The 2018 MLB draft begins on June 4. Find out where to watch and when the Boston Red Sox will be making their selections.
The next great Boston Red Sox prospect could be joining the organization over the next few days. The 2018 MLB Draft kicks off on Monday, June 4, giving each franchise the opportunity to bolster their farm system and potentially find a future major league star.
Predraft coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. ET. on MLB Network and can be streamed on MLB.com.
The first round will start at 7:00 p.m. ET with the Detroit Tigers making the first selection. There’s a Boston connection to this first pick that extends beyond president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski formerly being the GM of the Tigers. The top pick in the draft went to Detroit when former Red Sox castoff Pablo Sandoval hit a walk-off home run for the San Franciso Giants that inadvertently cost his franchise the No. 1 pick.
Round 1 and the Competitive Balance Round A (Picks 1-43) will be the only selections broadcast live on MLB Network. The Red Sox do not receive a Competitive Balance pick, nor will they receive a compensation pick for losing any free agents. Boston owns the No. 26 overall pick, their only selection in this portion of the draft.
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The first night of the draft wraps up with Round 2, the Competitive Balance Round B and second-round compensation picks. This part of the draft isn’t televised but can be streamed on MLB.com. The Red Sox have the No. 64 overall pick in the second round.
Rounds 3-10 will be streamed on MLB.com tomorrow afternoon beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. The remaining rounds will be streamed online starting at noon on Wednesday, June 6.
A full list of the draft order can be viewed here.
The Red Sox have the fourth lowest bonus pool with $5,723,300 to spend. Only the Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers are working with a lower draft budget.
Each pick in the first 10 rounds of the Draft has an assigned value, and the total for each of a club’s selections equals what it can spend in those rounds without incurring a penalty. Any bonus money above $125,000 given to an individual player picked in rounds 11-40 also counts against a team’s allotment.
Red Sox fans shouldn’t be too concerned that their team is picking late in the draft with limited funds. Sure, picking near the top of the first round could help you land someone like Andrew Benintendi (No. 7 overall in 2015) or Chris Sale (No. 13 overall in 2010). There’s still plenty of talent to be found deeper in the draft though. Dustin Pedroia was a second-round pick, Mookie Betts was a fifth-round pick, and J.D. Martinez fell to the 20th round.
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It will be years before we truly find out if the players drafted this week will go on to make an impact in the majors. However, the draft gives the Red Sox the chance to replenish a weakened farm system and potentially add a prospect who could one day help the big league club. Or at least serve as Dombrowski’s next trade chip.