Eagle-Tribune Blogs: Burt Talks Sports

Jason McLeod just found his ultimate prospect last month - Cameron Mikaele McLeod. At 9 pounds, 12 ounces the Red Sox’s director of amateur scouting immediately knew that his new-born son was meant to throw 200 innings per season. Fatherhood - the ultimate draft-and-follow.

McLeod was nice enough to break free of diaper changes and answer some of your questions. (Time was an issue so we concentrated solely on your queries and will touch on the Baseball America top prospect list later.)

Here we go …

Caleb Clay, in his very limited experience as a high school pitcher, was good enough for you to take him in the supplemental first round. I know he throws low 90’s gas, but for such a raw, raw talent, what do you see in him, and expect out of him as he gains polish and experience? Also, where do you expect Lars Anderson to begin the season, and does his high school power translate well to the Justin Morneau comparisons he’s been drawing?

I think in the case of Caleb we viewed him with the parameters we see in a high school pitcher, and he met those parameters in terms of ability, along with athleticism, competitiveness, and mental makeup. He has a drive to succeed. Even though he had limited experience we felt he was worth of where he was picked. But it’s much too early to make determinations because of his limited time on the mound.

(In regards to comparing Anderson to Morneau) I hope so. Lars is a very exciting guy for us. Where he ends up depends on how he does in spring training, although he has a sound fundamental base. He has yet to play professionally, but starting in (Single A) Greenville wouldn’t be a stretch.

I was wondering how Daniel Bard has been this spring and what his role might be in the future.

Bard threw to hitters in live batting practice last week and looked good for the first time being on a mound. He had a lot of life on his fastball, breaking three or four bats in live BP.

Who has been your biggest hit and miss?

I’m just going into my third year as the sole guy, so the sample size might be too small. But the guy I’m most happy for is Clay Meredith just because I got to run into him twice in ‘04, which is rare to see 11 innings of a college reliever. He ended up starting in a game at Auburn, going eight innings, and then I saw him pitch an extra inning game in relief. He became a gut-feel guy for me. I had to have him, and we got him in the sixth round. It was bittersweet losing him, but I’m happy to see what he did last year. In terms of biggest mess, I will graciously say the jury is still out.

Has Clay Buchholz showed that his off-field problems which were a concern before the draft are a thing of the past? (Buchholz was arrested for stealing laptop computers while in junior college.)

Clay is doing great. He recognizes that he made a mistake. We did a lot of work on this guy and we were very confident in our decision. He came to Boston to throw in the bullpen, and me, him, and Theo (Epstein) has a 30-minute conversation on the centerfield warning track while dodging Big Papi bombs during batting practice. He convinced us it was a one-time deal. He has been a model citizen since.

Do you believe you have an advantage over other teams at the draft because of deeper pockets, and do you try and use that to your advantage when drafting players other teams deem unsignable because they would demand more money?

It certainly helps to have an owner who believes in scouting and player development. You can say what you want about the Red Sox having more money, but we don’t do anything to break the rules and we work within the confines of the league’s approval. The one thing John (Henry) has always said to me is that I should do whatever I can to secure the best players. The Craig Hansens and Daniel Bards of the world got a little more money, but we didn’t get outrageous with those guys. I think it was case of some teams not doing their full homework, but just looking that Scott Boras was involved. Our area scouts have gone above and beyond to find out what the actual (asking price) was going to be. But it certainly helps to have the ownership’s support.

Do the Red Sox consider Bryce Cox fast-tracked, as in do they believe he has a realistic shot at getting significant innings in Boston this year or do they want to not rush him like they did with Hansen and Meredith?

I feel that Theo and (Terry Francona) look at the Meredith and Hansen situations and use those experiences to shape Bryce’s ascension. Remember, Bryce has only been throwing this way since April of last year. We have got to see what he will do over the course of a full year. Everyone is excited about the stuff he has showed, but he hadn’t done that in his prior three years of college. Before he goes to Boston we have to figure out what he can do over the course of a season.

I am intrigued by the seeming redundancy, if one could ever exist, between Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Place. Given what looks like a fairly fixed outfield for a few years, especially centerfield with a still young Crisp, how do these players grade out against each other looking a few years into the future? Does having multiple similar prospects make one of them more likely to be included in a trade?

