UPDATED: Friday, March 8

The baseball industry knew in the fall that Drew Ward would try, and rumors circulated a month ago that he had gone and done it. But now his father has confirmed that the Oklahoma high school shortstop, previously a member of the Class of 2014, is reclassifying as a member of the Class of 2013, which would make him eligible for the draft come June. The family received instructions from Major League Baseball detailing what he needs to do in order to enter the 2013 draft, according to his father Gregg Ward.

"We got an e-mail that had four different things he had to go by to be eligible," Ward's father Gregg said. "He classifies in each one of them, so all he has to do is graduate. His age was on his side because he just turned 18 and when he graduates he won't have any eligibility left."

Graduation for Leedey is on May 17. Leedey is a tiny town of less than 500 people in western Oklahoma and the high school's student body doesn't crack triple digits. When Ward was a freshman, there were 12 kids in his class—eight boys and four girls.

Ward made another move for his baseball future a few weeks ago by verbally committing to Oklahoma. "We can't sign the letter until April 1 because he's coming out early," Gregg Ward said.

[...] Continue Reading »

Since the 2012 high school season began, something was off about shortstop Andy McGuire (Madison High, Vienna, Va.). He knew it, his coach knew it and others familiar with his ability knew it. For months, McGuire couldn't figure out why he wasn't firing on all cylinders, and the answer finally came right before he was to report to Southern California with Team USA. A partial tear of his labrum and bone spurs in his left hip was limiting McGuire's mobility. After winning a gold medal in Korea at the IBAF 18U World Championship, he had surgery to fix the tear on Sept. 19.

"I had to play without really telling anyone something was going on," he said. "I wasn't really sure what to tell them because I didn't know exactly what it was, but I knew it was throwing me off because my feet weren't working as quickly."

McGuire described it as discomfort rather than pain and saw an orthopedic doctor in March, but X-rays and an MRI didn't reveal anything so he took a few days off to see if the discomfort would subside. It came and went so he played through it and his on-field performance suffered.

"That was tough, not performing to the best of my ability after working really hard in the offseason," McGuire said. "That was more of a confidence and mental thing that I as struggling with." [...] Continue Reading »

From Sept. 20-24, 2013, the Toronto Blue Jays will host a 12-team tournament at Rogers Centre that will feature the top college eligible players from Canada. There is no age restriction to play, but the players must be eligible to play in college.

“The creation of Tournament 12 is a first for amateur baseball in Canada," Blue Jays seior vice president of business operations Stephen Brooks said in a release. "It is an opportunity to showcase the elite baseball talent that exists in our country. If, through this tournament, we help provide the opportunity for Canada’s best to further their education through baseball or pursue their professional aspirations, then the efforts of all involved have been well worth it.”

Each team will be made up of 22 players and four coaches with rosters being selected by the Blue Jays scouting department. The teams will represent the Canadian provinces with three from Ontario, two each from British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta, one from the maritime provinces and one combining Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The 12th team will be a scout team with players from all provinces.

Canada typically has a couple travel teams that make it to showcases throughout the summer and fall, but scouts mostly keep their eye on the Canadian Junior National team. This should give professional organizations and colleges not only an extra look at the top players, but a chance to see players that might normally fly under the radar.

All nine free agents who received qualifying offers that would yield compensation for their former clubs rejected those deals by today’s 5 p.m. ET deadline. In order to receive compensation, teams had to tender the player a one-year contract equivalent to the average of the top 125 major league salaries ($13.3 million this year) by 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 2.

For Red Sox DH David Ortiz, the decision to decline the offer was a formality, because he signed a two-year, $26 million contract on Monday. If the other eight players change addresses, their new club will lose its first-round pick (unless it falls among the top 10 choices, in which case it gives up a second-rounder) and their old team will get a choice at the end of the first round.

Those compensation choices will come in reverse order of the 2012 major league standings. The Yankees have three compensation free agents, which means they could have a record four first-round selections if they all leave New York. If the Yankees have multiple comp picks, they would come in succession.

The eight potential compensation free agents, listed in the order in which their former clubs’ draft picks would fall at the end of the first round:

Cardinals: Kyle Lohse, rhp
Rays: B.J. Upton, of
Rangers: Josh Hamilton, of
Braves: Michael Bourn, of
Yankees: Hiroki Kuroda, rhp; Rafael Soriano, rhp; Nick Swisher, of
Nationals: Adam LaRoche, 1b

The Padres have hired Billy Gasparino as scouting director, a move they announced on Saturday.

