Boston Red Sox Draft Day Decisions: 2008 Draft Preview

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series title in 86 years. That team of self-proclaimed "idiots" had endeared themselves to the people of Red Sox Nation.

Then, just three years later in 2007, the Red Sox went and won another World Series.

Aside from the obvious differences in those two championships, (the 2004 title being more historic, more special, etc.), the most compelling difference was the composition of the teams.

The 2004 "idiots" had just one player developed within the organization on it, and that player was fan favorite, Trot Nixon.

The 2007 squad had several more homegrown talents in the form of Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, and Jonathan Papelbon. The 2007 season also saw the debut of prospect Clay Buchholz who sat out the postseason campaign.

This noticeable difference in the makeup of players shows the shift in philosophy in the Major Leagues from the age of Free Agency, when teams would vie for the top talents available on the market no matter the cost, to the era of player development.

This is not to say that the player development philosophy had not been practiced during the age of Free Agency, the prime examples being: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Tampa Bay Rays, and Kansas City Royals.

With the exception of the Angels, who dabbled in Free Agency every now and then, these teams relied almost entirely on the draft and player development.

The Red Sox have been practicing this theory since as early as 2002 when Theo Epstein vowed that he would turn the organization into "a $100 Million player-developing machine", and thus far he has backed up his vow.

This is made most evident by a glance at Baseball America's, "List of the Top 100 Prospects in Baseball". According to this list for the 2008 season, the Red Sox have seven of the 100 players. In addition, four of the seven Red Sox on the list have already seen some form of time in the Major Leagues.

So, with seven of the Top 100 Prospects, what do the Red Sox do in the draft with five of the first 104 picks?

Looking at the current team, the one thing that I worry about is age. Manny Ramirez is 36. Reliable Jason Varitek is 36. Mike Lowell is 34. Curt Schilling is 41, as is Tim Wakefield who will be 42 in August. Mike Timlin is 42.

The age factor is inevitable, it happens to us all.

The one thing that the Red Sox need to do with this draft is to truly put guys in the system that can and will replace the current veterans in a few years.

I am not worried about the starting rotation, which without Schilling and Wakefield looks something like this:

1. Josh Beckett

2. Daisuke Matsuzaka

3. Clay Buchholz

4. Jon Lester

5. Justin Masterson

The bullpen looks solid as well, with young arms like Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, Javier Lopez, Craig Hansen, and Hideki Okajima.

In addition, the Red Sox also have right-handed pitching prospect Michael Bowden and lefty prospect Nick Hagadone also being groomed in the minor leagues.

I worry about some of the positions.

Julio Lugo's days are probably numbered, and prospect Jed Lowrie who hit a cool .310 in his brief stint in April is slotted in as his replacement.

If, or when, Mike Lowell leaves, through retirement or Free Agency, Kevin Youkilis will most likely move across the diamond to take over at third, and prospect Lars Anderson will come up to take first.

My main worry is the replacement for Jason Varitek. I do not see Kevin Cash becoming the everyday catcher that has to try and fill in Varitek's shoes. This leaves the Red Sox with the option of trying to draft a catcher, looking for one via Free Agency, or to try and trade for one.

Drafting a top tier catcher will not be easy, as there are just four in Baseball America's Top 100 Draft Prospects, three of whom are in the top 25.

The fact that a good catcher is hard to come by will most likely hurt the Red Sox, as replacing a guy who did so much to prepare for a game in Jason Varitek will be just about impossible. As of right now, Baseball America has the Red Sox selecting shortstop Reese Havens of South Carolina with their first pick.

They will most likely have to try and pick one up in Free Agency or try and trade for one. Personally, I feel they should look at Chris Iannetta of the Colorado Rockies, who already have Yorvit Torrealba. Iannetta is hitting .278 with five HR 18 RBI and a .347 OBP in 21 games this season.

As for the outfield, Jacoby Ellsbury is the center fielder of the future, and with Ryan Kalish and Josh Reddick both developing in the minors at the moment, it will probably be a few years before either one makes a splash and fights with Brandon Moss for a spot in the outfield after Manny Ramirez has retired and J.D. Drew has moved on.

As for D.H., it pains me to think about replacing David Ortiz. Truly in the years to come, power might become an issue for a team that is used to having an abundance of it.

Lars Anderson is clearly the best power hitter they have, but he will be playing first unless they have him D.H., have Jed Lowrie play third, Youkilis play first, and rush Reese Havens up to play SS when the time comes.

I think that Baseball America has it right here. The Red Sox have plenty of good looking young pitching for the future, and are pretty solid for position players with the exception of catcher.

Seeing that they will likely not be able to grab one of the top three catchers in this year's draft, look for them to try and trade Coco Crisp in a package for an heir apparent to Jason Varitek's spot behind the plate.

The Red Sox have themselves set up very well for the years to come, with the chance to make people forget about the Curse of the Bambino, with several championships that could be brought back to Boston.

This will sound rather cliche, but decisions made now can change the face of tomorrow.

Hopefully for the better.