Counting down to spring training: Second base

Dustin Pedroia (will turn 26 in August)
2008: .326 batting, .376 on-base, .493 slugging
2007: .317 batting, .380 on-base, .442 slugging
2006: .181 batting, .258 on-base, .303 slugging (in 89 big-league at-bats)

There's no question Pedroia will be entrenched in the Red Sox lineup for years to come. Based on his baseball-reference.com comparables through age 24 -- Mickey Cochrane, Joe Mauer, Bill Dickey and Rod Carew -- he'll have a chance to be an MVP candidate for years to come, too.

So let's ask a different type of question here: How did the Red Sox end up with Dustin Pedroia?

Pedroia hit .393 and reached base at a .502 clip in his junior season at Arizona State. He hit .404 with a school-record 34 doubles in his sophomore season. He hit .347 his freshman season and finished the year on an 11-game hitting streak. He earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors three times. He started all 185 games of his college career. He was just as 5-foot-8 as he is now, but he flat-out hit every time he pulled on the Arizona State jersey.

While he did that with an aluminum bat, he didn't do it against slack pitching: Ian Kennedy, Tim Lincecum and Jeremy Guthrie were among those pitchers doing work in the Pac-10 while Pedroia was there.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox weren't drafting until the middle of the second round thanks to their free-agent addition of Keith Foulke -- what seemed to be a worthwhile tradeoff since he, you know, pitched them to the World Series and all.

And yet Pedroia slid all the way to the second round, right where the Red Sox were waiting. He had to hear the names of 64 other players called before his. The 5-foot-8 factor certainly played its part -- but it wasn't as if Pedroia played catcher or first base. He played shortstop (and some second base) in college. Before Cal Ripken, all shortstops (and second basemen) were 5-foot-8.

Here are some of the teams who could have snatched up Pedroia before the Red Sox got to him late in the second round -- and who they did end up picking. Scouting reports are from MLB.com.

No. 60: Michael Ferris, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
"Strong arms. Broad shoulders. Some thickness to midsection. Strong, muscular legs. Similar to Ryan Klesko. Straight-up stance. Bat held behind left ear, flat. Short stride. Easy stroke with near-level plane swing. CF to opposite field, line-drive power. Selective. Keeps head on ball. Steady glove, good hands, adequate range. Playable arm. Won't clog bases. Strong kid with lots of strength. A power hitter, content with making easy contact now. Some wrist quickness."
What his team said: "He's a strong kid that we believe is going to hit."
College numbers: Hit .361 with 21 home runs and 62 RBI in his junior season at Miami (Ohio); hit .360 with five home runs as a sophomore at Miami, and hit .228 with four home runs as a freshman at Kentucky.
Results: He has never hit over .230 in a full minor-league season; he has hit more than 10 home runs just once. His best stats came in Single-A in 2005, when he hit .230 with 16 home runs and 26 doubles.

No. 61: Anthony Swarzak, RHP, Minnesota Twins
"Medium build. Athletic frame. High waist. Long legs. Round shoulders. Body type similar to former major leaguer Orel Hershiser. No windup, 3/4 arm. Smooth delivery. Clean arm on back side. Explosive FB with downward plane. Solid movement. 12 to 6 CB, tight rotation, sharp break, deceptive changeup, good arm speed. Likes to pitch inside. Good mound presence. Smart kid. Good pitcher's body. Throws 3 solid pitches. Aggressive on mound. Goes after hitters. Works fast. Knows how to pitch. Has body and ability to continue development. Wants the ball. Big game pitcher."
What his team said: ""We realized this guy was improving and maturing and developing at a rate that would put him in the upper mix. We got very good reports on this guy."
College numbers: Drafted out of high school.
Results: Just 18 years old when he was drafted, he had a 2.62 ERA in his short-season debut and has made steady progress through the minor leagues. He was 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts after a promotion to Triple-A in 2008 -- and he just turned 23 years old.

No. 62: Jason Jaramillo, C, Philadelphia Phillies
"Compact build. Solid legs. Strong shoulders. Tapered down. Quick release. Accurate arm with carry. Soft hands, handles self well. Sets up and frames. Switch hitter, better bat as left-handed hitter."
What his team said: "He's a switch-hitter, and we think he has a chance to be a very good big leaguer."
College numbers: Hit .350 with eight home runs and a team-best 57 RBIs as a junior at Oklahoma State. Hit .385 with nine home runs as a sophomore and .327 with three home runs as a freshman.
Results: He's hit .271 and .266 in back-to-back seasons at Triple-A in 2007 and 2008, but he's never hit double-digit home runs in any season. He was traded to the Pirates in December and will have a chance to compete for a backup job behind Ryan Doumit.

