Boston still reaping rewards for successful drafts
Pitcher Justin Masterson is one of three 2006 draftees who are contributing for the Red Sox right now. Pitcher Daniel Bard and first baseman Aaron Bates are also on the big club.
Sox top A’s
The Red Sox topped the A’s, 5-4, last night at Fenway Park. David Ortiz had four RBIs, including a three-run homer that broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning. Sox starter Tim Wakefield allowed three runs (one earned) on 10 hits while striking out eight in 6.0 innings to earn the win. METRO
2006: Daniel Bard (first); Justin Masterson (second); Aaron Bates (third)
Colon hit the DL on June 9.
White Sox GM looking for Colon
MLB. Bartolo Colon, who pitched for the Red Sox last season and is now with the White Sox’ organization, went missing prior to today’s scheduled start for their minor-league team in Charlotte, according to the Chicago Tribune.
GM Kenny Williams told the paper he has contacted Colon’s agent, who cannot find the pitcher.
METRO
The 2006 draft is starting to look like a fruitful one for the Red Sox.
Aaron Bates, Boston’s sixth pick in ’06, made his big-league debut Monday against the A’s. He’s the third Sox draftee from that year to reach the majors, following Justin Masterson and Daniel Bard.
Unlike the NBA and NFL, where a draft’s impact can be felt almost immediately, it takes a few years in baseball. If Masterson and Bard live up to their immense potential and Bates becomes a serviceable option at first, the haul from ’06 isn’t half bad.
Boston has been good about grabbing at least one impact player a year in recent drafts. In 2001, it was Kevin Youkilis. Dustin Pedroia was 2004’s entry. And 2005 saw them take Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie and Michael Bowden in the early going.
The latest prospect, Bates, was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday after the Sox placed Jeff Bailey on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. The 25-year-old was in the lineup the same night, going 0-for-3 against Brett Anderson with two strikeouts.
How much was he thinking about playing in the majors for the first time?
“The national anthem was the only time I thought about it,” Bates said before Tuesday’s game against Oakland. “Once the game started, I kind of just focused on what we were doing.”
The New York City native was hitting .182 in 88 at-bats with the PawSox after a torrid .340 stretch with Double-A Portland earlier in the season. Bates led all Red Sox minor leaguers with 28 home runs in 2007, playing mostly for the Lancaster JetHawks.
“It was a little bit of a windy road, but it’s a different path for everybody,” he said of reaching the parent club for the first time. “It’s fun to be here.”