Gasparino, 35, had been one of San Diego's two national crosscheckers and had served in that role since the fall of 2010. He began scouting with the Blue Jays in 2004 and crosschecked for Toronto from 2007-10.

"Billy has proven to be a top-flight evaluator with a passion for scouting," Padres GM Josh Byrnes said in a press release. "We are thrilled that we were able to promote from within our organization and to reward Billy with a well-deserved promotion."

Gasparino replaces Jaron Madison, who left to become Cubs scouting director last month.

CHICAGO—Few remember who won and who lost showcase or all-star games at the amateur level. But the way the American team won the 2012 Under Armour All-America Classic will be remembered, thanks to Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier.

The two Georgia prep outfielders, the two best prospects on the rosters at Wrigley Field, hit back-to-back extra-base hits and Frazier scored the winning run on a pair of wild pitches to power the American team, skippered by Billy Ripken, to a 7-6 victory against Larry Bowa’s National team.

Meadows and Frazier were the two most anticipated players in the game and didn’t disappoint. Frazier showed off his 6.4-second speed in the 60 with a stolen base in the first inning following a walk, and even though he battled cramps in his calf muscles during the game, he still was able to bang doubles to left and right field.

Meadows showed the smooth, easy swing throughout the game that engenders comparisons to Colby Rasmus, and keyed the ninth-inning rally off losing pitcher Brett Morales (Tampa, Fla.), the game’s hardest thrower. Morales hit 93 mph in the ninth and struck out leadoff hitter J.P. Crawford with a nasty breaking ball to start the frame, but he hung an 0-2 breaker to Meadows, who slammed it down the left-field line for a triple.

With flexible lineups available to the managers, Ripken inserted Frazier into the four-hole to follow Meadows, and he let a 1-2 fastball get deep before rifling a line drive off the right-field wall to score Meadows and tie the game. Two of Morales’ next three pitches were wild, and Frazier loped home easily, joining Meadows in the dugout in a familiar scene. [...] Continue Reading »

The Astros named Mike Elias scouting director and won't renew the contract of assistant GM and scouting director Bobby Heck, moves the team announced in a press release on Saturday.

Elias, 29, joined Houston as a special assistant to GM Jeff Luhnow in January. He spent five years before that working under Luhnow in the Cardinals' baseball-operations department. Elias began as an area scout for St. Louis and worked his way up to manager of amateur scouting.

“Mike has a keen eye for talent and a unique ability to blend scouting opinions with other valuable information like the players’ makeup, performance history or medical risk,” Luhnow said in the release. “I’ve worked with Mike for many years now and believe his leadership and evaluation skills will help us maximize the output of our drafts for years to come.”

The Astros hired Heck as scouting director in October 2007, when their farm system had bottomed out after a series of poor drafts. Under Heck, Houston has begun to rebuild its system by drafting the likes of second baseman Delino DeShields Jr. and righthander Mike Foltynewicz in the first round in 2010, and outfielder George Springer in 2011. The Astros had what looks like a banner draft in 2012, landing shortstop Carlos Correa with the No. 1 overall pick plus righthanders Lance McCullers Jr. and Brady Rodgers, infielders Nolan Fontana and Rio Ruiz and outfielder Brett Phillips with later selections.

“Bobby has been a key part of the front office for the past five years and has been instrumental in helping build the pipeline for the future,” Luhnow said in the release.

Prior to joining Houston, Heck spent eight years as the Brewers' Eastern crosschecker and five as a Rangers area scout.

Padres scouting director Jaron Madison is leaving the team to join the Cubs in the same position, a baseball source said Friday.

Madison, 36, has been San Diego's scouting director since December 2009. During his time with the Padres, the club's farm system has improved dramatically, thanks to an influx of talent that includes draft picks such as Jedd Gyorko (2010); Cory Spangenberg, Joe Ross and Austin Hedges (2011); and Max Fried, Zach Eflin, Travis Jankowski and Walker Weickel (2012). Madison previously worked as an area scout for the Padres and Pirates and as an assistant scouting director for the Padres and Cardinals.

