| Boston Red Sox June 1995 Amateur Draft Picks | |
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Last updated: December 23, 1999
Note: the text on this page is an amalgam of commentary from Michael Rawdon, Darcy Paquet, and Glenn Ellingson. Statistics are through the end of the 1999 regular season. Ages given are as of July 1, 2000. 1) Andy Yount, RHP, age 23
Andy Yount showed a lot of promise when he was drafted, boasting a 95-97mph fastball and impressive numbers in high school. However, while attending the funeral of a close friend he had a freak accident -- he was holding a Coke bottle in his hand, and, in his grief, he didn't realize how tightly he was squeezing it. The bottle shattered, and severed the tendons in his hand. He had surgery, then reinjured his hand several times while attempting a comeback. Eventually the Red Sox decided that he was through, and they released him. However, in 1998 Yount signed with the Tigers and is currently trying to resurrect his career.1a) Corey Jenkins, OF, age 23
Despite hitting a lot of home runs, Jenkins' performance with the Red Sox was a major disappointment. He showed little patience at the plate, and struck out far too often (in 1997, 28 BB and 129 K; in 1998, 25 BB and 109 K). After 252 AB of 175/250/254 ball at Sarasota in 1998, the Red Sox traded him to the Chicago White Sox for INF Chris Snopek. Jenkins was still underperforming in A ball for Chicago in 1999 (195/300/319), and was eventually released.2) Jose Olmeda, 2B/SS, age 22
Olmeda moved slowly through the Red Sox system from 1995-1999, battling poor plate discipline to eventually make his way up to Sarasota in 1998. Midway through 1999, in his second year in high-A ball, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians organization for left-handed pitcher Mike Matthews.3) Jay Yennaco, RHP, age 24
Although Yennaco put up somewhat mediocre numbers in his time with the Red Sox (career ERA 5.06, 553 hits in 489 innings), he showed consistency and made steady progress through the system. He arrived in Pawtucket partway through the 1998 season, but was subsequently traded to the Blue Jays, along with Peter Munro, for 1B-DH Mike Stanley. His 1999 performance for the Jays was in line with his career numbers: more hits than IP and a poor K/BB ratio.4) Mike Spinelli, LHP, age 23
Spinelli has already had an interesting career in professional baseball. In one stint in Fort Myers (perhaps recovering from an injury?) in 1997, he gave up fifteen hits and twelve walks in 6.1 innings, but managed to strike out 15 batters in the 19 outs he recorded. Spinelli then missed most of 1997 and all of 1998, but returned to Sarasota in 1999 with the following results:5) Steve Lomasney, C, age 22Year Team G GS IP ERA H BB SO HR 1999 A/Sarasota 38 0 80.1 3.14 73 44 58 4The missed time makes Spinelli a bit old for A ball, so he's probably a fringe prospect at best.
Year Team AB BA/OBP/SLG HR BB SO SB/CS
1995 R/Fort Myers 92 163/267/228 0 8 16 2/1
1996 A/Lowell 173 139/313/266 4 42 63 2/0
1997 A/Michigan 324 275/353/488 12 32 98 3/4
1998 A/Sarasota 443 239/348/442 22 59 145 13/4
1999 A/Sarasota 189 270/381/450 8 26 57 5/2
AA/Trenton 151 245/401/523 12 31 44 7/5
AL/Boston 2 000/000/000 0 0 2 0/0
Lomasney was considered the best catching prospect in an organization even before Sapp and Hillenbrand lost ground in 1999. A combination of youth, defense, power, athletic ability, and a little bit of patience at the plate make him a well-rounded, high-ceiling prospect. Reportedly he boasts excellent defensive skills. Lomasney also is highly thought of in the organization, and was given his first brief look at Boston in 1999. Hopefully he'll have many opportunities to improve on that 0-2, 2K performance in the future :-).6) Matt Kinney, RHP, age 23
In 1998 Kinney continued to overpower the batters he faced but also continued to exhibit problems with control. In 121.1 innings at Sarasota he struck out 96 and allowed only 109 hits, but he also walked 75 batters. These kind of numbers are typical for his career.7) Cole Liniak, 3B, age 23
