Sox banking on impact bats for future success

BOSTON -- In the first Draft of the Chaim Bloom regime, the Red Sox snagged a pair of high school bats they are bullish on in second baseman Nick Yorke and big slugging corner infielder Blaze Jordan.

The Sox closed it out with a pair of lefty college arms they see strong projectability with in Jeremy Wu-Yelland (Hawaii) and Shane Drohan (Florida State).

• Red Sox Draft Tracker

This was also the first Draft for Paul Toboni since he was promoted by the Red Sox to director of amateur scouting last September.

The club hopes that this week will one day be looked back upon as setting in motion a wave of deep postseason runs.

• Red Sox on Yorke: 'We love this kid's bat'

Now what?
The signing deadline this year is Aug. 1.

If a club exceeds its assigned pool, it faces a penalty. Teams that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds, clubs lose future picks: a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by more than 5 and up to 10 percent; a first- and a second-rounder and a 100 percent tax for more than 10 and up to 15 percent; and two first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 15 percent.

In eight years with these rules, teams have exceeded their allotment a total of 149 times but never by more than 5 percent. Twenty-one of the 30 teams outspent their pool last year.

It would surprise no one if the Sox sign Yorke for less than No. 17 overall pick's $3,609,700 slot value but go well over the $667,900 slot value to secure Jordan, who has had a commitment to Mississippi State for years. The Red Sox built strong relationships with all four players they drafted and they expect all four will sign.

Aside from working to close deals with their draftees, the Sox will go right back in the trenches to sign non-drafted free agents. Teams can start signing non-drafted free agents on Sunday at 9 a.m. ET.

Full slot value info
Red Sox's total pool: $5,129,900
No. 17 overall pick: $3,609,700
No. 89 overall pick: $667,900
No. 118 overall pick: $487,900
No. 148 overall pick: $364,400

Trend wrap
The focus of the Red Sox was clearly to find a couple of impact hitters for down the road to add to a system that already includes highly regarded offensive prospects Jeter Downs, Triston Casas and Bobby Dalbec. One thing they have done extremely well over the past decade-plus is to draft and develop stud hitters.

With all the elite pitching prospects off the board by the fourth round, the Red Sox found a pair of lefties they believe have plenty of ceiling remaining. If there is a common thread among the four picks, it is strong work ethic.

First-round fact
Yes, the Red Sox are in love with Yorke's bat and that's why they drafted him earlier than anybody expected. But his intangibles should make him a fan favorite in Boston. His high school coach Brian Yocke recalls fondly that Yorke would utilize the batting cage every day until the neighborhood required it to close at 7 p.m. Yocke also remembers Yorke in shorts ripping up his knees while diving on turf to make an impression as an eighth-grader.

Day 2 name to watch
The massive raw power that Jordan has will make him a must-watch for fans as soon as he joins the farm system. But the Red Sox will help Jordan, who won the T-Mobile High School Home Run Derby as part of last year's All-Star Game festivities, tune out all the hype and have him focus on the nuances that will allow him to become a well-rounded hitter at the highest level.

NDFA strategy
The Red Sox are armed and ready to attack the NDFA market. They will aggressively target players who were on their board for the later rounds but didn't get drafted. Take a glance at MLB Pipeline's rankings of the Top 30 Red Sox prospects, and it's clear they could use some catching. Connor Wong, acquired from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts blockbuster, is ranked 16th in the system. But he might be more of a utility player than a pure catcher.

The last word
"You always kind of think about maybe things you should have done differently instead of dwelling on the things the group did well. I would say this year it was so unique just from a perspective of doing it all remotely and checking in on our scouts virtually on a Zoom call. It was different. Not necessarily different in a bad way, it was just different.

"It was tough to get used to, but at the same time, I think it flowed pretty well and I think we were very well prepared. With what we were presented, I think we made the most out of it. I don't say this with any sort of false admiration for our group, but I'm just excited that I'm part of this group and we have the group that we have, because it's a really special group of people and that makes it easy." -- Toboni, on his first year running the Draft room