You’re probably aware of “The Brady 6” — the documentary detailing the six quarterbacks selected ahead of Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL draft — but perhaps someday we’ll learn more about “The Trout 24.”
As crazy as it sounds, Trout — hands down the best player in Major League Baseball — was selected 25th overall in the 2009 draft, meaning most of MLB passed on the dynamic outfielder before the Los Angeles Angels snatched him up. The Boston Red Sox weren’t one of the teams to pass on Trout, as they selected 28th in the first round, but it’s likely they, too, would have looked elsewhere.
“Nobody could have predicted how good (Trout) would be,” Red Sox Northeast region scout Ray Fagnant recently told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.
Multiple decision-makers involved in the Red Sox’s 2009 draft process confirmed to Bradford that Boston might not have selected Trout even if he dropped three spots. The Red Sox apparently were very high on outfielder Reymond Fuentes, whom they selected at No. 28, in large because they became more familiar with him throughout the scouting process through his year-round experience in Puerto Rico.
“We just had less of an opportunity to scout Trout,” scout Danny Haas told Bradford. “Some of us thought we had more of a powerful outfielder in (Ryan) Westmoreland than we probably did. And you’re sitting there watching Jacoby Ellsbury steal 40-50 bags in the big leagues and totally impacting the success of the organization and you would like to get that again. A lot of people probably thought here’s the next Ellsbury (with Fuentes).”
Westmoreland, a fifth-round selection in 2008, was in the midst of his first and only season in the Red Sox system at the time of the 2009 draft. (He was forced to retire in March 2013 at age 22 after undergoing two brain surgeries.) It’s likely Westmoreland never would have developed into the type of player Trout since has become, as the reigning American League MVP has begun his career at a historic pace, but the Red Sox liked their top prospect enough to eye Fuentes (and his skill set) when drafting. Trout (and his skill set) simply seemed like a redundant risk.
“Would we have taken (Trout) there? We still probably would have taken Fuentes,” Haas told Bradford. “Westy was starting to show big power. Westy popped up kind of late for us and (former Red Sox amateur scouting director Jason McLeod) called me and said, ‘I think I just saw Larry Walker,’ which was a good call.”
Of course, the Red Sox never were forced to make a decision regarding Trout, as the Angels swooped in at No. 25. It’s probably a good thing, or else Boston could be doing what 21 other teams are doing right now: living with regret.
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Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
