The Red Sox selected Shane Drohan, a pitcher out of Florida State University, in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 195-pound junior is the second college player and second pitcher to be drafted by the team, after they selected Hawaii’s Jeremy Wu-Yelland in the fourth round.
Here are five things to know about Drohan, who was ranked No. 147 among draft prospects by MLB Pipeline:
His father played in the minor leagues
Bill Drohan, Shane’s father, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 15th round in 1987. The right-handed pitcher spent four years in the system, reaching High-A before retiring in 1990.
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In 1989, Bill Drohan missed part of the season recovering from a rotator cuff injury, and the Sun-Sentinel reported that he would have been playing Double-A ball if it hadn’t occurred.
When he was injured, Bill Drohan was 6-1 on the mound with a 1.32 ERA.
“I’ve wanted to play professional baseball ever since I was a kid, but I never really thought it would happen,” he said in 1989. “I don’t have a timetable on how long I’ll give myself to make the major leagues. I take things one day at a time and let the Royals worry about the timetable.”
He also played football in high school
Drohan played three years of high school football, as the quarterback for Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Fla.
According to MaxPreps, he averaged 26.6 yards per game in a junior campaign, completing 18 of 37 passes for a total of 143 yards.
2020 was looking good for him
Florida State ranked seventh nationally in strikeouts in the pandemic-shortened season (208), and Drohan led the team with 27. Against No. 3 Texas Tech, he posted a career-high nine strikeouts, good for most in the country against a Top 10 opponent.
.@FSUBaseball’s Shane Drohan has started out very well with 5 Ks in 2 IP. Loose & easy AA/deliv, low effort release, FB 90-93 with high spin (9 whiffs so far), hard downer CB 78-81 with hard bite & spin. #mlbdraft pic.twitter.com/DxNihGD0pr
— Vinnie Cervino (@vcervinoPG) March 1, 2020
Before a stint with the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod League last summer, Drohan started 11 games for Florida State as a sophomore, striking out 71 batters in 51.2 innings.
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He’s been drafted before
The Phillies selected Drohan in the 23rd round of the draft in 2017 (683rd overall), but he elected to honor his commitment to Florida State.
“I want to thank the Philadelphia Phillies for giving me the opportunity to start my professional career, but I will be attending Florida State University,” Drohan told the Palm Beach Post via text message in 2018.
He doesn’t believe in superstitions
In a video tweeted by Florida State in 2019, Drohan said he doesn’t believe in rituals or superstitions.
“I kind of see it as just like fear,” he said. “If you don’t have your lucky socks on you can’t perform, I don’t have any of that.”
Know Your Noles | Shane Drohan
— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) February 2, 2019
🔘 Sophomore
🔘 Left Handed Pitcher
🔘 West Palm Beach, Fla.
Drohan did not allow a run in either of his final two appearances last season, at No. 9 Clemson (5/6) and against Mount St. Mary’s (5/13). [https://t.co/dh3cyPqeY8] pic.twitter.com/WXRAzulRKL