Craig Breslow talks Draft, trade deadline
ATLANTA - The familiar refrain of teams suggesting they never expected the player they selected in the MLB Draft to be there when their pick rolled around can be exhausting.
You never hear a club reacting to its choice as someone who was expected to go much deeper in the Draft, or even exactly where the player ultimately landed. This tradition was once again on full display in Sunday's MLB Draft.
There were plenty of opportunities for some "look at what we did" vibes throughout the first round, thanks in large part to the surprise Top 2 selections by Washington and the Angels, respectively. The No. 1 pick, high school shortstop Eli Willits, was ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, while the player picked immediately by LA, college pitcher Tyler Bremner, was ranked as No. 18 before the big day.
Count the Red Sox as one of the teams who had the privilege to join the "I don't know how we got him" club with their pick of hard-throwing righty pitcher Kyson Witherspoon.
It's a club the Sox have now been a card-carrying member of for the past three years.
In 2023, Virginia catcher Kyle Teel was that guy who dropped into the Red Sox's lap at No. 14 overall. It turns out, the Sox had every right to celebrate with Teel already proving his value at the major league level with the White Sox after just 188 minor league games. If one were to re-rank that Draft, a case could be made that Teel would be a top 7 or 8 selection.
Last year it was outfielder Braden Montgomery who slid to No. 12 overall. Was it because his introduction to the professional baseball world was done while wheeling himself around due to a broken ankle? Or did teams simply not believe in Montgomery for other reasons? No matter. The Red Sox got a guy who was supposed to go in the Top 10 and ultimately would represent one of the two centerpieces in a trade for Garrett Crochet.
Now it's Witherspoon.
MLB Pipeline had ranked the Oklahoma ace as the No. 10 prospect and the best college right-handed pitching option entering the Draft. (It was the first time the Red Sox took a pitcher with their first overall pick since 2017, when they grabbed Tanner Houck.)
The Red Sox knew there was a good chance they were going to break off from their history of picking position players in the first round, with the first three-quarters of the Draft dominated by hurlers and shortstops. And while the Sox never seem shy in recent years to go load up on middle infielders, the likes of Witherspoon were deemed a perfect fit for the path Craig Breslow and Co. want to venture down.
"I think just with this class, it was pitcher-heavy, and we thought there was a good chance [we would take a pitcher first]. Then it turned out to be the case," said Red Sox director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson, who went on to take another hard-throwing college pitcher, Tennessee's Marcus Phillips, at No. 33 overall.
Witherspoon already owns somewhat of a unique existence thanks to his twin brother, Malachi, a pitcher who the Tigers took with the 62nd overall pick.
But it is the Sox first-rounder's skill set that should offer the most intrigue. With a compact delivery born from his days as a standout shortstop, Witherspoon already possesses five pitches, with his high-90s heater getting the most attention. His curveball and slider, however, aren't that far behind.
"Kyson is a guy we valued highly entering the draft, and we believe he is one of the top college arms in the class," Pearson stated. "We think he fits in nicely with our development strengths and has the right makeup to pitch at Fenway Park. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to Red Sox Nation."
After Phillips, the Red Sox went back to the position player pool by grabbing Virginia infielder Henry Godbout.
Their last pick of the night was at No. 87 overall, LSU pitcher Anthony Eyanson.