Madison was hired as San Diego's scouting director by then-Padres GM Jed Hoyer and vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod, who now hold those positions in Chicago.

The Cubs have yet to officially announce Madison's hiring or what will become of Tim Wilken, their current director and one of the game's most respected scouts.

Aug. 11 update: The Cubs have promoted Wilken to special assistant to president Theo Epstein and Hoyer. In his expanded role, Wilken will continue to evaluate players for the draft while also adding major league, professional and international scouting duties.

SYRACUSE – For several years, shortstop Blake Hennessey from Arlington Country Day High in Jacksonville, Fla., thought he was a member of the 2014 class.

Hennessey is age-appropriate for the 2013 class, but after being held back in seventh grade for academic reasons, he just finished his sophomore year of high school. But at the end of the school year, he met with his principal and she agreed to work with him to take extra classes with the hope of graduating a year early and being draft eligible with his age group in 2013.

"It was a hard decision for me," Hennessey said. "I was thinking I was a 2014 and I've got another year. But now. . . I mean, I've worked hard, but now I've got to work extra hard."

With that goal in mind, Hennessey has spent much of his summer on the high school showcase circuit. Here at the East Coast Professional Showcase, the 6-foot-1, 178-pound Hennessey has shown a nice, balanced righthanded swing and good actions in the field.
[...] Continue Reading »

For the first time in draft history, teams have exchanged picks.

As part of the deal that will send Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to the Tigers and Jacob Turner and a pair of prospects (catcher Rob Brantly, lefthander Brian Flynn) to the Marlins, the clubs swapped the picks they won in the competitive-balance lottery last Wednesday.

Designed to give small-market teams and revenue-sharing recipients additional draft picks (and thus extra bonus pool money for the first 10 rounds), the competitive-balance lottery selections are the only choices that may be traded. The Marlins gave up the last pick in the supplemental first round (currently No. 37) for the final pick in the supplemental second round (currently No. 73).

This year, the No. 37 selection had an assigned value of $1,394,300 and the No. 73 choice was worth $701,700. That's a difference of $692,600. Those values will be adjusted based on the growth of industry revenues this year, so how much exactly the Tigers added to their bonus pool and the Marlins subtracted from theirs has yet to be determined.

Competitive-balance lottery picks can't be traded more than once, so these two selections won't change hands again. The lottery choices can only be traded during a regular season, up to two hours before the draft.

Changes to baseball's draft from the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement were evident last Friday as the signing deadline for 2012 picks came and went. But another modification, with potential ramifications for the looming July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, happened Wednesday.

Major League Baseball held its first competitive-balance lottery, with the Royals earning the first of six supplemental first-round draft picks.

“Every year it seems we pick 5 and 65,” Royals scouting director Lonnie Goldberg said. “We've always had to sit back and watch a lot of good players go by, so now this puts a lot of extra players in play.”

The first six lottery selections will follow the 31 first-round choices, as well as any free-agent compensation choices. Because the compensation rules will change dramatically this offseason, there will be fewer supplemental first-rounders than in years past and the lottery selections likely will come at the top of the supplemental round.

[...] Continue Reading »

With 15 minutes to go before today's Friday 5 p.m. Eastern signing deadline, 15 picks in the top 10 rounds remained unsigned. From top to bottom, here's what happened with them:

Kevin Gausman (Orioles, first round, No. 4 overall): Signed for $4.32 million. That made him one of the few players to get more than his assigned pick value ($4.2 million ) in the first round. He got the third-highest bonus in the draft, behind No. 2 overall pick Byron Buxton ($6 million) and No. 1 overall choice Carlos Correa ($4.8 million).

Mark Appel (Pirates, first round, No. 8 overall): Did not sign. A source said Pittsburgh offered him $3.8 million, the most it could without forfeiting a 2013 first-round pick. Considered the likely No. 1 overall choice before the draft, he will return to Stanford for his senior season.

Lucas Giolito (Nationals, first round, No. 16 overall): Signed for $2,925,000. He likely would have gone in the top three picks had he not injured his elbow in March. While he didn't get the money he would have commanded at the top of the draft, he got well in excess of his $2,125,000 pick value. [...] Continue Reading »

As reported by Baseball America's Jim Callis, the Pirates were not able to come to terms with No. 8 overall pick, Stanford righthander Mark Appel. He's the only first-round pick who didn't sign this year.

