Complete Red Sox 2020 Draft Recap: Two HS Infielders, Two Left-Handed Pitchers
BOSTON (CBS) -- The 2020 MLB draft has come to an end, much sooner than it would in most years. Rather than the usual 40 rounds of selections, this year's unique draft was limited to just five rounds.
That reduction will certainly impact countless young players and their immediate baseball futures, but it also makes things a bit more tidy when it comes to wrapping up what took place.
With that in mind, here's a complete recap of what the Red Sox did in the 2020 draft.
Round 1, No. 17 Overall: Nick Yorke, 2B
The Red Sox went off the board a bit with their selection of high school infielder Nick Yorke, who wasn't even listed on a number of pre-draft scouting guides.
The 6-foot, 200-pound infielder batted .457 in 94 varsity games at Archbishop Mitty High School in California.
"We love this kid's bat. We think he has a chance to be a special bat," Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. "We feel if the spring had gotten a chance to play out, the public perception of him would be a lot different."
Round 2: No Pick
The Red Sox were stripped of their second-round pick by Rob Manfred and MLB after the conclusion of an investigation into a sign-stealing operation that took place during the 2018 regular season.
Round 3, No. 89 Overall: Blaze Jordan, 3B/1B
Blaze Jordan is just 17 years old, but he possesses rare power that intrigued the Red Sox quite a bit. It's easy to see why.
"Obviously we were really, really excited to have the opportunity to select him," Red Sox amateur scouting director Paul Toboni said of Jordan. "Quite frankly, we didn't think he'd make it that far in the draft. He's a unique talent. A ton of power upside with a good feel to hit. He really recognizes pitches early, and he's doing this all being a year younger than his counterparts, because he reclassified. Just a really exciting talent -- there's really no other way to put it. And we're really happy that he's a Boston Red Sox."
Round 4, No. 118 Overall: Jeremy Wu-Yelland, LHP
The Red Sox added to their pitching arsenal by selecting Jeremy Wu-Yelland out of the University of Hawaii.
A reliever, Wu-Yelland had a 0.69 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings pitch this year before the season was stopped. Wu-Yelland pitched in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Chatham Anglers last year, going 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA, while striking out 26 batters (and walking 15) in 25.2 innings.
Round 5, No. 148 Overall: Shane Drohan, LHP
The Red Sox wrapped up their draft by selecting another left-handed pitcher, this time taking Shane Drohan out of Florida State University.
A Florida native, Drohan went 3-1 with a 3.66 ERA last season as a sophomore, striking out 71 batters in 51.2 innings. In the shortened 2020 season, he had a 4.08 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched. Drohan had been taken in the 23rd round of the 2017 draft by Philadelphia but opted to head to Tallahassee.
"Another unique talent," Toboni said of Drohan. "He just does it so easy. When you watch him throw, it looks like it's not taking much effort and then you check the radar gun and it's 94, 95. So we're excited to get Shane as well."
