Of Broderick Perkins and Rock Shoulders

June, 8, 2010
6/08/10
10:17
PM ET
Here's a look at the Red Sox's draft picks on Tuesday, with summaries from Baseball America, the esteemed trade publication:

Round 2 Overall: 57 Brandon Workman RHP University of Texas Texas

The Longhorns have one of the best college pitching staffs in recent memory, as evidenced by their 2.14 team ERA in mid-May -- and the fact that Workman, their No. 3 starter, could be a first-round pick. The Phillies drafted him in the third round out of high school, but held firm with a $275,000 offer and wouldn't give him the $350,000 he sought. Now he could get four to five times that amount. Unable to secure a spot in the Longhorns rotation as a sophomore, Workman has been more focused and efficient this spring.

His best pitch is a knockout curveball, and he pairs it with a 90-92 m.p.h. fastball that peaks at 96. He has developed a high-80s cutter as a strikeout pitch against left-handers, and he also has some feel for a changeup. His command is better than ever, and he now realizes that he's more effective when he doesn't overthrow, which causes his pitches to flatten out. Workman earned all-star honors in the Cape Cod League the last two summers, leading the league in strikeouts after his freshman season.

3 110 Sean Coyle SS Germantown Academy, Fort Washington, Pa. Pennsylvania

Coyle's older brother Tommy was North Carolina's starting second baseman as a freshman this spring, and Sean will join him in Chapel Hill next year unless a major league club opens up its checkbook. Coyle is undersized at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, but the consensus among scouts is that he has a legitimate chance to be an everyday big-league second baseman in the Brian Roberts mold. He played shortstop for Germantown Academy and spent some time at DH this spring because of a mild forearm strain.

Coyle might not be tall, but he has plenty of strength in his compact right-handed swing and he makes consistent, hard contact to all fields, though he projects for below-average power. He has above-average speed and is aggressive on the basepaths. Coyle has sure hands and good infield instincts, and he should have solid-average range and arm strength at second base. He is a confident, competitive grinder who gets the most out of his quality tools.

4 143 Garin Cecchini SS Barbe HS, Lake Charles, La. Louisiana

Cecchini established himself as one of the top prep hitters in the 2010 draft class when he led the U.S. 18-and-under national team -- which also featured Bryce Harper [who ended up the No. 1 overall pick] -- in slugging (.708) and on-base percentage (.529) en route to its first-ever gold medal at the Pan American Junior Championship last summer in Venezuela.

He might have hit his way into the first round this spring, but he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and required reconstructive surgery in mid-May. It was his second operation under the knife of Dr. James Andrews, who performed rotator-cuff surgery on him when Cecchini was 12. A 6-foot-3, 195-pounder, he has a fluid left-handed stroke and good pull power. The knee injury isn't a long-term concern because his fringe-average speed isn't a big part of his game and he already was expected to move from shortstop to third base at the next level. His soft hands and strong arm will play well at the hot corner.

He's a baseball rat, no surprise considering his father Glenn is the head coach at perennial Louisiana power Barbe High. His mother Raissa is an assistant coach at Barbe, and his younger brother Gavin is a top infield prospect for the 2012 draft. Though he missed most of the season, it may take first-round money to lure Cecchini away from a Louisiana State commitment. He has enough offensive potential and track record to get that payday and he isn't expected to make it to the second round.

5 173 Henry Ramos OF Alfonso Casta Martinez HS, Maunabo, P.R.

The best power in Puerto Rico belongs to switch-hitting outfielder Ramos, who stands 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds with a strong, athletic frame. He is relatively new to baseball, spending most of his youth as a soccer player, and his power shows up more during batting practice than in games. When he connects, the ball jumps off his bat and goes a long way. Rosario is a below-average runner but is athletic enough and has the arm strength to play right field. He has good makeup and just needs to play every day in order to turn his tools into performance.

6 203 Kendrick Perkins OF La Porte (Texas) HS Texas

Perkins ran for a combined 3,454 yards and 47 touchdowns as a junior and senior football player, breaking a 30-year-old school record for career rushing yards. He received football offers from Kansas, Southern Methodist and Texas Christian, but announced his intention to play baseball going forward. It's easy to dream on Perkins' potential on the diamond. He's a 6-foot-3, 215-pound quick-twitch athlete with left-handed power potential and solid speed.