Callis reports that a source told him that the Pirates offered Appel $3.8 million, the most they could have paid him without giving up a first-round pick as penalty. 

Appel will return to Stanford for his senior season after going 10-2, 2.56 as a junior with 130 strikeouts in 123 innings. He has a workhorse build at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds to go along with his mid-90s fastball that touches 98. He throws a hard slider that has the potential to be an out pitch and his changeup has improved.

The Pirates will receive the No. 9 pick in next year's draft as compensation for not signing Appel.

The Blue Jays announced on June 21 that Brian Parker will be the team’s new scouting director. The move comes in coordination with Andrew Tinnish being promoted to assistant general manager.

Parker joined the Blue Jays in 2009 as a professional scout and was promoted to professional crosschecker in January. Parker, who graduated from Indiana State, started his career in baseball as a baseball operations intern with the Rockies in 1997. He then spent two years in the media relations department with the Buffalo Bills before getting back into baseball with the Arizona Fall League in 2001-2003. He served as a scouting coordinator, assistant scouting director and director of baseball operations with the Expos and Nationals before joining the Blue Jays.

A couple weeks ago South Mountain (Ariz.) Community College righthander Taylor Kaczmarek went in to see his doctor about swollen lymph nodes. Dealing with what appeared to be a case of mono, the 20-year-old Kaczmarek was sent home with antibiotics. When those antibiotics were ineffective, tests were done to see if Kaczmarek was facing something more serious.

“I had gotten a call and they said I had abnormal blood work and that I needed to go to the ER,” Kaczmarek said. “I just thought that something was faulty in the blood test and they were just having me go get tested again.”

On May 26 Kaczmarek and his family were told that he had leukemia. The sophomore from Mesa, Ariz. said that there were no warning signs about his illness.

“I really didn’t have any feeling about the cancer itself,” Kaczmarek said. “It was kind of a shock.”

In his second season at South Mountain this year Kaczmarek batted .343 and hit two home runs while playing first base. But it was his pitching that drew the attention of scouts, as Kaczmarek threw 81 innings and recorded 88 strikeouts while posting a 2.67 ERA. He was drafted in the 40th round by the Royals.. As a senior at Desert Ridge HS in 2010 Kaczmarek was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona. He was drafted by the Dodgers in 2010 in the 50th round before deciding to attend South Mountain.
[...] Continue Reading »

Highlights from Round Three:

• The Blue Jays continued an aggressive draft by taking Mississippi prep outfielder Anthony Alford, who ranked No. 36 on the BA 500. He may have been the best athlete available in this year's draft, and he's a two-sport guy with a commitment to Southern Mississippi to play quarterback. He's raw as might be expected, but he has power and speed to spare. He's considered a very tough sign.

• The Dodgers nearly selected Cuban lefthander Onelkis Garcia last year but he was declared ineligible just before the draft. Garcia has fought to become a free agent, and the signability rumors on him have involved very high numbers. At the same time, it's hard to imagine him becoming a free agent at this point, and Garcia has little bargaining power as a 22-year-old playing in Sunday adult leagues in L.A. this spring.

• The Angels made their first selection at No. 114, having lost their first two selections for signing free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. They went for a college closer in hard-throwing righthander R.J. Alvarez out of Florida Atlantic. No one was shocked that the Angels went to scout Tom Kotchman's area for their first pick . . . [...] Continue Reading »

Going to keep going quick-hit style today for the single-digit drafts. Of course subscribers can go in-depth with the BA 500 and our Draft Map for deeper cuts.

61. Astros: Nolan Fontana, ss, Florida: Reliable glove with patient offensive approach, college shortstop who could stay there if it all works out

62. Athletics: Bruce Maxwell, c/1b, Birmingham-Southern (Ala.): Nation's top Division III prospect has strength and lefthanded power; more bat than catcher

63. Twins: Mason Melotakis, lhp, Northwestern State: Hard-throwing college reliever with lefty power, short arm stroke precludes move to rotation

64. Mariners: Joe DeCarlo, ss/3b, Garnet Valley HS, Glen Mills, Pa. Below-average runner has bat control, potential power for third-base move

65. Orioles: Branden Kline, rhp, Virginia. Thrived as a reliever in 2011, lacked consistency for 2012. Has a feel for spin.

