Luke Bard

Bard's older brother Daniel attended North Carolina and was a 2006 first-round pick prior to reaching the major leagues with the Red Sox. Boston also drafted Luke out of high school, in the 16th round in 2009, but he didn't sign and attended Georgia Tech. Like his older brother, Bard has excellent arm strength and an iffy breaking ball. He's not as explosive as his brother but has plenty of power in his fastball, at times sitting 93-95 mph. He also flashed a power breaking ball with depth and late bite. Injuries and ineffective freshmen led Georgia Tech to give Bard a couple of starts, and he was effective while sticking to two pitches. He left a start against Duke on March 31 after 4 1/3 innings, however, and has not pitched since then. Doctors since diagnosed a torn lat muscle, and Bard isn't expected to return this season. At his best, he had a classic college reliever profile and big league bloodlines, so his injury probably will not be a long-term concern.