Boston Red Sox 2025 MLB Draft Day One Recap: Lots of College Pitchers

Day one of the 2025 MLB Draft is in the books, and it's hard not to coin the Red Sox as early winners of the draft. The draft has become more relevant for Red Sox fans as the organization has become one of the premier organizations in baseball when it comes to identifying and developing home grown talent. They've produced some of the most exciting prospects in baseball over the last couple of years, and the draft is another opportunity to add even more talent to a pipeline that is one of the best in baseball.

They leaned heavily on the college class early today, specifically with pitchers. They had four picks, and opened their draft with the ace out of the University of Oklahoma.

15th overall: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma

The Red Sox arguably got one of the steals of the draft as Kyson Witherspoon fell to them with the 15th overall pick. While the Angels made a big splash, taking Tyler Bremner second overall, Witherspoon is still the consensus top right-handed college pitcher in this class. 

The understanding was that the Sox were targeting a college bat or a prep shortstop at this point in the class, with the expectation that the top arms in the class would likely be off the board. Coming into the season, Witherspoon looked like a lock to land in the first round, but elevated himself into the top ten conversation with a strong start to his junior campaign. When it was all said and done, he posted a 2.56 ERA while striking out 124 batters to just 23 walks in 95 innings across 16 starts.

The intrigue with Witherspoon compared to the rest of the class is the polished arsenal. He throws an upper-90s fastball with excellent traits, two different slider shapes, and has shown feel for both a curveball and a changeup. The Red Sox love cutters and high-spin breaking balls. Witherspoon throws both and the fastball is also good enough to remain as an above-average offering at the next level.

Witherspoon is also an elite athlete, another trait pitching development values with their arms. Take a look at a number of their recent picks at pitchers, and a lot of them move around like they can hold their own as a center fielder. Witherspoon has some of the highest upside as an athlete which allows him to repeat his mechanics with ease and suggests his above-average command may project as plus to elite. 

Witherspoon nearly checks every box as a starter which is exactly what you want from your first round pick in the draft. The less you have to worry about developing at the next level, the less pressure on the player to perform. With that being said, Witherspoon could be one of the fastest movers we’ve seen in the Red Sox farm system. 

33rd overall: Marcus Phillips, RHP, Tennessee

Sticking with right-handed SEC arms, the Red Sox selected Marcus Phillips with their first round competitive balance pick via the Brewers in the Quinn Priester trade. Phillips was one of the wild cards among the top pitchers in this class, but he'll be in good hands as he enters the Red Sox farm system. He was projected to land somewhere in the second round, so it looks like the Red Sox could be cutting a deal with him as the 33rd overall pick. The slot-value for this pick is $2.898 million. 

Phillips had some of the most electric stuff in college baseball this year, but comes with some risk as well. He has grabbed triple digits with his fastball and features a hard slider that sits in the high-80s. He primarily used those two pitches this year and was dominant with them, striking out 98 hitters in 83 innings. He has shown advanced feel for a changeup but didn't use it much at Tennessee. 

The risk comes from the fact that Phillips’s third offering isn’t established yet regardless of the results it has gotten in a small sample size. The command has been fringy at best as well, and you typically want to see average to above-average command from pitchers coming from the college ranks. However, this isn’t the first time the Red Sox are taking a pitcher with control question marks, and it won’t be the last. You’re betting on the stuff here, and the 6’4” 250 pound frame suggests he already has the ability to handle a starter’s workload.  

This pick reminds me of their selections of Brandon Clarke a year ago. Both are big, physical athletes that were primarily two-pitch pitchers at the college level. The difference between Phillips and Clarke is that Phillips had a more proven track record at the college level. Given the early success Clarke has found in the lower levels of the minors, I would imagine the front office has a similar plan for Phillips moving forward. 

75th overall: Henry Godbout, SS, Virginia

With their third pick on day one, the Red Sox selected their first position player. The Sox are no strangers to doing business with the University of Virginia as Kyle Teel, their first round pick in 2023, came from the same program.

Given the depth of the prep position players in this class, it may have come as a surprise that the Red Sox didn't pull from that group with either of their first three picks. This is Craig Breslow's second draft as the Chief Baseball Officer in Boston, and there seems to have been a strategy you can point to in each of the last two drafts. They have targeted high-floor college prospects, and Virginia churns out those types of players year in and year out. Henry Godbout is yet another to add to the list.

An interesting note on this pick is that Godbout played most of his college career at second base and was listed as a second baseman headed into the draft. However, the Red Sox selected him as a shortstop. His production at the plate took a step back in his junior year, as his OPS went from 1.117 to .895, so perhaps player development believes they can unlock something in him defensively to turn him into a glove-first middle infielder as there doesn’t appear to be a lot of remaining upside in the bat. 

With more plate appearances in 2025, Godbout struck out less than he did in 2024, so the hit tool took a step forward while there was a significant drop in his power production, even after adding some size in the offseason. With all of that being said, Godbout could be an interesting development project moving forward as it seems the Red Sox could take a number of different approaches with him upon his entrance into the system. 

87th overall: Anthony Eyanson, RHP, LSU

The scouting department obviously spent a lot of time in the SEC this spring as they selected their third SEC right-hander in just four picks. Eyanson was a draft-eligible sophomore that was projected closer to the top 50, so it will be interesting to see what the signing bonus will be here. I would imagine this ends up being an over-slot deal considering the three picks ahead of him have the makings of an under-slot deal. 

Eyanson is no stranger to the big moment. If you watched the College World Series, you might remember him starting the clinching game for LSU in the final against Coastal Carolina. He appeared in a total of 20 games this year for the Tigers, pitching to the tune of a 3.00 ERA while striking out 152 over 108 innings.

Eyanson’s pitch-mix fits in well with what the Red Sox have done in recent years. He can really spin the ball as his slider stands out with a lot of sweep and depth. Given his feel for spinning the ball, he’s a great candidate for ditching the traditional 4-seam fastball for a cutter. His fastball is heavily reliant on location as the velocity doesn’t stand out and it doesn’t have a particularly outstanding movement profile. You typically need one of those things to hold on to a 4-seam fastball with the Red Sox. A cutter fits in well to an arsenal that features multiple breaking balls with a lot of glove-side movement. 

Eyanson has a decent work load under his belt already, so he could be a pitcher that slots right into High-A as an effective starter after he signs.  

How do you think the Red Sox fared on Day One of the draft? Let us know in the comments!

Check out our 2026 mock draft board, updated regularly, and with detailed player write-ups!