How Jackie Bradley Jr., 2011 Red Sox Draft Picks Are Shaping Red-Hot 2016 Team

Drafting in Major League Baseball is an inexact science.

Unlike in the NFL or NBA, where most high draft picks are expected to contribute almost immediately, or even the NHL, which typically features at least a few straight-to-the-show guys in each draft, baseball players almost never leap directly to the majors after being selected.

Whether we’re talking about Bryce Harper or some random 19th-round pick out of UMass, everyone spends at least some time in the minors, and only a small fraction of draftees ever sniff the big leagues at all.

Because of this, drafting in baseball is all about projection — you’re evaluating players knowing it’ll likely be multiple years before they’ll suit up for your team in a meaningful game. That’s not easy, and the overwhelming majority of MLB draft picks never pan out.

But when they do, the payoff can be massive. And that’s exactly what the Boston Red Sox are witnessing this season.

One-third of the Red Sox’s everyday starting lineup is made up of players the team drafted in 2011: center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (first round, 40th overall), right fielder Mookie Betts (fifth round, 172nd) and third baseman Travis Shaw (ninth round, 292nd).

Bradley, owner of a major league-best 21-game hitting streak and recent American League Player of the Week honoree, is one of the hottest hitters in baseball, while Shaw has exceeded all expectations since supplanting Pablo Sandoval and Betts ranks fourth in the majors in runs scored. These efforts have helped power the resurgent Red Sox to a 24-14 record and a tie for first place in the American League East entering Tuesday’s matchup with the Kansas City Royals.

That 2011 draft — the final one conducted under the Theo Epstein regime before Epstein left to take his current position as president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs — also produced right-hander Matt Barnes (first round, 19th) catcher Blake Swihart (first round, 26th), left-hander Henry Owens (first round, 36th) and right-hander Noe Ramirez (fourth round, 142nd), all of whom have contributed to the big club in some capacity this season.

How remarkable is it for this current Red Sox team to feature seven players from a single draft class? Consider this: Excluding 2011, only two players drafted by the Red Sox since 2006 (catcher Christian Vazquez and reliever Pat Light) have appeared in a game for Boston this season.

Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images