Because he has been torn between two sports, he's still raw. He doesn't recognize offspeed pitches well and can get caught on his front foot. At the same time, his hands work well at the plate and he does a good job of squaring up pitches. He has enough arm strength and speed to play right field, though his defense will need work. "He's a classic boom or bust player," one area scout said. "He could be Jason Heyward or he could be Choo Freeman." At his best, Perkins can look like a sandwich-round talent, though his lack of refinement could drop him to the third or fourth round.

7 233 Chris Hernandez LHP Miami Florida

Hernandez was Baseball America's 2008 freshman of the year, when he went 11-0, 2.72 for the Hurricanes' College World Series team. Since then, he has continued to pitch well despite having diminished stuff. He relies heavily on his cut fastball, which is his best pitch. It sits in the 82-86 m.p.h. range and helps him get inside hitters' kitchens, avoiding hard contact. Hernandez's velocity is down a tick from earlier in his career, though he will still scrape 90 m.p.h. at times. He pitches more at 85-88 m.p.h. with his fastball and has to locate it precisely at that velocity. His curveball is fringy, and he's improved late in 2010 by using his changeup more, giving hitters a reason to have to cover the outside part of the plate while still being cognizant of the cutter in. Hernandez holds runners well and pounds the strike zone, helping his stuff play up.

8 263 Matthew Price RHP Virginia Tech Virginia

A draft-eligible sophomore, Price has a thin body at 6-foot-3, 170 pounds, and some scouts don't think he'll add much weight because there isn't anywhere to put it. One scout compared his frame to Mike MacDougal's. Price is comparable to teammate Jesse Hahn, but he's a notch below him overall. His fastball sits comfortably at 92-93 m.p.h., and he has shown the ability to touch 94-95 late in games. His curveball is average, but he flashes some that scouts can dream on. His second pitch is a changeup that's an average pitch now and has a chance to get better. His command as a freshman was below-average, but it's average to slightly above now.

The concern with Price is his delivery. His arm is quick, but it's not real loose. There's some stiffness to his delivery as he has a short stride for someone with his height and he lands on a stiff front leg. This causes him to sometimes leave pitches up in the zone. His stuff puts him as a second-round candidate, high enough to consider him signable despite the leverage of returning for his junior season. For the Hokies, Price was 7-3, 4.37 through his first 12 appearances, 10 of which were starts. In 70 innings, he had 68 strikeouts and 21 walks.

9 293 Tyler Barnette RHP Hickory (N.C.) HS North Carolina

Barnette, a Charlotte recruit, offers less projection but sits 87-91 m.p.h. with his fastball and has looseness in his delivery. He fills up the strike zone with his fastball, which is not the case with his curve. While the breaking ball has some shape, he lacks a feel for using it or commanding it.

10 323 Jacob Dahlstrand RHP Memorial HS, Houston Texas

Dahlstrand requires polish, but it's easy to dream on the projectable right-hander. He's 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds and already throws an 88-93 m.p.h. sinker. His secondary pitches and command are erratic because he lacks a consistent release point and often falls toward the first-base side of the mound. He has committed to Houston but may be signable.

11 353 Lucas LeBlanc OF Delgado (La.) JC Louisiana

LeBlanc is a 6-foot-1, 200-pounder with close to average tools across the board, profiling best as a right fielder for pro ball. He redshirted at Southeastern Louisiana in 2008 before playing the last two seasons at Delgado CC, so he's already 21. He may be difficult to sign away from a Louisiana State commitment.

12 383 Garrett Rau RHP California Baptist California

13 413 Keith Couch RHP Adelphi (N.Y.) New York

Couch, a right-hander, has carved up the wood-bat Northeast-10 Conference for three years and went 5-2, 2.24 with 83 strikeouts and 11 walks in 76 innings as a junior this spring. He mixes four pitches but profiles best as a sinker/slider reliever. He works in the 88-91 m.p.h. range with his sinker and has touched 93. His slider can be average at times and his curveball and changeup are below-average but serviceable. Couch has an upright finish to his delivery, but some looseness in his 6-foot-2 frame. Couch has a chance to be drafted inside the top 10 rounds.

14 443 Mike Hollenbeck C Joliet Township (Ill.) HS Illinois

Hollenbeck's receiving skills are raw, but he has a strong arm, left-handed power potential and a pro body (6-foot-2, 210 pounds). The buzz is that the catching-needy Red Sox could take him in the first 10 rounds.

