The Major League Baseball draft begins Monday with the Boston Red Sox holding the seventh overall pick.

While Boston has focused on high school talent the past two years, college players are among the elite prospects in 2015.

Depending on which draft experts you believe, including those at Baseball America and mlb.com, the Red Sox are zeroed in on one of three college standouts: shortstop Alex Bregman (Louisiana State), pitcher Carson Fulmer (Vanderbilt) or outfielder Andrew Benintendi (Arkansas).

Arizona holds the top pick, followed by Houston and Colorado. Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson may be Arizona’s choice.

Among the other top prospects are Illinois pitcher Tyler Jay, UC-Santa Barbara pitcher Dillon Tate, and three high school players – shortstop Brendan Rogers and outfielders Kyle Tucker and Daz Cameron.

Boston rarely picks this high, but its 71-91 record in 2014 translated into a No. 7 pick.

Likewise, when the Red Sox finished 69-93 in 2012 they received the No. 7 pick in the 2013 draft and chose Indiana high school left-handed pitcher Trey Ball.

Ball, 20, is in his second full pro season, in advanced Class A Salem, with a 4-5 record and 4.42 ERA.

But projections on Ball are still too early. Back in 2002, Boston drafted a left-hander out of high school, and Jon Lester had a 4.28 ERA in his second full pro season in advanced Class A. The next year, Lester pitched for Portland (11-6, 2.61) and was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.

Fulmer moved from the closer’s role to become Vanderbilt’s No. 1 starter. He has a 1.82 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 114 innings. His best pitch is his fastball (93-97 mph). The Red Sox liked him three years ago as a high school pitcher, drafting him in the 15th round.

Boston also tried to get Bregman out of high school in 2012, drafting him in the 29th round. He opted for LSU and is batting .313 this year with nine home runs and a .947 OPS.

Boston is not unique among major league teams that like picking players from the competitive Southeastern Conference, which is why Benintendi is a target. Benintendi, a sophomore who is eligible for the draft because he turns 21 in July, was the SEC Player of the Year, batting .385, with 19 home runs and a 1.218 OPS.

He plays center field and bats left-handed.

After the first round, the Red Sox do not draft again until the third round (81st overall). They had two earlier picks – a second-rounder and a “competitive balance” supplemental pick obtained from Oakland last year in the Lester-Yoenis Cespedes trade. But Boston lost those two picks when they signed free agents Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez.