Red Sox 2025 Draft Review: Kyson Witherspoon's Updated Scouting Profile One Year Later

When it comes to the Boston Red Sox, it feels like every time within the past few drafts, an extremely talented player has fallen to them. First it was Kyle Teel, then it was Braden Montgomery, and in 2025 it was Kyson Witherspoon. The organization has been fortunate to have prospects of this caliber slip to them, and have seen them develop rather well. Watching these prospects play has made a rather tough decade of Red Sox baseball more consumable knowing what the future may look like.

Today, we’ll be looking at the latest of the Red Sox's first-round picks in Kyson Witherspoon and how his early career struggles do not reflect the kind of pitcher he is. Witherspoon is incredibly talented and there’s a reason he is TalkSox’s third ranked prospect.

Kyson Witherspoon’s Updated Red Sox Scouting Report

Witherspoon began his path to professional baseball alongside his twin brother Malachi who was drafted (and did not sign) out of high school. Instead, the twins enrolled and pitched for Northwest Florida State Junior College before they both transferred to Oklahoma for their sophomore and junior seasons. During the summer following his sophomore season, Witherspoon pitched in the Cape Cod League for Chatham before developing into one of the top college arms during his junior season. The right-hander saw an increase in velocity that season while cutting his walk rate. In 16 starts with Oklahoma as a junior he went 10-4 with a 2.65 ERA in 95 innings, striking out 124 batters while walking just 23.

Entering the draft, he was viewed as a top-10 pick due to his season thanks to his young draft age, as he wouldn’t turn 21 until after the draft. Despite that, Witherspoon fell to the Red Sox at 15th.

Entering spring training, Witherspoon measured 6-foot-2 and weighed 205 pound with some growth being possible in his upper body. During spring training, he put on a display during his live bullpen sessions, his fastball hitting high-90s. He would also pitch in the Spring Breakout game where he tossed 1 2/3 innings and allowed one run on three hits and a walk while striking out a pair.

Witherspoon has spent the 2026 season with High-A Greenville where he has had his fair share of ups and downs. April was the hardest month for the right-hander, as he allowed 18 runs, 14 of them earned, across 17 2/3 innings. Batters would hit .304/.410/.449 against him, but the right-hander bounced back in the month of May, holding them to a line of .220/.324/.356. Since his May 31 start, Witherspoon has now gone at least five innings in five of his past seven starts after failing to make it out of the fifth inning in his first eight professional starts.

Overall, on the season, Witherspoon has made 15 starts and tossed 65.2 innings while allowing 37 earned runs, good for a 5.07 ERA. He’s also struck out 69 batters while walking 32.

Mechanics

Witherspoon stands on the first base side of the rubber while throwing from a three-quarters arm slot. Unlike with most Craig Breslow drafted pitchers, he does not have elite or even plus extension, but instead is viewed as being a short strider with an extension of under six feet. However, he does have good deception thanks to his arm action and can repeat his delivery. The release height of the pitch is considered average in relation to other pitchers. He does shoot the ball from his ear which helps in creating the deception of his pitches.

Fastball

The fastball is Witherspoon’s best pitch, averaging 95-97 mph. During spring training, it was sitting around 97-99 mph. His velocity hasn’t dropped too much since then and he’s been able to keep the velocity during his starts without a major drop-off in speed during the latter half of his outings. The pitch has shown the ability to miss bats thanks in part to its velocity and an improved control of the pitch stemming from his junior season. While the Red Sox have yet to tinker with it, due to its pitch shape, it wouldn’t be out of the question for the organization to see if they can adjust it. Especially since Witherspoon naturally tinkers with his grips and shapes.

Potential plus pitch: 60 grade on 20-80 scale

Cutter

The cutter is a pitch Witherspoon uses quite often, throwing it to try and get strikes consistently. It currently sits between 88 and 91 mph and has shown bat-missing ability thanks to a hard but short horizontal break. It can generate chase from opponents. Due to it’s usefulness, the cutter has seen an increase in usage by Witherspoon as it also helps set up his other pitches.

Potential plus pitch: 60 grade on 20-80 scale

Slider

Arguably the one pitch that benefits from his cutter more than any other, his slider averages between 84 and 87 mph. He’s able to land the pitch in the zone if he’s looking to get a strike or bury it down and out of the strike zone if he’s looking to get a batter to chase or generate whiffs. The pitch has shown to flash depth at its best, with two-plane movement that can make a hitter look foolish.

Potential above-average pitch: 55 grade on 20-80 scale

Curveball

Witherspoon’s curveball has an 11-to-5 shape, which in college he would throw in two-strike counts to both left-handed and right-handed hitters. The pitch can be thrown either below the zone to try and generate some chase, or he can land it in the zone when necessary. When paired with his fastball, it can cause batters to freeze up at times. The command of it isn’t the best however, and he will have some misses with it at times. He has a feel for the pitch, though it's certainly not his go-to breaking ball.

Potential above-average pitch: 55 grade on 20-80 scale

Changeup

His least-used pitch and probably the worst out of all of them. Despite that, it has shown potential thanks to the natural pitch tunneling he creates. In college, he played around with the grip of the pitch, tossing it like a four-seam changeup at times and other times like a splitter. Regardless of the grip he uses, the pitch showed little drop. However, since joining the Red Sox, it has shown late drop. Despite it being his weakest pitch, Witherspoon has confidence to use it multiple times in an at-bat against left-handed hitters.

Potential average pitch: 50 grade on 20-80 scale

Outlook with Red Sox

Witherspoon has flashed signs of the potential the Red Sox drafted him for. Despite some growing pains in professional baseball, the right-hander is an incredibly talented arm that should stay in the rotation. Entering 2026, he was predicted to be a fast riser through the system but that hasn’t been the case. As he continues to develop, it’s currently a toss up if he gets to Double-A by the end of the season.

His floor is of a fifth starter thanks in part to his velocity and multiple secondaries that are rated as potentially above average. The ceiling for him is somewhere between a number two and number three starter. Both his changeup and curveball need to be more consistent, and should he develop them, he could have a chance to make his ceiling into that of a legitimate co-ace in the rotation.

2026 Final Prediction

As mentioned, everyone predicted Witherspoon to be a fast riser. That hasn’t been the case in 2026, as he’s taken some time to get accustomed to professional hitters. Now that he’s showing great development and going deeper into outings, a trip to Portland shouldn't be far off. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the organization takes it slow with him and instead decided to keep him in Greenville for the entire season to work on his pitch shapes along with command of his curveball and changeup.

Interested in learning more about the Boston Red Sox's top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!