With their final pick of the first day of the draft, the Sox selected their first college pitcher. Bryan Morgado, a 6’3” 203 pound lefty from Tennessee, was taken 102 overall.

Morgado struck out 75 in 52.1 innings this year in 5 starts and 15 relief appearances for the Vols. However, he walked 36 and had a 6.36 ERA. He was a redshirt sophomore this past season due to having Tommy John surgery October of 2006. The injury was suffered the summer after his senior year of high school.

Morgado was the Miami Herald Pitcher of the year in as a junior in 2005 after striking out 117 in 67.1 innings. Last season he was named second team Pro-Line Athletic/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Freshman All-America after pitching well as the Saturday starter (the #2 of the staff) for UT. He went 5-5 with a 4.59 ERA in 80.1 innings. He struck out 104 and walked 37.

His fastball tops out at 94-95, but sits a bit lower than that. His curve is also rated pretty well, but he needs to develop a change and improve his control if he wants to remain a starting pitcher. The two pitch combination could make him a solid relief prospect, that is if he can avoid further injury problems.

Morgado was selected in the 26th round by Boston out of high school. Considering he was just a sophomore last year and didn’t have his best season, he might also be a tough sign. However, it would be hard to see him going higher than the 3rd round with mediocre performance and a Tommy John surgery already behind him.