66. Royals: Sam Selman, lhp, Vanderbilt. Late bloomer flashes plus fastball-slider combination; inconsistent

67. Cubs: Duane Underwood, rhp, Pope HS, Marietta, Ga.: High-risk HS RHP with big upside; inconsistent quality of fastball, curve, performance

68. Padres: Jeremy Baltz, of, St. John's: Righthanded power slugger who will have to hit; LF profile; grinder

69. Pirates: Wyatt Mathisen, c, Calallen HS, Corpus Christi, Texas: Mostly played shortstop in high school, but profiles best behind the plate.

70. Padres: Dane Phillips, c/of, Oklahoma City: Not a great bet to catch, but LH bat could play at any position.

71. Mets: Matt Reynolds, 3b, Arkansas: Polished college defender with Mark Grudzielanek offensive upside

72. Twins: J.T. Chargois, rhp, Rice: Some scouts aren’t sold on his arm action and effort, but they all like 98 mph.

73. Rockies: Max White, of, Williston (Fla.) HS: Athletic, lithe center fielder with plus speed, sneaky power

74. Athletics: Nolan Sanburn, rhp, Arkansas: Big power arm up to 99 mph at times; inconsistent command, secondary

75. Mets: Teddy Stankiewicz, rhp, Fort Worth Christian HS, North Richland Hills, Texas: Arkansas signee has projectable frame, up to 94 mph at times with slider, curve

76. White Sox: Chris Beck, rhp, Georgia Southern: Down year from last summer; at his best, flashes 94-95 mph heat, plus cutter/slider; not that good this spring

77. Phillies: Dylan Doens, of/1b, Chapparal HS, Scottsdale, Ariz. Surprising pick this high, but lefthanded power gets him run up the board

78. Reds: Tanner Rahier, ss, Palm Desert (Calif.) HS: Baseball rat plays with a ton of energy. Knack for squaring it up with wood.

79. Indians: Mitchell Brown, rhp, Century HS, Rochester, Minn.: Top player in Minnesota, scouts love his size, stuff, projection and makeup. Video here.

80. Nationals: Tony Renda, 2b, California: Pac-12's top hitter the last two years, grinder with modest other tools

81. Blue Jays: Chase DeJong, rhp, Wilson HS, Long Beach: Solid, athletic build with potential for three plus pitches

82. Dodgers: Steve Rodriguez, lhp, Florida: Lefty reliever with deception, good cutter, 91-92 mph fastball, plus command

83. Rangers: Jamie Jarmon, of, Indian River HS, Dagsboro, Del.: Good body, could be power-speed corner fielder

84. Giants: Martin Agosta, rhp, St. Mary's: Added pitchability this spring, fastball at 92-94 at his best, chance to start?

85. Braves: Alex Wood, lhp, Georgia: Hard-throwing lefthander with fastball command, funk; delivery, breaking ball below-average

86. Cardinals: Carson Kelly, 3b, Westview HS, Portland, Ore. Draws David Wright comparisons for bat and makeup. Video:

87. Red Sox: Jamie Callahan, rhp, Dillon, S.C. Solid-bodied RHP who touches 93-94, chance for four pitches

88. Rays: Spencer Edwards, of/ss, Rockwall (Texas) HS: Switch-hitting 19-year-old with speed

89. Yankees: Austin Aune, of, Argyle (Texas) HS: TCU football recruit has plus raw power and arm strength

90. Diamondbacks: Joe Munoz, 3b, Los Altos HS, Hacienca Heights, Calif. Physical frame, flashes plus tools, inconsistent spring

91. Tigers: Jake Thompson, rhp, Rockwall-Heath HS, Heath, Texas: Physical TCU recruit, 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, touches 94 [...] Continue Reading »

43. Cubs: Pierce Johnson, rhp, Missouri State: Has a lively fastball (up to 96 mph), but was dinged up some this year.

44. Padres: Travis Jankowski, of, Stony Brook: Speedy center fielder shined in the Cape but lacks power. Video here.

45. Pirates: Barrett Barnes, of, Texas Tech: Will get a shot in center field and has some power potential.

46. Rockies: Thin, slight righthander with live, quick arm, 96 mph fastball. Needs better secondary.

47. Athletics: Matt Olson, 1b, Parkview HS, Lilburn, Ga.: All about the bat for Vanderbilt commit. Nice LH swing built for average and power.