Year Team AB BA/OBP/SLG HR BB SO SB/CS
1995 R/Fort Myers 79 266/310/392 1 4 8 2/0
1996 A/Michigan 437 263/358/352 3 59 59 7/6
1997 A/Sarasota 217 336/402/493 6 22 31 1/2
AA/Trenton 200 280/338/365 2 17 29 0/1
1998 R/Fort Myers 8 000/111/000 0 0 1 0/0
AAA/Pawtucket 429 261/328/457 17 39 71 4/4
1999 AAA/Pawtucket 348 264/341/440 12 40 57 0/5
NL/Chicago 29 241/267/310 0 1 4 0/1
The Red Sox brain trust made their decision in 1999, cast their lot with Wilton Veras, and made Cole Liniak expendable. Liniak was traded late in the 1999 season to Chicago for Rod Beck and spent the rest of the year on the Cubs' major league roster. While Liniak's 1999 didn't show the kind of forward progress you hope for in young players, he will get a chance to take that step forward with the Cubs in 2000.8) Luis Cardona, 1B/C
Cardona hit poorly at Fort Myers in 1995, and simply couldn't get his bat on the ball in 1996, hitting 133/154/200 in only 75 AB (without a single walk). In 1997 he had only seven at-bats for the Mets Rookie League team, and he seems to have retired after that.9) Paxton Crawford, RHP, age 22
Year Team G GS IP ERA H BB SO HR 1995 R/Fort Myers 12 7 46 2.74 38 12 44 2 1996 A/Michigan 22 22 128.1 3.58 120 42 105 5 1997 A/Sarasota 12 11 65.1 4.55 69 27 56 6 1998 AA/Trenton 22 20 108 4.17 104 39 82 8 1999 AA/Trenton 28 28 163.1 4.08 151 59 111 12 Crawford is a very young pitcher who has been moving steadily through the system with a great deal of success. He consistently gives up less than a hit per inning, and keeps his walk totals down. Paxton attracted a lot of attention in the first half of 1998 for his at times dominating performance, but reportedly he was shut down in July by Duquette due to overwork (he was on a pace to pitch an incredible number of innings). He worked a full (and solid, if unexceptional) 1999 season at Trenton and figured to be in the Pawtucket rotation in 2000. While his numbers have not been as impressive as the Sox' top-level pitching prospects (Rose, Pena, Cho, Okha), Crawford certainly remains a solid prospect.10) Kevie Austin, RHP
Austin was rather old for his league when he started, and didn't experience much success, posting a 5.87 ERA at Lowell in 1996. He appears to have retired at the end of that season.11) Jeff Sauve, RHP
Suave was also an old pitcher for his league, and while he didn't allow many baserunners at Trenton in 1996, he posted a roughly league-average ERA of 4.09. He apparently retired at the end of the season.12) Jim Chamblee, 2B, age 25
Year Team AB BA/OBP/SLG HR BB SO SB/CS 1995 A/Utica 200 255/348/340 2 23 45 9/7 1996 A/Michigan 303 218/270/290 1 16 75 2/2 1997 A/Michigan 487 300/384/515 22 53 107 18/4 1998 AA/Trenton 489 241/343/425 17 62 144 9/5 1999 AAA/Pawtucket 464 274/350/487 24 43 126 5/3 Chamblee has now shown he can supply solid offense after three years of solid performance (cutting him a little slack for 1998 after he skipped Sarasota and had a tough adjustment to AA). But something must be missing because scouts are not high on Chamblee. He was left off the Sox' 40-man roster this winter and was passed over in the rule V draft. The problem may be his defense. Having already moved from SS to 2B, Chamblee is rumored to be switching to the OF next year (where his offense is less remarkable). Still, solid power and a decent batting eye make Chamblee an interesting prospect, and he will be only 25 in 2000. If his numbers jump like they did last time Chamblee repeated a league (1997 in Michigan), he will force people to take notice. Personally, I wonder if Chamblee would still be in the infield if the Sox did not need to find places for Veras and Eckstein to play.13) Andy Noffke, RHP, age 27
Noffke pitched for two years in the Red Sox organization, struggling with his control and striking out fewer batters than he walked. He was old for his league, and he retired at the end of the 1996 season.14) Andrew Beinbrink, 3B, apparently never signed. 15) Kevan Cannon, LHP, age 24
