Gavin Fien Projected To Red Sox in MLB Pipeline's Mock Draft

[Billy Mock]

MLB Draft season is quickly approaching. With college conference tournaments on the horizon and state high school playoffs in progress, it's only a matter of time before big league front offices will have their draft boards put together. Although draft season is just now heating up, there has been plenty of movement in this year's class dating back to last summer. MLB Pipeline just released their first mock draft of 2025, and they have an exciting young high school bat going to the Red Sox with the 15th overall pick in the first round.

Gavin Fien is an 18-year-old senior out of Great Oak High School and has widely been regarded as one of the top prep bats in this year's draft class. The Red Sox are pretty familiar with drafting position players in the first round. They haven't taken a pitcher with their first pick since they selected Tanner Houck 24th overall in the 2017 draft. Four of the seven position players selected in the first round since then have come from the high school ranks, all of which have looked like solid picks in hindsight. Triston Casas has found the most success from that group, but Marcelo Mayer has recently looked like he could be the Red Sox's biggest first-round success story in coming years. Acknowledging that, it makes all the sense in the world that the Sox could go with Fien here if he is available.

However, that is a big "if." Fien's name has rarely been floated around in the top end of this class, but there are some evaluators who believe he is the best prep hitter this year. The prep class is loaded unlike any class in recent years, specifically at the shortstop position, so there's really five or six players that have the potential to fall first among the demographic. If Fien is available at No. 15, it's likely that top prep hitters such as Ethan Holliday, Eli Willits, and Billy Carlson have been selected. With that being said, getting Fien here could be a steal. 

The Texas commit possesses raw power that rivals Ethan Holliday for the best power in the prep class. On top of that, he pairs it with a fairly polished hit tool that should help him to unlock more power as he grows into his 6'2" frame. He has been more known as a line drive hitter to this point in his career, but has the potential to see some serious in-game power as he learns to lift the ball more and optimizes his pitch selection. Fien was one of the top hitters on the summer circuit against top competition last year, which is where he started to gain some steam as a potential first rounder in this year's class. 

As he continues to mature physically, it's believed he'll move from shortstop over to third base where his plus arm will pair well with the offensive profile as a third baseman. He could also end up at a corner outfield spot, so there is some defensive risk, but he's a good enough athlete that he'll project as an average defender at either third or in the outfield. 

If Fien is available at 15th overall, it feels like a slam dunk pick. However, the Red Sox have opted for college bats in each of the last two drafts (Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery). A few college guys that fit what the Sox have looked for in first round picks that could be available are Marek Houston, Gavin Kilen, Luke Stevenson, and Wehiwa Aloy. We don't know the exact process for the Red Sox this year, but their recent track record of success does tell us that we can expect their first-round selection to be an impact player at some point down the road.

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[moonslav59]

Picking 15th should land us a decent draftee. Here are some other mock draft selections at #15:

C Luke Stevenson (NC) Bleacher Report

SS Kayson Cunningham (TX) USA Today

SS Eli Willits (HS) Mydraft.com

SS Dean Curley (TN) Perfect Game

OF Brendon Summerhill (AZ) NY Times

These are the first 5 in my search- all different.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

The age-old question is whether to pick your top need or best athlete.  Boston is set with Bregman, Story/Mayer, Campbell, Anthony, Duran and Rafaela (he's going to improve his offense).  That leaves 1B where Casas may not be the answer and Catcher.  Best catchers in the draft should be available at 15 and maybe Luke Stevenson from North Carolina or Ike Irish from Auburn make sense to restart the clock on having a long-term solution at Catcher.  If not, then I'm guessing a HS SS or a power left-handed starter will be the number 15 pick in the draft by the Red Sox.

[Hugh2]

These guys won’t be on your team for 3-5 years in most cases.  Team needs will be completely different at that point.   You draft best player available, and that rings more true in baseball than any other sport.

[Hugh2]

Also, this year more than any I’ve seen in a while there’s almost no consensus at the top of the draft.  Literally a guy who might go 8th could go 1.

someone the Sox like and have ranked top 10 is going to fall to them at 15.  There are a lot of high school short stops ranked 8-14.  Of course they might not be the top guy on the Sox board when their pick comes around but I can just hear the complaining now.

[Hugh2]

22 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Picking 15th should land us a decent draftee. Here are some other mock draft selections at #15:

C Luke Stevenson (NC) Bleacher Report

SS Kayson Cunningham (TX) USA Today

SS Eli Willits (HS) Mydraft.com

SS Dean Curley (TN) Perfect Game

OF Brendon Summerhill (AZ) NY Times

These are the first 5 in my search- all different.

I think there’s a good chance Luke Stevenson is there at 33