Red Sox take La Porte star in sixth round

By Jason McDaniel
Chronicle correspondent
La Porte standout Kendrick Perkins was the first Houston area high school player taken in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The senior two-sport star, who signed with the Texas A&M baseball team, was the 28th pick in the sixth round. The Boston Red Sox made him the 203rd overall selection on the second day of the draft.
It's not only exciting but a sense of relief," La Porte coach Ricky Torres said. He's been pretty stressed out by the whole situation, even starting back in November. As soon as the football season was over he was getting phone calls and visits from scouts, so there was a lot of stress that was built up and (Tuesday) was a day of relief.
He's just glad that that part of it is over with."
The fact that Perkins was drafted wasn't that surprising.
He hit .421 with four home runs, 26 RBIs, 35 runs scored and a .716 slugging percentage in 33 games for the Bulldogs, making him a unanimous first-team all-district pick.
But Torres was a little stumped by who didn't take him the hometown Houston Astros.
We thought he would go a little bit higher but he's about where he needed to go," Torres said. I was kind of surprised the Astros passed up on him a couple times, taking other players that I thought were about the same caliber as him, but any time you get drafted in the top 10 rounds of the Major League Baseball draft you're pretty good and you have a chance to continue your career."
Torres said he didn't see the Red Sox at many games this season, so them selecting Perkins also came as somewhat of a surprise. Now the talented outfield has a big decision to make on his future.
Perkins, his family and Red Sox officials will meet sometime soon to discuss the terms of the offer they make him, and what they say will either sway him to go pro or convince him to stick with the Aggies.
I'm not 100 percent sure what he'll do because I've tried to stay away from the financial side," Torres said. I know that he has his heart set on A&M but at the same time he understands that this is an opportunity that may not come around again for him."