Dustin Pedroia is one of several All-Stars whom the Sox have drafted under GM Theo Epstein. (AP)

Next week’s Major League Baseball draft will be Theo Epstein’s ninth as the Red Sox general manager. He has worked alongside three directors of amateur scouting: David Chadd in 2003-2004, Jason McLeod 2005-2009 and Amiel Sawdaye in 2010. Epstein and his staffs have had very successful drafts in those eight years, with a number of players who are either still with the Red Sox today or who were used as trade chips to help improve the organization.

Epstein takes pride in his draft work and enjoys the challenge of the entire draft process.

“It’s one of my favorite aspects of the job and it is one of the most important things we do as an organization,” Epstein said.

“It is the ultimate challenge, really,” he added. “Anyone can go make a big league trade, based on a player’s track record and a major league scouting report. You see these guys play in perfect conditions, against the best players in the world and the best players rise to the top. Amateur scouting in baseball is much more difficult and much more complicated.”

That makes it all the more impressive that the Sox have already been able to use each of the first seven drafts under Epstein to acquire All-Star caliber talent, whether a homegrown player who ended up performing at such a level or through a trade to net a player who was named to the Midsummer Classic for the Sox.

In 2003, the Sox’ early picks ended up being trade chips, as first-rounder David Murphy was part of the trade that landed Eric Gagne, while sandwich-round pick Matt Murton was involved in the four-team deal that landed Orlando Cabrera from Montreal and Doug Mientkiewicz from Minnesota while ending Nomar Garciaparra‘s Red Sox career at the 2004 trade deadline. But the most notable selection that year was closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was taken out of Mississippi State in the fourth round.

Chadd’s final draft was in 2004, and it, too, had a significant impact, as the Sox used their first pick (a second rounder — the team had given up its first-round pick to sign free-agent closer Keith Foulke) to take shortstop Dustin Pedroia out of Arizona State. Now a second baseman, Pedroia’s hardware — 2007 AL Rookie of the Year, 2008 AL MVP and a three-time All-Star — speaks for itself about his impact.

Also in 2004, the Sox drafted pitcher Cla Meredith, who was traded with Josh Bard in 2006 for catcher Doug Mirabelli. During his time in the Sox farm system Meredith was named the Red Sox minor league pitcher of the month in April of 2005.

McLeod and Epstein had an outstanding draft in 2005, selecting a number of players who remain on the big league roster in 2011. Jacoby Ellsbury (first round), Clay Buchholz (first round supplement) and Jed Lowrie (first round supplement) were all selected by the Sox, and are now major contributors to the team. Pitcher Michael Bowden was also drafted by the club in the sandwich round, and he has seen major league action with the club. While first rounder Craig Hansen didn’t live up to his billing as the most advanced college pitcher in the draft that year, he became a chip in the deal that landed Jason Bay.

The following year saw the Sox take a broad spectrum of players, many of whose value to the organization is still to come. Hard-throwing reliever Daniel Bard was selected in the first round, and he is now a key bullpen contributor, and perhaps the Sox closer of the future. Meanwhile, second rounder Justin Masterson played an important role both as a starter and then reliever in 2008 and 2009 before he was sent to Cleveland at the 2009 trade deadline for catcher Victor Martinez, who was an All-Star for the Sox in parts of two seasons in Boston.

Outfielder Ryan Kalish was a ninth round selection; depending on how he recovers from his shoulder injury, he could emerge as the Sox’ right-fielder of the future, starting in 2012. The Sox also have two additional prospects from that draft in outfielder Josh Reddick (17th round) and first baseman Lars Anderson (18th) who are on the cusp of starting their major league careers. Seventh-rounder Kris Negron was traded to the Reds in 2009 in order to acquire shortstop Alex Gonzalez for the final stretch of the season.

The 2007 draft may be most remembered for the players the Red Sox acquired through trading players that they selected. Nick Hagadone (supplemental first round) and Anthony Rizzo (sixth round) ended up helping the Sox land Victor Martinez and Adrian Gonzalez, respectively. Hagadone was included in the deal for Martinez in 2009, while Rizzo — currently tearing up the minors in Triple-A — was sent to San Diego for Gonzalez last December.

In the 2007 draft, the Sox also selected third baseman Will Middlebrooks in the fifth round. He is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Sox farm system. Currently, he is playing for Portland.

Another major piece of the trade for Gonzalez was drafted in the first round of 2008, when the Sox selected pitcher Casey Kelly. Kelly was considered the top prospect in the Sox farm system until he was dealt. That year’s sandwich pick, Bryan Price, ended up being used in the Martinez trade as well. Also drafted in 2008 was Ryan Westmoreland, who continues to make strides in his efforts to rehab from surgery to remove a cavernous malformation on his brain stem.

In 2009, the final piece of the Gonzalez trade was selected in the first round when the Sox drafted Reymond Fuentes. This was McLeod’s final draft with the Red Sox before he left to become Assistant GM of the Padres; his familiarity with Fuentes played a role in San Diego’s pursuit of the extremely athletic centerfielder.

It will take time to measure the impact of Sawdaye’s first draft with the Sox because only a year has passed since he was in charge of the 2010 draft. First-round pick Kolbrin Vitek had a solid summer last year. He batted .270 with Lowell and .275 with Greenville. Sandwich-round pick Bryce Brentz struggled last summer in his pro debut with Lowell, but he put up huge numbers this year in Low-A Greenville, where he ranked among league leaders in every major offensive category before getting promoted to Hi-A Salem in May. The most highly regarded Sox prospect from last year’s draft also came from the sandwich round. Right-hander Anthony Ranaudo went 4-1 with a 3.33 ERA with Greenville to start this year; he will make his debut in Hi-A Salem on Friday night.

It can be seen just how successful Epstein drafts have been just by looking at the big league club today. Epstein and his staff drafted Pedroia, Papelbon, Buchholz, Bard and Lowrie. Also, the entire Sox portion of the deal that landed Gonzalez were all players the team had drafted (except Eric Patterson).

Epstein knows just how important the draft is and how it has a major effect on the organization years down the road.

“If you have bad drafts two out of three, three out of four years, that is going to be reflected in a downturn of the success overall of the organization four or five [years] down the line so the work that our scouts are doing now will play an important role in how we feel about the Red Sox four or five years [after the draft],” he said.

The consistent yields of the Sox’ drafts have helped to avoid those sorts of downturns. To the contrary, they’ve played a huge role in the sustained success of the Sox under Epstein.