Red Sox Select Elite College Slugger, Mass Native, In Latest Mock Draft

Boston could take a top college hitter in the upcoming draft

Scott Neville | Jun 22, 2023

Red Sox Select Elite College Slugger, Mass Native, In Latest Mock Draft /

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Could the Boston Red Sox take a local product who doubles as one of the best hitters in the upcoming draft next month?

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft is set for July 9 in Seattle, where the Red Sox will have the No. 14 pick in the first round.

The Athletic's Keith Law, one of the top draft experts in the league, has the Red Sox drafting Maryland shortstop Matt Shaw.

"Shaw is one of the best hitters in the college class, with hard contact and power, but needs to play somewhere other than shortstop," Law wrote Tuesday. "He’s one of many college bats I’ve heard linked to Boston, along with (Tommy) Troy and (Brayden) Taylor, all of whom are good batted-ball data guys as well as hitters scouts believe will continue to hit in pro ball."

Shaw is the No. 18 prospect in the upcoming draft according to MLB Pipeline and posted guady numbers throughout his college career.

The 21-year-old hit .320 with 102 extra-base hits including 53 home runs, 166 RBIs and a 1.036 OPS in 167 games for the Maryland Terps across three seasons.

The Springfield Mass. native had a monster junior season, hitting .341 with 45 extra-base hits including 24 home runs, 69 RBIs, a strong 43-to-42 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.142 OPS in 62 games.

The right-handed slugger -- who can play shortstop, second base, third base and corner outfield -- also shined in the Cape Cod League prior to his junior season.

Shaw hit .360 with 17 extra-base hits including five home runs, 19 RBIs and a 1.006 OPS in 36 games for the Bourne Braves in front of dozens of scouts on a daily basis.

If there's one thing that's consistent about Shaw's game it's that he's mashed at every level. He would be a fantastic bat to add to the Red Sox organization, regardless of where he ends up defensively.

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Published Jun 22, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu