Red Sox select 3 college pitchers with first 4 picks on Day 1 of MLB Draft

New York Times

14-07-2025

For the second year in a row, pitching remained a focus for the Boston Red Sox on Day 1 of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, as three of their first four picks were pitchers.
In each of the past seven years, the Red Sox took position players with their top overall picks. Not since Tanner Houck in 2017 had the team selected a first-round pitcher, but it bucked that trend by taking right-hander Kyson Witherspoon out of the University of Oklahoma at No. 15 on Sunday night.
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The pitcher-heavy approach on the first day of the draft mimicked Boston's draft last year, when it took pitchers with 14 of its 20 picks, as the Red Sox continue to build out their pitching infrastructure at the minor-league level.
'I think we're being intentional in terms of having the pitchers (available that) we really like in better spots,' director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson said Sunday night.
'We're well aware of what has been said,' he added, regarding the team's dearth of pitchers at the top of the draft in recent years. 'I think the best college pitchers go at the top of the board, and we were lucky to access one this year. It's more of just a result of where we've been picking, I think, over the last however many years.'
In addition to Witherspoon, the Red Sox took Tennessee right-hander Marcus Phillips at No. 33, a Competitive Balance Round pick acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Quinn Priester trade earlier this season. With their third pick, compensation for the departure of Nick Pivetta in free agency, the Red Sox shifted back to a position player with University of Virginia shortstop Henry Godbout. But with their third-round pick Sunday, Boston continued to bolster pitching with Louisiana State University right-hander Anthony Eyanson.
Witherspoon, 20, was considered one of the top college arms in this year's draft and was ranked the No. 9 prospect by The Athletic's Keith Law. Featuring a five-pitch mix and an upper-90s fastball, Witherspoon has been pegged as a potential No. 2 starter.
'With Kyson, it's big velocity, and he's held it over a lot of innings with some really good breaking pitches. Whether it's his cutter, slider, a lot of upside there to continue to maximize his mix,' Pearson said. 'A strike-thrower with high velo and interesting secondary shapes.'
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A shortstop in high school, Witherspoon went undrafted, unlike his twin brother, Malachi, who was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 but did not sign. The brothers spent a year at Northwest Florida State College, where Kyson converted to a full-time pitcher before they transferred to Oklahoma and entered the Sooners' rotation.
In 2024, Witherspoon posted a 3.71 ERA over 17 games with 11 starts, 40 walks and 90 strikeouts in 80 innings, but he cut those numbers dramatically in his junior season at Oklahoma while working with legendary head coach Skip Johnson. He finished with a 2.65 ERA with 124 strikeouts and 23 walks over 95 innings (accounting for a 32 percent strikeout rate and 6 percent walk rate).
He'd been on Boston's radar for a while and was impressed with its presentation at the MLB Draft Combine this spring.
'I think our conversation during the combine was really good,' Witherspoon said via video call after he was drafted. 'I liked the people that were in the room, the plan they kind of had set out for me. I think it's a program that will fit me really well.'
Witherspoon noted how a regimented plyometric ball routine to build arm strength the summer before his junior season — a time when he also pitched briefly in the Cape Cod Baseball League for Chatham, making two starts — was key to his success.
'Doing that routine over and over, it kind of made (my delivery) what it is today and wasn't something I really thought of,' he said. 'My delivery got a lot more repeatable. Got five pitches now, which is pretty cool. Hopefully I can keep adding some or just make what I have better.'
Malachi was drafted in the second round by the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
With their second pick, the Red Sox stuck with college pitchers. Phillips, similar to Witherspoon, was a two-way player in high school before transitioning to a pitcher in college. At 6 feet 4, Phillips is a physical presence who can hit 100 mph with his fastball. That physicality and velocity were two things the Red Sox prioritized in last year's draft as well.
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Drafting athletic pitchers who have played in the field wasn't necessarily a priority but something Pearson said the Red Sox think will benefit the pitchers in the long run.
'I think it's an added bonus,' Pearson said. 'You see that athleticism translate into their deliveries. I think that's really where the payoff is, and they're able to get into unique positions, which allows them to be really good.'
In 17 starts at Tennessee, Phillips posted a 3.90 ERA with 98 strikeouts and 34 walks in 83 innings. This past season was his first year as a starter, and though erratic at times with a 10.5 percent walk rate, the Red Sox saw too much potential in him to pass.
'An elite athlete up to 101 mph with some really interesting east-to-west characteristics (on his pitches) from a unique (arm) slot,' Pearson said.
Law, who ranked Phillips the No. 98 prospect in the draft, noted Phillips' potential to be a mid-rotation starter if he can develop a pitch to get lefties out.
Boston's third pitcher selection on the day, Eyanson, pitched two seasons at the University of California San Diego before transferring to powerhouse program LSU for his junior year. The right-hander posted a 3.00 ERA in 20 games, including 18 starts, with 152 strikeouts and 36 walks in 108 innings, good for a 34 percent strikeout rate and 8 percent walk rate.
Law ranked Eyanson as his No. 38 draft prospect, noting his back-end starter potential with mid-rotation upside. Eyanson's slider is his best pitch.
'A guy that throws a ton of strikes, has really good secondaries and has dominated from a performance standpoint this year,' Pearson said.
The only position player taken on the first day was Godbout, a middle infielder whom the Red Sox have had their eye on for quite some time, dating back to high school.
Having played at Virginia, Pearson noted the Red Sox also saw a lot of Godbout while scouting catcher Kyle Teel, their first-round pick in 2023.
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'Even in high school, we really liked (Godbout),' Pearson said. 'In high school, we worked him out at Fenway. He played (summer ball) in Vermont for the Lake Monsters. So we saw him there, too. He was just a guy we've always kind of liked. And then, obviously, with Teel, we'd seen him a lot in college. He trains with Teel. Teel has told him what it's like here (in Boston). So, there definitely is a Teel connection there, for sure.'
Godbout, Law's No. 57 draft prospect, hit .309 with an .895 OPS, 10 doubles and eight homers in 50 games this season for Virginia.
'Godbout is a guy that makes a ton of contact, super athletic,' Pearson said. 'I think he fits our development strengths in terms of being able to tap into some more power.'
The draft will finish Tuesday with Rounds 4 through 20, and if Day 2 is anything like Day 1, pitching will be the main focus.
(Photo of Kyson Witherspoon: Gary Cosby Jr. / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)