Ellsbury and Place are completely different types of playes. Jacoby is an incredible athlete with speed to kill. He is a table-setter, a true centerfielder, and hopefully a speed guy who gets on base. But I think Jacoby is sronger than people give him credit for. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit 15 homers in the big leagues. Jason is a big, power guy who is also a good athlete but more in the Jeff Francoeur mode. He’ll see more time as a corner outfielder.

Have the Red Sox made any adjustments to their scouting system instituted last year, in which they broke the country up by thirds to allow targeted players to be seen more frequently?

We started this about two years ago when Josh Byrnes was here where we actually split the country up in quarters (West/Southeast/Central/Midwest and Northeast). It allows us to have a regional cross-checker check each regions. There might be a couple of other clubs who do it that way, but you more frequently see it broken up in thirds. This allows us to have our cross-checkers see guys deeper down in the draft, multiple times. Another thing Theo has done is give video cameras to all the scouts.

What are the early reports on top DFE prospect Brandon Belt?

He hasn’t come of the gates firing as we would like. He’s playing both first base and pitching. At this time, he’s trying to figure it out.

A lot of the high school prospects who dropped in the draft and signed with the Sox last year over slot got a lot of publicity, but what can you tell us anything about JuCo draftee Josh Reddick and UW pitcher Richie Lentz?

Reddick played junior college in Georgia and led the state in hitting at the JC level. He’s a lefty hitter who we drafted with the intention of following him while he played in Georgia. He played against Team USA and put on a show against (potential first-rounder) Ross Detwiler. He hit a home run off of him to centerfield. We kept following him and determined that he did go back into the draft it was going to cost us more, so we signed him late. Lentz is a reliever with a power arm who didn’t have a lot of innings because of an elbow problem. Our guys had seen him quite a bit and clocked him up to 97 mph. He pitched a few games with Newport in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, where he got up to 95 and 96. He is a power guy.

Daniel Bard - Great arm, but what secondary pitches will he be working on in his first season of minor league action?

Change-up.

Michael Bowden - has the organization ever had the urge to re-make his unorthodox delivery?

No changes except for a little different starting place on the pitching rubber.

Has Jason Place made changes to his swing, and how has he adapted to those changes?

Jason, more than anything, is a timing and rhythm hitter. Now he is just working on getting consistent on having his hands stay back.

Justin Masterson will be a starter this year. Did you envision him becoming a starter when you drafted him?

We envisioned Masteron would be a power guy in the bullpen, which might be his ultimate destination. We just felt like he could really work on his secondary stuff in a starting role. We’re happy with what we saw from his change-up, and I’m sure his slider will get more consistency. I do think he will ultimately end up in the bullpen.

Which high school kid that you drafted this yea is the most advanced and most ready for facing advanced minor league action?

Jason Place or Lars Anderson.

Which kid from this past draft do you feel like you absolutely stole?

Bryce Cox could be the guy if he continues to do what he has been doing.

Given the trade value and scarcity of great pitching, I would be tempted to draft nothing but pitchers. Am I wrong?

I think in a perfect world every organization would try and get as much pitching as they possibly can.

Kris Johnson. Super-skinny kid. Does he need to put on some serious weight?

Absolutely.

I’m amazed at how fast the picks are made during an MLB draft (even in the first round). When you sit down for a draft, how do you lay out what you are going to do? In the NFL, a team might have a value board and take the highest ranked guy on the board. Do you work similarly?

It’s no different. We spend the 10 days prior to the draft locked in a room trying to get our board lined up. But there are handful of guys we really, really want and those are the guys we target.

Kris Negron really stood out in Futures at Fenway game. Are you hopeful he can stick at SS if he makes it to MLB?

We have always wanted Negron to stay at short, but he isn’t going to be the highlight-type of shortstop. He’s just a baseball player who just happens to be a good athlete as well. Really, he’s a guy who could play at second, third or short and play above-average defense. His bat will eventually lead us to where his future position will be.

I would like to hear a little more about Mike James. He seems to be having a good spring, and had a great ERA in Wilmington last year. Could he be the closer the Sox are looking for?

That could be saying a lot if James is (being considered as a closer), but he has already done pretty well for himself. But saying he is a future closer in Boston is a definite stretch.

Thanks to Jason.

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