Thursday, March 17, 2016

Sox Truly Hit The Jackpot In The 2011 MLB June Draft

It's fitting that on St. Patrick's Day we look back at one of the 'luckiest' days in recent Red Sox history: the 2011 MLB June Draft. Now, clearly it was more than just pure luck that netted the multitude of quality players in that one draft. Still, check out the haul in just the first round: Matt Barnes (#19), Blake Swihart (#26), Henry Owens (#36), and Jackie Bradley, Jr. (#40). Way down in the fifth round they nabbed a high-school kid out of Tennessee named Mookie Betts (#172). Then, even further down the line in the ninth round, Boston selected Kent State's Travis Shaw (#292). So, five or six players likely to go North with the club were taken during that fateful draft in June of 2011. A pretty impressive accomplishment for Theo Epstein in his final year as Red Sox General Manager.