Boston Red Sox stars before they made it to Major League Baseball
Where did our favorite Red Sox players play college baseball?
The MLB Draft has come and gone with the blink of an eye, we once again go back to life without baseball.
This year’s draft was one for the ages. Each of the first seven selections, as well as eleven out of the first fourteen, were college athletes. That compares to just last year where three of the top six athletes selected, were drafted straight out of high school.
Many teams were not comfortable with using their first-round pick on a player that was unable to finish his final year of high school baseball. It appears that many baseball teams, unlike the Boston Red Sox who selected a high schooler, were more focused on drafting players that had success at the collegiate level.
In this year’s MLB Draft, the Red Sox selected two athletes who have played college baseball. Jeremy Wu-Yelland played for the University of Hawaii while Shane Drohan played for Florida State University.
Many Red Sox players on the current roster have played college baseball as well. A few of them were even fortunate enough to play in the College World Series.
Here are eight Red Sox players along with their journey through college baseball and the draft process.
Red Sox RP Matt Barnes:
He originally played baseball and basketball at Bethel High School in Bethel, Connecticut. He was not drafted out of high school and instead decided to attend the University of Connecticut, which is about an hour away from where he went to high school. He decided he wanted to focus on playing baseball and ended up being a political science major.
In his freshman season, he was used as a starter and a middle reliever. He ended up struggling, finishing with a 5-3 record and a 5.43 ERA. He made 7 starts and came out of the bullpen 6 times.
In his sophomore year, he was used mostly as a starter. He made 13 starts and 2 relief appearances. He finished with an 8-3 record and a 3.92 ERA. He also struck out 75 batters.
He really came into his own as a junior, only being used as a starter. In 17 starts, he finished with an 11-5 record and a 1.93 ERA. He threw 3 complete games and struck out a total of 117 batters.
He won Big East Pitcher of the Year and was then drafted as a junior with the 19th overall selection in the 2011 MLB Draft.
Red Sox CL Brandon Workman:
He attended Bowie High School in Bowie, Texas where he played shortstop and pitched for the baseball team. He was also the quarterback for the football team. He played on the varsity baseball team for four seasons and eventually became captain of his team.
After a very strong senior season, he caught a lot of team’s eyes and was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. Instead of going straight to the big leagues out of high school, he decided to attend and play baseball at the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in education.
Workman finished with an 8-7 combined record between his first two seasons playing college baseball with the Longhorns, where he was used as a starter and a long reliever. In his sophomore year, he threw a no-hitter against Penn State.
He played his best in his junior season, finishing strong with a 12-2 record and a 3.35 ERA in 17 appearances(15 starts). Throughout his college career, he was rarely used as the team’s closer.
The righty was later drafted by the Red Sox with the 57th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2010 MLB Draft, where he signed for an $800,000 signing bonus.
Red Sox 1B Mitch Moreland:
He played baseball and soccer at Amory High School in Amory, Mississippi. He committed to and enrolled at Mississippi State University after pitching and batting extremely well and not being drafted out of high school. He decided to major in business administration.
He was supposed to redshirt his first year but ended up starting for the team towards the middle of the season. He played in 22 games that year and finished with a batting average of .316. He was a jack of all trades as he played in left field, served as the designated hitter, and pitched once.
In his sophomore campaign, he came out of the bullpen, started 19 games as the right fielder, and started 17 games as the designated hitter. He finished with a .319 batting average, 5 home runs, and 23 runs batted in. He also compiled a 2-0 record with a 3.75 ERA in 6 and 1/3 innings.
In his junior year, he hit .343 with ten home runs. He also won 2 games and finished with a 3.46 ERA that year.
After that season, he was drafted in the 17th round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, where he signed and began his big league career.
Red Sox RF Kevin Pillar:
He played baseball, basketball, and football at Chaminade College Prep High School in California. He played with the offense, defense, and special teams for the football team and as a point guard for the basketball team.
For the baseball team, he played in the infield and outfield. He ended up committing to California State University, Dominguez Hills, a Division 2 school, for baseball after not being drafted out of high school. He majored in business and mathematics.
In his freshman season, he made an immediate impact starting every single game and batting .379. He had 77 hits in just 55 games. He drove in 38 runs, despite only hitting one home run.
In his sophomore season, he played just as well, despite battling an injury early in the year.
He was most known for his 54-game hitting streak which took place in his junior season. He had 75 hits and batted .387 in his junior campaign. He had 5 homers and drove in 43 runs.
