December 11, 1990
MLB held its amateur draft yesterday, with the Red Sox holding the top pick. They selected the clear cut top prospect, 18 year old outfielder Manny Ramirez. The team will now have two months to convince him to sign and forego a collegiate career at UCF. With a focus on high school players in this draft, the team will be forced to do this with many of its draftees. Of their first 11 picks, only third round selection Tony Womack and seventh round pick Eduardo Perez are from the collegiate ranks.
Round 1 – OF Manny Ramirez (18); pure hitter who possesses enormous potential
Round 2 – OF Mike Cameron (17); speed to burn, a strong defensive player with the body to develop decent power
Round 3 – SS Tony Womack (21); likely the fastest player selected, Womack will need to handle the bat better as he moves through the ranks
Round 4 – LHP Justin Thompson (17); a wide arsenal of pitches, but struggles with command
Round 5 – LHP Kirk Rueter (20); a lower ceiling than Thompson, but could develop into an end of the rotation type big leaguer
Round 6 – LHP Eddie Guardado (20); another quality lefty, Guardado has a dominant changeup
Round 7 – 3B Eduardo Perez (21); all the tools to be a quality big leaguer once he grows into his body
Round 8 – RHP Ugueth Urbina (16); great stuff for a pitcher this young, will need to continue to hone his craft
Round 9 – RHP LaTroy Hawkins (17); similar profile to Guardado from the right side; outstanding changeup with other decent tools in his toolbox
Round 10 – RHP Matt Mantei (17); pure stuff is off the chart but control is a question mark, Mantei likely projects as a power reliever
Round 11 – C Felix Rodriguez (18), Round 12 – OF Sean Scott (20), Round 13 – LHP Rigo Beltran (21), Round 14 – RHP Ricky Bottalico (21), Round 15 – 1B Paul Thompson (18), Round 16 – LHP Vaughn Eshelman (21), Round 17 – C Dana Levangie (21), Round 18 – RHP Antonio Alfonseca (18), Round 19 – RHP Albie Lopez (19), Round 20 – RHP Tim Van Egmond (21), Round 21 – RHP Chris Seelbach (17), Round 22 – OF Clarance Richmond (18), Round 23 – OF Jeff Scholzen (21), Round 24 – RHP Carlos Reyes (21), Round 25 – 2B David Chisum (20), Round 26 – SS Scott Dennison (22), Round 27 – RHP William Van Landingham (20), Round 28 – RHP Cory Bailey (19), Round 29 – RHP Luis Garcia (20), Round 30 – 1B Joaquin Cabral (17), Round 31 – 3B Michael Burritt (17), Round 32 – 1B Alejandro Diaz (18), Round 33 – 1B Roberto Ortega (18), Round 34 – LHP Dave Swanson (18), Round 35 – LHP Chad Zerbe (18), Round 36 – 2B Steven Serafini (21), Round 37 – RHP Jeff Pierce (21), Round 38 – RHP Todd Williams (19), Round 39 – RHP Pep Harris (18), Round 40 – RHP Ken Grundt (21)
While its always difficult to grade MLB drafts until many years later, scouts seem to believe the Red Sox had a strong draft. Most notably around the rest of the league, the Pittsburgh Pirates held 8 picks in the first two rounds, by virtue of their free agent losses so far this offseason.