48. White Sox: Keon Barnum, 1b, King HS, Tampa: Big power, 1B profile; similar to Olson selected one step ahead of him.

49. Reds: Jesse Winker, of, Olympia HS, Orlando: All-bat pick like Olson and Barnum; has arm strength, may stay in LF, has short, strength-oriented swing.

50. Blue Jays: Matt Smoral, lhp, Solon (Ohio) HS: Lanky lefty has plus fastball and SL, missed most of year with broken foot. Video.

51. Dodgers: Jesmuel Valentin, ss, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy: Son of ex-big leaguer Jose Valentin has line-drive swing and good defensive abilities.

52. Cardinals: Patrick Wisdom, 3b, St. Mary's: Most scouts like Wisdom's defense and makeup; this spring has raised questions about how much he'll hit.

53: Rangers: Collin Wiles, rhp, Blue Valley West HS, Stillwell, Kan.: Projectable at 6-foot-4, 180; athleticism, clean delivery allow him to command three pitches.

54: Phillies: Mitch Gueller, rhp, West HS, Chehalis, Wash.: No. 107 on BA 500; flashes three average-to-above pitches, touches 94 mph, athletic.

55. Padres: Walker Weickel, rhp, Olympia HS, Orlando: Was great last summer, went backwards this spring. Steep 92-mph fastball at his best.

56. Cubs: Paul Blackburn, rhp, Heritage HS, Brentwood, Calif.: Consistent performer touches 94 mph with chance for three plus pitches and command.

57. Reds: Jeff Gelalich, of, UCLA: Big junior season for Bruins No. 3 hitter. Simple swing, lots of tools, could play CF, more likely a corner bat.

58. Blue Jays: Mitch Nay, 3b, Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz.: Power bat got hot as spring progressed. Needs more reps at 3B; split camp player.

59. Cardinals: Steve Bean, c, Rockwall (Texas) HS: Attractive profile because of plus arm strength and LH bat.

60. Blue Jays: Tyler Gonzales, rhp, Madison (Texas) HS: Fastball up to 97 and SL 89-90, but has some effort and could wind up in bullpen.

Here's the comp round picks 32-42:

Minnesota: J.O. Berrios, rhp, Papa Juan XXIII HS, Bayamon, P.R.: Added 25 pounds since this summer and pushed fastball up to 96 mph.

San Diego: Zach Eflin, rhp, Hagerty HS, Oviedo, Fla.: Slowed by biceps tendinitis, but was up to 97 mph early with plus changeup.

Oakland: Daniel Robertson, 3b, Upland (Calif.) HS: Polished line-drive machine draws Will Middlebrooks comparisons.

New York (NL): Kevin Plawecki, c, Purdue: Physical college receiver with fringy to average tools across the board.

St. Louis: Stephen Piscotty, 3b, Stanford: Polished hitter, but defensive questions without power for corner outfield.

Boston: Pat Light, rhp, Monmouth: Lanky, projectable Northeast arm needs to improve breaking ball; fastball has touched 96-97

Milwaukee: Mitch Haniger, of, Cal Poly: Physicality and power potential make him a top prospect; 13 homers this spring

Texas: Joey Gallo, 3b, Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas: Biggest raw power in the draft. Questions about swing/miss. Also up to 98 off the mound.

Phillies: Shane Watson, rhp, Lakewood (Calif.) HS: Barrel-chested hard-thrower is still trying to harness command of plus stuff.

Astros: Lance McCullers, rhp, Jesuit HS, Tampa: Son of big league power reliever is physical and some scouts see two 80 pitches. No. 13 on BA 500.

Twins: Luke Bard, rhp, Georgia Tech: Daniel’s little brother had 92-95 mph velo before torn lat muscle interrupted season

With their second first-round pick, the Boston Red Sox picked lefthander Brian Johnson from Florida with the 31st-overall pick, the last of the first round.

Johnson has a physical build and pounds the strike zone with four average offerings. He has plenty of big-game experience and should move through the minor leagues quickly.

Johnson joins the Red Sox other first-rounder Deven Marrero as Florida prep products who were also teammates with Team USA's College National Team this summer.