all of college baseball at the Texas Christian University, could be a candidate for a call-up with the Red Sox if the need presents itself. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explains how Feltman "is cut from a different cloth."
• You may recognize the last name of Boston's eighth-round pick, and that's because Boston picked the son of former major league catcher, first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder Eli Marrero. With the 250th overall selection in the draft, the Red Sox picked Elih Marrero and Over The Monster's Matt Collins says the pick "seems like a very risky" one for the Sox since the catcher was arrested for a DUI and driving without insurance during his time at Mississippi State before he transferred to St. Thomas University, an NAIA school. 
• Things went fast during Day 3 of the draft, with the Red Sox making a selection rounds 11 through 40. But SoxProspects.com has information on all 30 Day 3 picks.
• To see how Boston's picks ranked nationally, check out SoxProspects.com contributing editor James Dunne's piece on how most of the picks fell in line with Baseball America, Perfect Game and MLB.com's rankings. 
• Of the 40 selections during the three-day draft, 15 players were selected out of high school. That number includes Boston's 27th round selection of left-hander Gregorio Reyes, who doesn't have a school listed. On Day 2, all eight selections were collegiate-level players.
• According to SoxProspects.com contributing editor James Dunne, nine former Red Sox draft picks were selected in this year's draft. That total is down from 12 in 2017 and is the lowest total since nine were also nabbed back in 2015.
• The Red Sox now have to work on signing as many of those players as possible, with the deadline to sign players being Friday, July 6th at 5 pm. SoxProspects.com Editor-in-Chief Mike Andrews thinks the Sox may be able to ink all of their first 10 draft picks and has a signing period preview to get you ready.
  
• In non-draft news, former 2014 12th round draft pick Jalen Beeks (pictured, right) is scheduled to make his major-league debut on Thursday when the Red Sox host the Detroit Tigers. SoxProspects.com director of scouting Ian Cundall details what you should expect to see from Beeks in his latest scouting scratch. 
• Alex Speier of the Boston Globe also gets in on the Beeks discussion, as Speier talks about how the left-hander remade himself to land a spot in the majors. 
• A ninth-round draft pick in 2017, Tanner Nishioka was riding a six-game hitting streak until Wednesday's 0-for-3 performance as the 23-year-old's average now sits at .412 after 34 at-bats and 11 games with the Greenville Drive. 

Photo Credit: Triston Casas and Jalen Beeks courtesy of SoxProspects.com and Kelly O'Connor

Tommy Cassell is a Contributing Editor for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.

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