Weekly Notes: Baseball set to return & 2007 draft retrospective

Here are Monday's minor league notes:

• The new draft retrospective series kept rolling this week covering the 2007 draft. The first part covered all the draft picks, detailing every Red Sox pick, from University of Washington righty Nick Hagadone with the 55th overall pick to Liberty University outfielder Garrett Young in the 46th round. Overall, the Red Sox selected 47 players, signed 28, four of them turned into Baseball America Top 100 Prospects, and six players who signed went on to play in the major league.
• The second part focused on some overarching themes from the 2007 draft. This included a focus on players who were drafted - first baseman Anthony Rizzo (pictured, above) who signed and catcher Yasmani Grandal who didn't - who turned into future stars. Other narratives were on the developmental success of the 2007 Red Sox high school draft selections, draftees who went on to be top prospects in third baseman Will Middlebrooks and right-hander Drake Britton, and high school starters who developed into good relievers with Ryan Pressly and Hunter Strickland.
• The 2020 draft signings wrapped up this week. Third-round pick Blaze Jordan, who was the first to have a deal reported, had his deal made official last week and posted a picture on his Twitter account of him signing his deal. The 89th pick had a slot value of $667,900, but Jordan signed for $1.75 million in order to keep him away from Mississippi State. This was in part made possible by first-round pick Nick Yorke signing for $2.7 million, a savings of $909,700.
• Fourth rounder Jeremy Wu-Yelland also had his signing made official this week as MLB.com's Jim Callis first reported. His deal was for $200,000, well below the slot value of $487,900.

• Lastly, the Red Sox used some of the savings from Wu-Yelland to sign fifth-rounder Shane Drohan (pictured, left). Callis was again the first to report his deal with a $600,000 bonus where the 148th pick had a slot value of $364,400.
• As you can see on the SoxProspects.com Draft History page, the Red Sox spent $5,250,000, more than their cap amount of $5,129,900 but by less than the 5 percent mark where significant penalties come into play. The page also summarizes their 14 undrafted free agent signings, the most in the league.
• Each team has new roster limits with an expanded initial pool of 30 active players (which will wind down to 26), and up to 60 total eligible players including those in their "club player pool". The Red Sox have seemingly finalized their initial rosters and after the club announced the addition of four more players to their club player pool on Thursday - catcher Jhonny Pereda, righty R.J. Alvarez, lefty Bobby Poyner, and first baseman Josh Ockimey. Check out the SoxProspects.com 2020 Projected Rosters page for a complete list.
• The club player pool located in Pawtucket, RI needs coaching as well, and the Red Sox announced the following coaching staff: from the PawSox staff Manager Billy McMillon, coach Bruce Crabbe, Hitting Coach Rich Gedman, and Pitching Coach Paul Abbott. From the Portland Sea Dogs staff: Hitting Coach Lance Zawadzki and Pitching Coordinator Shawn Haviland.
• A couple of former Red Sox found out this past week that they have made their respective teams Opening Day rosters. The first was righty Daniel Bard who made the Rockies roster. Bard was taken with the 28th overall pick in the 2006 draft. For more information on Bard and the 2006 draft, check out the 2006 edition in the SoxProspects.com draft retrospective series. Bard last pitched in the majors in 2013.

• The other player to make a team was catcher turned reliever Jordan Weems (pictured, right) as first reported by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Weems was part of an electric 2011 Red Sox draft class (more to come on that in the 2011 edition of the draft retrospective series) when he was drafted as a catcher. He struggled offensively, hitting only .207/.306/.262 over parts of six seasons. Even though he didn't even pitch in high school, he has had far more success on the mound, with a 3.87 ERA and 1.39 WHIP while striking out more than a batter an inning.

Photo Credit: Anthony Rizzo and Jordan Weems by Kelly O'Conner. Shane Drohan by Rivals.com.

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

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