The future of the Red Sox was on display Wednesday in a win over the Atlanta Braves and Boston has a chance to add to that young nucleus through the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft.
While the annual event is still two months away, Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo put out his latest mock draft Thursday. And he has Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom looking into his own back yard for Boston’s first-round selection at No. 14 overall.
Collazo has the Red Sox drafting Massachusetts high schooler Thomas White, a left-handed pitcher from Phillips Academy Andover who received an impressive report from Collazo.
“How about a hometown selection here for the Red Sox instead of another trip out West for a prep shortstop?” Collazo wrote. “White has garnered a lot of attention in recent weeks as high-level scouts have run through the Northeast to check in on a number of talented arms, and White is getting real attention among the top 10 as well. He has more control questions than (Noble) Meyer, but he also has the benefit of throwing a mid-90s fastball from the left side, with a real changeup and a breaking ball that is making progress this spring.”
The 18-year-old White is one the most highly touted high school prospects in the entire draft. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound pitcher, who is committed to Vanderbilt, is ranked as the fourth-best high school player who is draft eligible by Baseball America.
But if the Red Sox end up giving White a draft call, perhaps he’ll reconsider that commitment to the Commodores. The 2023 MLB Draft commences on July 9.
