Sox select LSU outfielder/speedster/wide receiver Jared Mitchell with their first-round pick [23rd overall], addressing one of the biggest needs in the organization.
The 6-foot, 200-pounder is a lefty and considered one of the better athletes in the draft. Plus, in his LSU football bio he said one of his favorite things to do is “hanging out.’’
“I’m very excited for a couple of reasons: Number one, Jared is just an outstanding young man,’’ director of amateur scouting Doug Laumann said of the pick. “He played some baseball in the Cincinnati area where I live the past couple of years, and I got an opportunity to know the people that spent a lot of time with him, and first and foremost, he’s an excellent, outstanding young man. Secondly, one of the things we were trying to accomplish in this draft was to find the high-ceiling, athletic type of player. We certainly weren’t going to sacrifice the ability of some guys just to get that, but as it turned out he was the one guy that we felt was the best player on the board and at the same time fit exactly what we were looking for. A potential lead-off type of guy and a high-ceiling type of guy.’’