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The Boston Red Sox Tuesday, June 4, 2019 * The Boston Globe Red Sox add a pair of infielders on Day 1 of the draft Alex Speier With the No. 43 overall pick in the MLB Draft, the Red Sox selected shortstop Cameron Cannon from the University of Arizona on Monday night. Cannon was named a Collegiate Baseball second-team All- American after hitting .397/.478/.651 with eight homers and 29 doubles. He led Division 1 in doubles. “We like a lot about him,” Red Sox VP of amateur scouting Mike Rikard said of Cannon. “He’s a very good hitter. We like his swing path. He does things as far as controlling the strike zone and limiting his strikeouts that we value. He’s got good power now and we think there may be more evolving power he has a chance to grow into as he continues to mature as a hitter.” The Red Sox have had plenty of looks over multiple years at Cannon, who established himself as a sophomore in 2018 as a clear candidate to follow as a junior, with area scout Vaughn Williams playing the lead role in the process. Cannon also played last summer for Falmouth in the Cape League. The Red Sox defined the 21-year-old as a shortstop in announcing his selection, though there are questions about whether he will end up at another position. Indeed, Baseball America suggested that he “may be best suited to play multiple positions in a superutility role.” Rikard acknowledged that the Red Sox aren’t sure at which position Cannon ultimately will land, but the fact that he’s played short, second, and third creates potential pathways to the big leagues. Meanwhile, his consistent track record of success in one of the better baseball conferences in the country (the Pac-12) makes him a relatively high-probability bet to advance to the big leagues, with upside of an everyday player. The top Red Sox pick was bumped down by 10 spots in this year’s draft as a result of the team exceeding the 2018 luxury tax threshold of $197 million by more than $40 million. As a result, what would have been the 33rd overall pick at the end of the first round instead became the 43rd, early in the second round. The pick marked the latest selection by the Red Sox to open a draft since 2007, when the team chose lefthander Nick Hagadone in the supplementary first round with the No. 55 overall pick. This year’s draft marked the first time that the team didn’t pick before the second round since 2004, when the club took Dustin Pedroia in the second round at No. 65. With their second selection, the Red Sox took high school shortstop Matthew Lugo of the Carlos Beltran Academy in Puerto Rico. Lugo, a 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound shortstop, is a player with intriguing — albeit raw — tools. He was described by Baseball America as someone “who has a chance to provide long-term defensive impact at a premium position” – presumably either shortstop or second – while also showing above-average power potential. The Red Sox likewise viewed him as a player with an impressive ceiling. As with most high school players, he’ll almost surely have a deliberate development path, but the Red Sox were pleased to get a player who could have an above-average ceiling with their second selection. “He’s a very talented young player,” said Rikard. “He’s got really good tools. He, as well, has a chance to stay in the middle of the field, for sure. He’s got power potential. And he’s got speed to kind of push the game a little bit.” Not only did Lugo attend the Beltran Academy, but he is the nephew of the longtime big league star. Rikard said that the newly drafted Red Sox prospect is close with Beltran and has the same agent as the team’s 2018 first-rounder, Triston Casas. “You always like the players in the offseason who you know they’re in good hands,” said Rikard. “That’s always a good thing, to know that they have backgrounds and people in their lives who have a chance to be such a positive influence.” Pitchers onto Michael Chavis after his whiff of success Peter Abraham Years from now, when his baseball career is over and he’s sitting around talking about the old times, Michael Chavis will have a good story to tell about winning the American League Rookie of the Month when he was fighting to get out of a slump. Chavis, a 23-year-old infielder, has hit .222 over his last 16 games with 24 strikeouts in 63 at-bats and only four walks. Many of the strikeouts have been swinging through fastballs up around his neck. Not even a 2-for-4 game against the Yankees on Sunday night brought much solace. Chavis had a bloop single in the second inning then a gift triple in the eighth inning when he dropped a ball down the right field that was misplayed by Clint Frazier. “I’ll take them,” Chavis said. “Right now, I’ll take anything.” Chavis is the latest young hitter victimized by technology. Within a few days of his being called up from Triple A Pawtucket, opposing teams had compiled enough data to find the holes in his swing and develop a game plan for their pitchers to use. “It’s a mental grind for him at this point,” Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers said. “He’s swinging at pitches he can’t get to, getting in bad counts and that opens it up for the pitchers. It’s like a sore that spreads and gets infected.” It used to take several weeks, if not a month, for pitchers to adjust to rookie hitters. Teams relied on reports filed by their scouts and feedback from their minor league coaches to attack hitters. Now most teams have pitch-tracking systems at their Triple A ballparks and have info on hitters before they make their debut. Once a few major league games are played, even more sophisticated data is compiled and the analysts start to break it down. “I don’t know how scouting reports work in the minors. But you could have a bad series and it didn’t affect the next series,” Chavis said. “Here, what you do the previous day affects the next day. You’re always making adjustments and that’s the current situation I’m in right now. “It’s on me. I wish I could say, ‘Oh, he made a good pitch.’ But it’s not that. I’m getting myself out. I’m taking good pitches for strikes and swinging at the ones that aren’t.” Houston’s Justin Verlander struck out Chavis three times on May 26. He threw him 14 straight four-seam fastballs, 10 in the upper third of the strike zone or above. “Certain teams have special fastballs,” manager Alex Cora said. “You can see where they’re going . But not everybody throws 97 with hop.” Cleveland exploited the same spot in the series that followed. Kansas City will try in the series that starts Tuesday night. “The capabilities teams have to find weaknesses is greater than ever before,” Hyers said. Hitters get just as much information. But players such as Chavis, who have long trusted their eyes to pick up the spin on pitches and then their hands to get to the ball, have to decide how much of that information to use. Chavis is still trying to determine how much is too much. “Most of these guys, I haven’t seen before in real life,” he said. “I can get a bunch of opinions and scouting reports and try to correlate that to me. It’s information overload sometimes. I’m still trying to learn what works for me.” Chavis took over at second base when he was called up April 19. But with Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce on the injured list, and with Brock Holt available for second base, Chavis will be more of a first baseman now. That the Sox need him in the lineup only adds to the frustration of his slump. “[It’s terrible] because I have this opportunity and I need to make the most of it,” Chavis said. “These are all important games.” Assistant hitting coach Andy Barkett recently showed Chavis a map of how pitchers are approaching him. The Sox want to him to be better disciplined and take those high fastballs. Cora calls it controlling the strike zone. “The same way that they learn about him, he can learn about the opposition and make adjustments,” Cora said. “This kid is going to hit.” Chavis had seven home runs and 19 RBIs in 26 games last month, which led to his getting the award. That will take some of the sting out of his slump. “The pitchers up here are better, that’s a fact,” he said. “I’m not saying they’re better than me or better than anybody else. They’re here for a reason. But so am I. I’m confident I’ll figure it out.” Sean McDonough to call Red Sox games in London Chad Finn Red Sox have back-to-back days off June 27-28, the kind of rare break that happens during baseball season usually only when rain intervenes. But there’s a good reason for the brief hiatus: The Red Sox are jetting off to London for their series with the Yankees.

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