Red Sox select Nathan Hickey with their fifth round pick

The Red Sox have made five selections to this point in the draft, and with their fifth selection they have their second player in the class from the University of Florida. After taking outfielder Jud Fabian earlier on Monday in the first round, they’ve taken Nathan Hickey, a sophomore catcher, in the fifth. Hickey hit .317/.435/.522 this past year for the Gators. He came into the draft ranked 131st by Baseball America, 141st by MLB Pipeline, and 84th by Perfect Game.

Hickey certainly has the bat to be a good prospect in the Red Sox organization, as shown by his line above in his sophomore year, which comes on the heels of a shortened freshman year. The 21-year-old’s walk total (42) more than doubled his strikeout (20) total as well. That good hit tool is also packaged with potentially plus raw power, though BA notes in their scouting report that he can be beaten by pitches up in the zone. Just ask Michael Chavis how deadly that can be in the modern age. Defensively, there are some major questions, and most think he’ll have to move off the position. The arm is there, but his receiving and blocking need to improve. Robo umps can help with the first part, but the blocking will need to be refined either way. Hickey does shore up a catching group in the Red Sox farm system that can use more depth.