Red Sox Select Hard-Throwing Pitcher In First Round Of 2025 MLB Draft

The Boston Red Sox selected right-handed pitcher Kyson Witherspoon with the No. 15 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday.

Witherspoon becomes just the latest high-profile draft pick to enter the organization’s farm system, joining the likes of left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle, outfielder James Tibbs III and left-handed pitcher Brandon Clarke.

It’s expected that he can quickly jump a couple of those names, however.

Witherspoon is a product of Oklahoma, where he finished with a 2.65 ERA and 120 strikeouts across 16 starts in 2024. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked him as the No. 10 overall prospect in the draft in his final ranking, comparing his arm angle to the likes of Dylan Cease and Lucas Giolito. Baseball America ranked him at No. 7.

“I tend to like betting on pitchers with athleticism, a hard-breaking pitch and an upward development trajectory, and Witherspoon fits,” McDaniel wrote on Sunday. “Some scouts think he’s on the verge of making a big jump.”

The Red Sox will make three more picks on Sunday, as they’re currently slated to pick at No. 33, No. 75 and No. 87.

The Washington Nationals selected high school shortstop Eli Willits with the No. 1 overall pick, while the Los Angeles Angels selected UC Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner at No. 2 and the Seattle Mariners took LSU left-hander Kade Anderson at No. 3.