BOSTON (AP) -The Boston Red Sox drafted shortstop-pitcher Casey Kelly in the first round Thursday and hope he’ll choose to sign with them instead of playing quarterback at Tennessee.
The 6-foot-4 Florida high school star has committed to play football and baseball at Tennessee, but the Red Sox thought his talent was too good to pass up.
“You can hear the passion in his voice when he talks about baseball,” general manager Theo Epstein said. “We wouldn’t have taken him if we didn’t feel in our hearts like he wanted to go out and play professional ball.”
Kelly hit .473 with five homers and 31 RBIs as a senior this year. The right-hander also pitched in 12 games, going 8-1 with a 1.16 ERA and two saves. He had 77 strikeouts and 12 walks in 66 innings.
Jason McLeod, Boston’s director of amateur scouting, thinks Kelly will wind up a pitcher rather than a shortstop.
“We’re talking about one of the better athletes in the draft,” McLeod said. “He could move quick through the minor league system if we can get him signed.”
Kelly’s father, Pat, played three major league games with Toronto in 1980.
The Red Sox chose Kelly with the 30th pick, then drafted right-hander Bryan Price of Rice with the 45th overall selection.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Price was 3-4 with a 3.65 ERA and two saves as a junior this season. He appeared in 27 games with one start. In 44 1-3 innings, he had 50 strikeouts and 24 walks.
The Red Sox have had great success with their top picks in recent years, drafting Jon Lester in 2002, Dustin Pedroia in 2004 and Jacoby Ellsbury in 2005.
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