MLB Draft 2013: MLB.com predicts Red Sox select Clint Frazier

If you're tired of MLB draft rumors already, then so sorry, but you've got a little less than two weeks left of rumors and the like until the real thing goes down on June 6. Don't fret, though: each mock draft is an opportunity to learn something about a potential Red Sox player, and since they are selecting at #7 this year instead of later on, as they tend to do after more successful campaigns, they might even get one of their best draft picks in years -- and that's saying something, considering how well recent drafts have gone despite their late spots.

MLB.com released their mock draft earlier in May, and selected high school outfielder Clint Frazier for the Red Sox:

7. Boston Red Sox: Clint Frazier, OF, Loganville HS (Ga.)
There's been a lot of buzz about the Red Sox hoping Frazier is available for them. His bat, speed and power could play very well at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox aren't the only ones who like him. Keith Law says that Frazier has some of the "best bat speed I have ever seen from an amateur prospect." An outfield corner could be in the center fielder's future according to Law, but which corner will be determined by how the tendinitis he's dealing with turns out -- if his arm is fine, then it'll likely be right field.

There hasn't been a whole lot of consensus in terms of who the Red Sox will get, but MLB.com selecting Frazier mirrors what Jim Callis of Baseball America said in his own mock draft. (Callis also still has Frazier to Boston in his mock draft 2.0, released today.) Frazier makes a lot of sense in terms of maybe being the player the Red Sox want the most: as a high-school outfielder with a high ceiling, he would allow them to maximize what the seventh overall pick means. In past years, with the abundance of sandwich-round picks and no draft budget to worry about, it wasn't a big deal if the Red Sox didn't select early on. Since the number of those have been reduced drastically (and there is a draft budget now), it's important Boston sneaks in high-ceiling talent like Frazier with this one, rare opportunity.

That doesn't mean it will be Frazier, but whoever goes here could be a bit more raw than what we're used to seeing out of first picks from the Sox. It all depends on who comes off the board before Boston gets to pick, though: if Frazier, Colin Moran, and Braden Shipley are all of the board, things could get a bit chaotic, at least in terms of who we think they would be interested in.

If you missed it the first time around, Keith Law spoke about Frazier in a minute-long video for ESPN.

You might want to watch, if only to know who/what the Red Sox might get, or miss out on, in the next couple of weeks.

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