15 473 Steve Wilkerson SS Pope HS, Marietta, Ga. Georgia

The one weakness in Georgia's prep class was the lack of legitimate middle infielders, as most of the top athletes look more like future outfielders. One who should be able to stay in the infield is Wilkerson, a switch-hitter with good size at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds with plus tools and athleticism. Wilkerson has the arm strength for shortstop if he can harness the accuracy on his throws, and he's an above-average runner, having run sub-6.6-second times in the 60-yard dash at the East Coast Pro showcase last summer. He has potential with the bat as well, though he's a bit raw at the plate. Some scouts see him more as a second baseman at the pro level. It may be difficult to pry him away from his Clemson commitment, but the home-state Braves could be the team to do it.

16 503 Adam Duke RHP Spanish Fork (Utah) HS Utah

Duke's father, Dev, was killed on July 4, 2001, when a fireworks stand he was running blew over on top of him during a strong windstorm. Duke has persevered through that adversity, however, and will likely be the highest-drafted pitcher from the Beehive State since Mark Pawelek was a first-round pick by the Cubs in 2005. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Duke looked good in the summer and was on the rise early this spring when he threw the ball 92-95 m.p.h. with a sharp curveball and a changeup with some fade. His velocity dipped down to 85-89 late in the year. Some teams thought he might be hurt, while others thought he may have been coasting a bit, or it may have been a dead-arm period. He was back up to 92 in his team's first playoff game, twirling a one-hit shutout.

Duke throws from a three-quarters arm slot, and his fastball gets late tailing action and jumps in on hitters. He's polished for a high school pitcher and fills up the strike zone with all of his pitches. He's a good athlete and plays shortstop when he's not on the mound. He also works fast and understands the finer points of the game, like setting up hitters and holding runners. Duke is a bulldog on the mound. His brother Brock is a freshman right-hander at Utah, and Adam is considered a tough sign away from his Oregon State commitment.

17 533 Jason Garcia RHP Land O'Lakes (Fla.) HS Florida

18 563 Dallas Chadwick RHP Shasta HS, Redding, Calif. California

19 593 Eric Jaffe RHP Bishop O'Dowd HS, Oakland California

Jaffe stands out as the most likely Northern California high school player to be drafted. His size and present stuff immediately get attention. For the sake of comparison, it can be said that he is similar to Matt Hobgood, a first-round pick of the Orioles last year. Like Hobgood, Jaffe is a big-bodied right-hander (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) with two-plus present pitches. Also like Hobgood, Jaffe is an accomplished high school hitter with plus raw power, not to mention soft hands around the first-base bag.

He likes to swing the bat and that could complicate his signability because Jaffe likely will get the chance to hit if he attends California. However, it is his combination of a fastball that reaches up to 95 and a wipeout power curveball that has scouts preferring him on the mound. He has also added a split-finger fastball. Jaffe has displayed some command issues in the past but is a good athlete, and the more time he spends on the mound, the better the command will be.

20 623 Roderick Shoulders C Brandon (Fla.) HS Florida

A massive corner infielder nicknamed "Rock," Shoulders has as much raw power as anyone in the state and switch-hits on top of that. He could get himself in better shape but still generates plenty of strength and leverage at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds. He's been on the scene since youth ball and helped lead Brandon High to a deep playoff run as a sophomore in 2008 before missing most of '09 with a torn labrum in his left (nonthrowing) shoulder. He has probably outgrown catcher, his former position, and projects more at first base, though he has the arm strength to try third. He's a below-average runner, which probably prohibits a move to the outfield.

21 653 Mason Justice RHP Holland Hall HS, Tulsa, Okla. Oklahoma

22 683 Trace Tam Sing 2B Newport HS, Bellevue, Wash. Washington

Shortstop Trace Tam Sing is an athletic 6 feet and 175 pounds and plays with intensity. He shows aptitude with the bat but takes big hacks, so scouts would like to see him tone down his swing to become a gap-to-gap hitter instead of trying to blast everything out of the ballpark. He's an average runner with good hands and a strong arm at shortstop. Tam Sing is projected as a seventh- to 10th-rounder, but could be a tough sign in that range because of a strong commitment to Washington State.

23 713 Austin Wright LHP Chipola JC Florida

24 743 Sean Yost RHP Nebraska Nebraska

25 773 Tyler Lockwood RHP Texas Christian Texas

27 833 Jay Gonzalez OF Freedom Florida

Gordon Edes

Red Sox reporter, ESPNBoston.com

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