About the Red Sox and the MLB Draft

The MLB Draft is taking place and the Boston Red Sox are making some moves.

They're picking guys and continue to pick guys. There's 40 rounds but how about this? We'll talk about the first two for now. There will be guys in subsequent rounds to make it to the big leagues and heck, they could be better than the first two picks. But let's get into it....

So the Red Sox had to pick 43rd in the first round because they went over the luxury tax threshold. That's right: MLB dropped them 10 spots in the draft because they dared compete. Uhh…. What the Eck? They got punished because they tried to win--and they did win. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles got to pick first because they tanked. Unreal.

Oh yeah, and there's the complaint some have that the Red Sox picked two shortstops in their first two picks: Cameron Cannon out of Arizona State (43rd) and Matthew Lugo, a high schooler (69th). And no, Lugo is not related to Julio; he's related to Carlos Beltran.

I saw some complaints online that the team drafted two shortstops (because they have Xander Bogaerts) and would like to address them.

This isn't the NFL or NBA Draft. There's no guarantee MLB Draft picks will make it to the big leagues. First rounders have a two in three shot while second rounders have a close to 50 percent chance. And this, of course, is after years in the minor leagues. That said, teams need to draft the best players available, not based on position.

Oh yeah, and the best amateur athletes typically play shortstop and center field.

Just because they play there now, doesn't mean they will in the bigs. Case and point: Michael Chavis, a high school shortstop, was the Red Sox first round pick in 2014. The team had Xander Bogaerts, Stephen Drew and Brock Holt already. They were good at shortstop. But Chavis moved positions because he's a good athlete. See how that works?

OK. End rant.