Minor Notes: Pre-Season All-Stars selected; attention shifts to MLB Draft

With the baseball team still on hold, the SoxProspects team continues to churn out content. Below is a summary of what has been written in the past week, as well as some updates on the MLB Draft. 

• Part seven of our State of the System series focuses on the outfielders. After winning the World Series in 2018, may fans believed the Red Sox outfield was set for years to come, as Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Mookie Betts all were the hero at some point that year. The outlook on the outfield has changed quickly, and the team is going to need to dip into the farm system sooner rather than later to find a long-term solution. Chris and Ian dive into the top players to watch in the coming seasons. 

• The most recent scouting reports to be updated are highlighted by the system's top prospect Triston Casas (pictured, above). A handful of other players saw updates, most of whom were in the lower levels of the minors in 2019. The most intriguing name of the lower level players is Antoni Flores. Flores struggled in Lowell last season, but he is still young and has a chance to have four average tools. 

• While it remains to be seen if these players will play in any organized fashion this year, the SoxProspects.com Community still voted on Pre-Season All-Stars, with the hitters and pitchers documented in separate articles. It is always interesting to see which players the fans are most excited about, and not surprisingly many of the top players in the system made the list. 

• Managing Editor James Dunne continues to come up with unique topics as he continues the Cup of Coffee series, with the most recent article focused on former Red Sox minor leaguers playing in the Korean Baseball Organization. Headlined by Casey Kelly, there are a few blasts from the past on this list, including one that goes back to the Dan Duquette era. 

• Last but not least, Chris and Ian recorded episode 179 of the SoxProspects.com Podcast, which provided updates on Noah Song, and also included discussions on the changes and possible strategies for the 2020 MLB Draft. 

• As expected, the MLB Draft will be held remotely on June 10-11. June 10, which will start at 7 p.m. ET, will include just the first round. June 11 will begin at 5 p.m. ET and include rounds 2-5. Once those two days are complete, teams can sign an unlimited number of players for up to $20,000. With no selection in the second round, the Red Sox will have to get crafty on how to best maximize their draft haul. As mentioned above, Chris and Ian discuss a few of these strategies on the Podcast. 

• The draft coverage is still rolling on even with the lack of a high school and college baseball season. MLBPipeline released their top 200 prospects for the draft, Keith Law of The Athletic posted his first mock draft, and Baseball America issued their fourth mock draft. 

• The Red Sox Director of Amateur Scouting, Paul Toboni, will be overseeing his first draft this year. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe talked with him about his approach to the draft when they will have 36 fewer picks than normal.

Photo Credit: Triston Casas by Kelly O'Connor

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