An interview with Caleb Clay, who the Red Sox took with the 43rd-overall pick in the 2006 draft:

http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=2&c=652535

Interesting. Am I mistaken, or is a second round high school draftee a rarity for the Red Sox?

Clay was actually a supplemental pick after the first round. In recent years, along with Clay, the Red Sox have taken the following high schoolers in the first three rounds:

2007: Ryan Dent (1st round supplemental); Hunter Morris (2nd round); Brock Huntzinger (3rd round)

2006: Jason Place (1st round)

2005: Michael Bowden (1st round supplemental); Jon Egan (2nd round);

2004: none

2003: Mickey Hall (2nd round)

2002: Jon Lester (2nd round); Scott White (3rd round)

2001: Matt Chico (2nd round); Jon de Vries (3rd round)

2000: Manny Delcarmen (2nd round); Matt Cooper (3rd round)

So then I'm definitely mistaken. Was there a general, league-wide trend away from high school picks for a while, or am I projecting a Billy Beane philosophy onto other teams?

The Red Sox had a very conservative approach to the draft a few years ago, but the balance between high school and college players has changed every single year. Now, high school players are deffinetly in the majority. You can deffinetly see the difference in approach between '04, when our top picks were guys like David Murphy and Abe Alvarez, while the past two years have been Dan Bard, Jason Place, Ryan Dent, etc. They are much more willing to take a chance on a risk now.

There was a good article on Clay in today's Lowell Sun. I've posted it in the minor league news links.