Red Sox focus on college players on Day 2 of MLB draft

BOSTON — With two high school hitters in the fold after the first day of the Major League Baseball draft, the Red Sox turned their focus to more immediate help on Tuesday.

All eight Boston selections were college players, a group that included three pitchers, two catchers, two second basemen and an outfielder. The Red Sox will make their picks in Rounds 11 through 40 on Wednesday, hoping to connect on at least a couple of prospects to bolster their thin farm [...]

BOSTON — With two high school hitters in the fold after the first day of the Major League Baseball draft, the Red Sox turned their focus to more immediate help on Tuesday.

All eight Boston selections were college players, a group that included three pitchers, two catchers, two second basemen and an outfielder. The Red Sox will make their picks in Rounds 11 through 40 on Wednesday, hoping to connect on at least a couple of prospects to bolster their thin farm system.

TCU right-hander Durbin Feltman was first off the board to Boston at No. 100, with his name called near the end of the third round. A closer, he allowed just 12 hits and struck out 43 in 24 1/3 innings this season. His combination of high-90s fastball and power slider could make Feltman a quick riser through the system.

The Red Sox went for a polished bat in the fourth round, selecting Kentucky catcher Kole Cottam 130th overall. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder had 19 home runs and 12 doubles in 56 games, good for an 1.105 OPS.

Boston opted for another right-handed bullpen option in the fifth round, selecting Central Florida’s Thad Ward. His 84 strikeouts led the Knights, those coming in just 63 1/3 innings. Ward also made five starts this season for UCF, and his lean 6-3 frame suggests he could eventually be stretched into a starting role.

In the eighth round, the Sox took switch-hitting catcher Elih Marrero from NAIA St. Thomas University. Marrero drove in 80 runs in 62 games, helping the Bobcats to a 56-9 record.

The final pitcher selected by the Red Sox was one of three seniors they took on Tuesday. North Carolina State left-hander Brian Brown held opposing hitters to a .229 batting average in 16 starts and struck out 98 in 98 2/3 innings. Brown (ninth round), Dallas Baptist University outfielder Devlin Granberg (sixth) and Kennesaw State second baseman Grant Williams (10th) have all exhausted their college eligibility, giving Boston the leverage to potentially save some bonus money for other selections.

Williams had 22 extra-base hits and an .855 OPS with Kennesaw State this season, starting all 55 games. He was the final Red Sox pick of the day, going 310th overall. Long Beach State second baseman Jarren Duran, taken in the seventh round, profiles more as a defensive option. He committed five errors in 269 chances and add 17 stolen bases.

— bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25