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2015 MLB Draft results: Red Sox select Tate Matheny 111th overall

The Red Sox drafted the son of a current manager with their fourth-round pick.

MLB.com

The Red Sox drafted up-the-middle college bats with their first two picks by taking center fielder Andrew Benintendi out of Arkansas and catcher Austin Rei out of the University of Washington. They didn't change a thing with their third pick, going with a college center fielder for their fourth-round selection by drafting Tate Matheny.

Recognize the last name? You should, as Tate is the son of Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny, and was even drafted by the Cards out of high school in 2012. Father Mike requested that St. Louis not draft his son again, though, so he was still hanging around for the Red Sox and the 111th pick this time around.

Matheny is "one of the best all-around outfielders in college baseball" according to MLB.com, and Baseball America rated him 107 on their pre-draft top-500. BA does not see him as an every day center fielder, though, believing that his future is at second base if he wants to start every day, or as a fourth outfielder who can fill in at any of three outfield spots with ease.

There is some obvious downside there, but Matheny has some of that Cardinals' blood in him, so this will all look silly in five years when he's a perennial, scrappy all-star because that's just how it works for St. Louis baseball. Plus, he's also a Team USA guy, so it's not like the Sox were even capable of passing him up at 111. They love their USA Baseball vets, and why shouldn't they? They've had plenty of success from that pool of players before.

In all seriousness, though, there are plenty who believe that Matheny does have what it takes to become a big-league regular, so his development will be worth following to see if he can reach those expectations. The fact he gets credit for his ability to control the strike zone and use all fields is in his favor.