Year Team G GS IP ERA H BB SO HR
1995 R/Fort Myers 5 3 26.2 0.68 14 9 38 1
A/Utica 9 9 61 3.39 59 23 51 2
1996 A/Michigan 37 0 73 2.59 70 21 72 0
A/Sarasota 2 0 1 0.00 1 0 3 0
1997 A/Sarasota 32 0 43.1 4.15 41 26 35 1
AA/Trenton 13 0 16 2.81 7 12 11 1
1998 A/Sarasota 44 0 57.1 4.08 57 26 60 3
These are respectable numbers, but Cannon apparently retired after 1998.16) Rontrez Johnson, OF, age 23
Year Team AB BA/OBP/SLG HR BB SO SB/CS
1995 R/Fort Myers 189 249/353/280 0 30 29 25/4
1996 R/Fort Myers 85 294/412/365 0 17 11 6/2
A/Lowell 135 222/323/341 4 21 30 7/3
1997 A/Michigan 411 241/355/331 5 65 96 29/12
1998 A/Michigan 306 271/402/402 5 66 46 24/8
1999 A/Sarasota 494 300/395/425 8 74 63 18/15
Johnson is your prototypical leadoff hitter: he draws a lot of walks and he is apparently fast, although again the Sox' inability to teach basestealing is evident in his success rate. At 23 he's still got some time to develop, and he is reputed to be excellent defensively. His 2000, presumably in Trenton, will be critical for his prospect status.17) Bobby Rodgers, RHP, age 25
Rogers was quite successful in his debut at Lowell, posting a 1.90 ERA and a 108:31 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 90 innings. Although a bit old for his league, he looked to possess quite a bit of talent. In a puzzling offseason move, however, Dan Duquette traded him to the Marlins organization straight-up for no-hit little-field CF Jesus Tavarez. In 1998 Rodgers put up a 3.73 ERA and impressive H/IP totals at the AA level, but he pitched poorly repeating AA in 1999 (5.43, 217 baserunners in 122IP) and is probably no longer a strong prospect.18) Felipe Roman, 1B/3B, age 22
Originally drafted as an outfielder, Roman moved to first base in 1996. He showed little power, however, and seemed incapable of taking a walk. He apparently retired at the end of the 1996 season.19) Ben Stallings, RHP, age 22
Posted ERAs of 7.82 and 4.89 in his first two seasons at Fort Myers, and retired after the 1996 season.20) Dwight Ferguson, OF, age 22
Ferguson seemed to lose his one major ability -- drawing walks -- when he returned to Rookie ball for his third season in 1997. He appears to have retired after that.21) Curtis Romboli, LHP
Romboli improved many aspects of his game in 1997 in his second season at Michigan, allowing fewer hits and walks and cutting down on his ERA. He was quite old for his league, however(25), and he appears to have retired after 1997.22) Pete Prodanov, 3B/OF, age 24
Prodonov played three years in the Red Sox organization, slumping heavily in his second season at Michigan in 1997 (184/288/340). He appears to have retired thereafter.23) Chuck Lopez, OF, apparently never signed. 24) Chris Toomey, OF/RHP, apparently never signed. 25) Scott Jones, RHP, age 26
A relief pitcher who showed considerable control problems in 1995-96 with Michigan, Jones apparently retired after the 1996 season.26) Mo Rojas, OF, age 23
Rojas never very well above short-season A ball in his time with the Red Sox. He left the Sox system after 1998; apparently KC gave him a short look, but after hitting .091 for them his career is probably over.27) Juan Pena, RHP, age 23
Year Team G GS IP ERA H BB SO HR
1995 R/Fort Myers 13 4 55.1 1.95 41 6 47 2
A/Sarasota 2 2 7.1 4.91 8 3 5 0
1996 A/Michigan 26 26 187.2 2.97 149 34 156 16
1997 A/Sarasota 13 13 91.1 2.96 67 23 88 8
AA/Trenton 16 14 97 4.73 98 31 79 13
1998 AAA/Pawtucket 24 23 139.2 4.38 141 51 146 17
1999 R/rookie ball 1 1 2.0 0.00 0 0 4 0
A/Sarasota 2 2 6.1 7.11 12 0 5 0
AAA/Pawtucket 10 10 48.0 4.13 44 13 61 8
AL/Boston 2 2 13.0 0.69 9 3 15 0