No. 63: Erik Cordier, RHP, Kansas City Royals
(His predraft scouting report on MLB.com describes how he has the power potential to play the corners and improve defensively in the outfield; it's the wrong one.)
What his team said: "We've seen up to 96, tremendous life on the fastball. Very, very fresh arm, obviously, because of where he comes from he hasn't pitched a lot of innings."
College numbers: Drafted out of high school.
Results: He had a 2.68 ERA in seven Single-A starts in 2006 but missed the entire 2007 season after Tommy John surgery and had a 5.17 ERA in nine Single-A starts in 2008. He's now with the Atlanta Braves; he was traded for Tony Pena before the 2007 season, a couple of months after his Tommy John surgery. He's still a highly regarded prospect.

No. 64: Hunter Pence, LF, Houston Astros
"Very tall, slender torso. Long arms. Large legs. Slightly open, crouched stance. Good strength and arc in swing for power. Swings bat with authority. Undresses infielders. Power to all fields. Adequate arm. Athletic actions in outfield. Different-looking athlete, but has strength and extension to hit and hit with power. Plays hard. Leaves it all on the field."
What his team said: ""He's a plus runner, has plus power, but his bat has a ways to go. He has a below-average arm, so he's limited to left field. He has a combination of speed and power that is somewhat rare in the draft. He's a corner guy and we feel like he can be a corner guy in the big leagues."
College numbers: Hit .395 with eight home runs and 10 stolen bases as a junior at Texas-Arlington. Hit ..347 with eight home runs as a sophomore, and hit .395 with 12 home runs at Texarkana Junior College as a freshman.
Results: He hit .322 with 17 home runs in 108 games in his first big-league season a year ago, and he hit .269 with 25 home runs playing every day with the Astros last season. He might or might not ever be an All-Star, but he's a keeper.

No. 65: Pedroia.
"Physically maxed out. Small, scrappy frame with average strength for size. Similar to David Eckstein. Even stance with flexed knees. Small load and weight shift. Steps in bucket. Average bat speed. Even plane bat control with consistent contact. Hits where pitched. Lots of doubles to gaps. Instinctive defender with soft hands, works ground-up, ball disappears. Plays well above tools. Headsy baseball rat with plus instincts. Knows how to play the game. Guy you want on your team. Does what it takes to win."
What his team said: See below.
College numbers: See above.
Results: Rookie of the Year in 2007. Most Valuable Player in 2008.

We've all read "Moneyball." We've all heard about the trend away from cattle-call scouting and toward using past performance to project future performance. But while that book made Kevin Youkilis the poster boy for ignoring body type, it's his partner on the right side of the Red Sox infield who might be an even better example.

Look at some of those scouting reports:
"Won't clog bases."
"Undresses infielders."
"Strong, muscular legs."
"Athletic actions in outfield."
"Strong kid with lots of strength."

And from the comments of team executives after the draft:
"He's a strong kid who we believe is going to hit."
"Improving and maturing."
"We think he has a chance."
"He hasn't pitched a lot of innings."
"His bat has a ways to go."

Meanwhile, here's what Red Sox scouting director David Chadd said about Pedroia on the day he was drafted: "Dustin is a tough, smart ballplayer who will fit nicely into the Red Sox organization. He is an accomplished middle infielder with an equally solid approach at the plate. We all admire his work ethic and ability to be a leader."

What's the key word there?

"Accomplished."

One of the five players drafted ahead of Pedroia has turned into a useful major leaguer so far. Another has a chance to make a big-league roster for the first time this season.

Pedroia, meanwhile, has a Rookie of the Year award and a Most Valuable Player award on the shelf along with a World Series ring on his finger.

Sure, in a lot of ways, the draft is a crapshoot. But it's become obvious in recent years that it doesn't matter whether a guy has "strong, muscular legs" as much as how he's produced on a consistent basis against tough competition. Pedroia, even more than "Moneyball" icon Youkilis, might be the best example of that in the major leagues.