June 5, 2018
The Red Sox have selected Cottam with the 130th overall pick in the 2018 first-year player draft.
ANALYSIS
Coming out of high school, Cottam was regarded as a polished defender behind the plate, but his difficulty with blocking balls and throwing out basestealers during his college career at Kentucky has sullied that reputation. Cottam nonetheless landed in the fourth round on the strength of his bat, as he slashed .346/.435/.650 while drawing raves for his plus power in particular. It's unclear if the Red Sox would immediately abandon developing Cottam as a catcher if he signs with the organization, but the 21-year-old has at least displayed enough aptitude with the bat to profile as a first baseman in the pro ranks.