Red Sox Sign All Four First Round Draftees Last Night

Last night was "Signing Day" across Major League Baseball, as it was the deadline to sign draft picks from slightly over 2 months ago. Last night, the Red Sox were able to sign Matt Barnes (1st Round), Blake Swihart (right, 1st Round), Henry Owens (Supplemental Round), Jackie Bradley (Supplemental Round), Noe Ramirez (4th Round), Mookie Betts (5th Round), and Cody Kukuk (7th Round). In fact, over the period between the Draft and now, the Sox signed all but two of their first 10 picks, the exceptions being Senquez Golson (8th Round) and Cody Koback (10th Round).

The biggest deal of last night for the Sox was that they were able to pull off a deal for catcher Blake Swihart. Swihart received a $2.5 million signing bonus, 3rd in Red Sox history behind Casey Kelly and Anthony Renaudo. He was committed to the University of Texas, but the Sox were able to pry him away. Swihart is a switch-hitting catcher who has good speed and power, and last year he batted .448/5/17 in 14 games in the USA 18U tournament. The Sox were also able to sign right handed pitcher Matt Barnes. Barnes, the first overall pick for the Sox took a $1.5 million bonus to sign with the Red Sox. After watching some video on Barnes, I saw that he has a great curveball and a pretty good changeup which consistently fooled hitters at the college level. Also, the Sox got outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., an outfielder who had played with the Champion USC team for 2 years and was thinking about going back again. However, the Sox were able to lure him away with a $1.1 million signing bonus. He is a solid outfielder with a good arm and decent power who shows a lot of raw skills. I can't wait to see these guys in a Red Sox uniform!