He only played in 15 games his senior season but had a .368 batting average.
In the 2011 MLB Draft, he was selected with the 979th pick in the 32nd round by the Toronto Blue Jays, where he signed for a $1,000 signing bonus.
Red Sox D.H. J.D. Martinez:
He grew up in Miami, Florida, where he attended Flanagan High School. He was drafted with the 1086th overall selection in the 36th round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. He decided to not sign but had zero offers to play college baseball. He struggled to even get an opportunity to play for a Division 2 or Division 3 program.
After many tryouts, he ended up getting an offer from Nova Southeastern University, a Division 2 school in South Florida. He enrolled and played baseball for the Sharks, where he thrived.
He exceeded all expectations and finished with a combined .394 batting average and .691 slugging percentage in three seasons. No one has ever hit more home runs than him at Nova Southeastern, totaling 32. He also drove in an absurd 142 runs.
Twice did he have the honor of being an All-Conference Player, despite not being on many radars before the MLB Draft.
He was later selected by the Houston Astros with the 611th pick in the 20th round of the 2009 MLB Draft. He has since become the first baseball player at Nova Southeastern to reach the major leagues. He also has been inducted into the Nova Southeastern University Sports Hall of Fame.
Red Sox SP Chris Sale:
Sale is another Florida boy who attended Lakeland High School in Lakeland, Florida. After playing baseball and basketball in high school, he was drafted in the 21st round by the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 MLB Draft. He almost signed but ended up enrolling and playing baseball at Florida Gulf Coast University, where he majored in criminal justice.
In his freshman season, he was primarily used as a relief pitcher as he came out of the bullpen 20 times and only started once. In 36 and 1/3 innings, he had a 2-0 record and a 3.47 ERA while striking out 43 batters. He also had 2 saves.
In his sophomore season, his role changed as he transitioned to mostly being used as a starter. He started 12 out of 14 games he appeared in. He went 7-4 with a 2.72 ERA and struck out 104 batters.
His junior year in 2010 was his best yet as he went 11-0 in 15 starts with a 2.01 ERA. He led the country with 146 strikeouts in only 103 innings pitched.
After his junior season, Sale was drafted by the Chicago White Sox with the 13th pick in the 1st round of the 2010 MLB Draft.
Red Sox LF Andrew Benintendi:
Benny attended in Madeira High School in Madeira, Ohio, where he played varsity baseball and basketball. He won the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year for baseball after batting .564 in his senior season.
Benintendi was also setting records for career points, three-pointers, and more in basketball. He decided to enroll at the University of Arkansas after being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 31st round of the 2013 MLB Draft and not signing. He decided to not declare a major.
In his freshman year, he batted .276 in 61 games. He only had 1 homer and drove in 27 runs. He also had 20-multi hit games.
He took a major step up in his sophomore season, being named National Player of the Year. He had a .376 batting average in 65 games. That year he had 20 home runs and 57 runs batted in.
He won many awards in his sophomore season, including the Dick Howser Award, which caught the eyes of the majority of major league teams. He ended up being drafted with the 7th overall selection in the 2015 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. He signed for a $3.6 million signing bonus.
Red Sox CF Jackie Bradley Jr.:
He went to high school at Prince George High School in Prince George, Virginia before committing to play at the University of South Carolina. He decided to major in retail management.
In his freshman season in 2009, he had a .349 BA in 63 games. He had 89 hits, hit 11 home runs and drove in 46 runs for the Gamecocks. He also scored more runs than he had games played (69).
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In his sophomore season, JBJ played in 62 games and batted .368. He had 89 hits, 13 home runs and 60 runs batted in. Most notably, he helped his team immensely in winning the 2010 College World Series. JBJ was recognized as the College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
He returned for his junior year but missed a good chunk of the season with a wrist injury. He only played in 41 games and had a .247 batting average. He finished his college career with a .986 fielding percentage. He also had more hits than games played.
Jackie was later drafted with the 40th pick in the supplemental first round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. He signed a $1.1 million signing bonus.
Next. Who did the Red Sox select in the 2020 MLB Draft?. dark
Things have worked out pretty well for Jackie as he’s won a World Series with the Red Sox and is set to test free agency this upcoming winter. The Draft doesn’t always pan out for players and with the Minors being gutted by the league, it could be an even harder road to the Majors. For some that challenge is welcomed and for others, it may be the end of the line.