Pena is a very solid prospect who put up impressive numbers in 1998 as the youngest pitcher in the International League. He made it to Boston in 1999 and threw two gems before developing a "sore arm" that sent him back to rehab. Unfortunately he never got back to full health the rest of the year. Hopefully he will be back to full strength in 2000, as he has put up excellent numbers at a young age at every level. He is often skipped in "top prospects" lists, perhaps because his fastball is "only" in the low 90s. But with less than a hit per IP and a great K-BB ratio for his career, he sure looks good on paper! Incidentally, note the following stats for Pena: Year Age starts BFP BFP/start (BFP = batters faced as a pitcher) 1996 19 26 743 28.58 1997 20 27 777 28.78 1998 21 23* 606 26.35 And the same for Rose: Year Age starts BFP BFP/start (BFP = batters faced as a pitcher) 1995 19 20* 561 28.05 1996 20 27 687 25.44 1997 21 26* 787 30.27 [* means the player also had 1 relief appearance that year] The Sox appear to be working their good young arms VERY hard -- perhaps too hard. Pena missed half of 1999 with arm trouble, and Rose missed most of 1998. Former Sox prospect Carl Pavano has also had some "tendinitis" and other arm trouble. Safe workloads for young pitchers is still a topic of sometimes heated debate, but the Sox seem to be playing with fire.28) Kaleb Harp, C, apparently never signed. 29) Bob Rauch, RHP
Rauch pitched 7 games in relief for Fort Myers in 1995, giving up a lot of baserunners and posting a 4.76 ERA. He seems to have left the game after that.30) Mark Varriano, C
Varriano played at three levels in 1995 - Fort Myers, Utica and Sarasota - and didn't hit much at any level. He seems to have retired after the 1995 season.31) Cliff Brand, RHP, apparently never signed. 32) Cordele Mincey, RHP, apparently never signed. 33) Matt Burch, RHP, apparently never signed. 34) Bart Vaughn, RHP, apparently never signed. 35) Nick Gruber, C, age 22
Seems to have retired after a total of 33 AB in two seasons at Fort Myers.36) Derrick Lewis, RHP, apparently never signed. 37) Angel Diaz, C
Diaz was also selected by the Sox in the 1994 amateur draft, but nonetheless appears not to have signed with the organization.38) Tim Boeth, SS, apparently never signed. 39) Jason Wilson, RHP, apparently never signed. 40) Jim Farrell, RHP, age 26
Year Team G GS IP ERA H BB SO HR
1995 R/Fort Myers 1 1 6 1.50 2 1 3 1
A/Michigan 13 13 69 3.65 62 23 70 10
1996 A/Michigan 7 7 44 2.45 39 17 32 2
A/Sarasota 21 21 133.1 3.51 116 34 92 11
1997 AA/Trenton 26 26 162.2 4.37 173 57 110 24
AAA/Pawtucket 1 1 5 0.00 4 2 6 0
1998 AAA/Pawtucket 28 25 163.1 5.51 176 52 142 31
1999 AAA/Pawtucket 14 5 43 4.19 45 16 35 7
AA/Trenton 7 5 27 3.33 26 9 26 1
Good BB:K ratios, but when they hit the ball, it really flies... 87 HRs in his 4 1/2 year career. In many organizations he would still be starting at AAA working on keeping the ball in the park, but the Sox have lots of pitching prospects in the high minors right now... and Farrell is not at the top of the list.41) Brian Messer, RHP, apparently never signed. 42) Juan Chaidez, C, age 22
Had two unimpressive seasons at Fort Myers and then appears to have retired after 1997.43) Pat Burrell, 3B, never signed.
Unfortunately... Burrell elected to go to the University of Miami, where he put up monster numbers and was eventually selected by Philadelphia as the #1 pick overall in the 1998 draft. He hit 333/438/632 in AA in 1999. Oh well :-).44) Bryan Wright, SS, apparently never signed. 45) Kris Brown, OF, apparently never signed.
Class of 1995, status after 1999:
AL/Boston 1 (Pena)
AAA/Pawtucket 2 (Farrell, Chamblee)
AA/Trenton 2 (Lomasney, Crawford)
A/Sarasota 1 (Spinelli)
A/Michigan
In Other Organizations
Class A 2
Class AA 0
Class AAA 1
Majors 1 (Liniak)
Out of Baseball 14
Unsigned 16
Other Organizations 5
Percentage of 46 draftees signed: 65%Percentage of 30 signed players retained: 20% Players Still with the Organization: Pitchers: 4 (40%)Thoughts about the 1995 draft Although the first five picks in the 1995 draft resulted in virtually nothing for the Red Sox, the remaining picks have been quite productive: Liniak is in the majors after being traded for Rod Beck; Pena reached the majors with the Sox; and Lomasney is one of the Sox' top prospects. Paxton Crawford, Jim Chamblee, and Rontrez Johnson may also make the major leagues some day. |
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