Red Sox Rule Five Draft

The Boston Red Sox made no selections during today's Rule Five Draft; however, they did have two players chosen in the first round by other teams. Jorge Jimenez, who played third base for Portland all of last year and Armando Zerpa a reliever who pitched in Single-A and Advanced-A.

Jimenez posted a .361 wOBA and at 25-years old was a little advanced for the Eastern League. His defense is considered average at best and I doubt he will stick on the 40-man roster all season.

Zerpa posted good strikeout numbers (8.19 K/9 in Salem and 9.80 K/9 in Greenville). He struggled with his command a bit in the Carolina League which caused his FIP to fall from 2.16 with Greenville to 5.48 with Salem. He has a deceptive, low arm slot delivery which makes him very tough on lefties. He also has decent movement and induces a good amount of groundballs. He is just 22 but has never pitched above Advanced-A so it could also be tough for a MLB team to keep room for him. I do think he has upside as a potential left-handed specialist.