While most baseball fans were focused on the beginning of MLB All-Star festivities on Monday, Day 2 of the MLB Draft took place — where the Boston Red Sox added eight players to their 2022 class.
The Red Sox drafted high school shortstops Mikey Romero (No. 24) and Cutter Coffey (No. 41), and high school outfielder Roman Anthony (No. 79) with their three picks on Day 1, sticking to chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom’s trend of selecting young bats in the early rounds.
On Day 2, they did things a little bit different, applying a strong emphasis on college pitching talent.
Here is a look at the players Boston chose on Day 2:
Round: 3 Pick: 99 – Dalton Rogers, P, Southern Miss
Rogers is a left-handed pitcher who travelled quite a bit in his three years as a collegiate baseball player. After starting out at Southeastern Louisiana State before transferring to Jones college and finishing up at Southern Miss. Rogers posted a 1.95 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 57 strikeouts and 23 walks in 23 relief appearances for the Golden Eagles in 2021-22. He also made two starts for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League earlier this summer, striking out eight of the 24 batters he faced. He was unranked on MLB.com’s 2022 draft rankings.
Round: 4 Pick: 129 – Chase Meidroth, SS, San Diego
Meidroth is a middle infielder who broke out in 2021-22 following a pair of injury-riddled seasons to start his collegiate career. The 20-year-old slashed .329/.440/.544 with 19 doubles, 10 home runs, 40 walks and only 25 strikeouts. He played for Yarmouth-Dennis this summer, slashing .286/.434/.381 over 22 games at second base. He was unranked on MLB.com’s 2022 draft rankings.
Round: 5 Pick: 159 – Noah Dean, P, Old Dominion
Dean had an insane 17.4 strikeouts per nine innings pitched over three seasons at Old Dominion. He pitched primarily out of the bullpen for the Monarchs, with a fastball that averaged 94 mph and reached as high as 97 mph. He finished the season with seven saves in 19 appearances carrying a 4.15 ERA over 26 innings of work. He was ranked No. 124 on MLB.com’s 2022 draft rankings.
Round: 6 Pick: 189 – Alex Hoppe, P, UNC Greensboro
Hoppe is the Red Sox’s oldest draft pick at 23-years old. He spent five years at UNC Greensboro, finishing his career by posting a 3.65 ERA and 1.19 WHIP to go along with 84 strikeouts and 30 walks over 66 2/3 innings of work. Those numbers earned him the Southern Conference’s Pitcher of the Year award. There is a chance for Hoppe to become the fastest riser throughout Boston’s system given his age and experience. He was unranked on MLB.com’s 2022 draft rankings.
Round: 7 Pick: 219 – Caleb Bolden, P, TCU
Bolden is a low-risk pick, having missed the 2019 season after undergoing tommy john surgery. He spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Arkansas before transferring to TCU in 2021-22, where he posted a 6.23 ERA over 39 innings. He hails from Texarkana, Texas, the same hometown of Red Sox pitcher Michael Wacha and NESN analyst and former Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks. He was unranked on MLB.com’s 2022 draft rankings.
Round: 8 Pick: 249 – Jonathan Brand, P, Miami (Ohio)
True to his stocky stature (5-foot-9, 200-pounds), Brand was a workhorse in three seasons for Miami (OH). He posted a 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 181 strikeouts and 73 walks for the Red Hawks over 155 1/3 innings. He played for the Wareham Gatemen this summer on Cape Cod, finishing with a 2.57 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, with 21 strikeouts in 21 innings. He was unranked on MLB.com’s 2022 draft rankings.
Round 9: Pick: 279 – Brooks Brannon, C, Randleman HS (NC)
Brannon was the only high school prospect selected by Boston on Monday. He is a North Carolina commit who led all high schoolers with 20 home runs and 91 RBI in 34 games this spring. According to MLB.com, he has a plus-arm and raw-plus power. He was their No. 158 ranked prospect.
Round: 10 Pick: 309 – Isaac Coffey, P, Oral Roberts
Coffey is a starting pitcher who’s fastball sits 88-91 and only walked 1.77 batters per nine innings over his college career. He posted a 2.81 ERA in 2021, striking out 92 batters over 86 1/3 innings pitched, earning Summit League Pitcher of the Year honors as a sophomore. He was unranked on MLB.com’s 2022 draft rankings.
