BOSTON – With their bat-heavy approach in the first round of recent Drafts, the Red Sox have built a pipeline of talent that has led to players like Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell impacting the Major League club in short order.
But they changed course on Sunday night, taking fireballing righty Kyson Witherspoon out of Oklahoma with the 15th overall pick in the 2025 Draft. They doubled down with pick No. 33, taking a second college power righty in Tennessee’s Marcus Phillips.
It marked the first time since Tanner Houck in 2017 that the Sox went arm over bat in the first round.
“It wasn’t a topic of conversation,” said Red Sox director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson. “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.”
Some scouts thought Witherspoon would be the first college righty taken in the Draft, but that honor went to Tyler Bremner, who went second overall to the Angels. While Bremner was more of a swingman in college, Witherspoon is a classic starting pitcher.
Witherspoon is known to bring the heat, with a fastball that tops out at 99 mph and sits in the mid-90s.
MLB Pipeline ranked the 20-year-old Witherspoon as the No. 10 prospect in this year’s Draft, showing that the Red Sox got good value with where they selected him.
Witherspoon wasn’t surprised the Red Sox were the team that called his name.
“I think our conversation during the Combine was really good. I liked the people that were in the room [for the Red Sox], and the plan they kind of had set out for me,” Witherspoon said. “I think it’s a program that will fit me really well.”
Witherspoon ranked sixth in Division I with 124 strikeouts, and he did so in 95 innings, fewer than all five pitchers ahead of him in K’s. He pitched a seven-inning shutout against Vanderbilt on April 12 in front of a record crowd in Norman, Okla.
Since the arrival of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow in the fall of 2023, the Red Sox have revamped their pitching program from the farm system on up in hopes of getting better results from that department.
The addition of Witherspoon, along with a solid crop of pitchers the Sox drafted a year ago, should help that quest.
“Kyson is a guy we valued highly entering the Draft, and we believe he is one of the top college arms in the class,” said Pearson. “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.”
Kyson’s twin brother Malachi, his teammate at Oklahoma and also a right-handed pitcher, went to the Tigers with the 62nd pick.
“He’s meant everything to me,” Kyson said of his twin. “It’s been my whole life. I’ve had my built-in catch play partner, he’s the one that’s pushing me. He’s like my second coach.”
In Kyson Witherspoon, the Red Sox got a pitcher whose numbers improved across the board in his second and final season for Oklahoma, most notably an ERA that dropped from 3.71 to 2.65 while his walks decreased from 40 to 23 in 15 more innings.
During his high school career at Duncan U. Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach, Fla., Witherspoon was better known as a standout shortstop. But he has quickly taken to pitching.
Witherspoon’s compact arm action makes him a tough at-bat, as does a diversified mix that includes five pitches.
“The arm thing was never something I really intentionally tried to do,” said Witherspoon. “Coming from a shortstop background from high school, I think just the shorter arm path was pretty comfortable for me already. Last year, I started doing a set plyo ball routine. And I started going from there. My delivery got a lot more repeatable, and now I have five pitches, which is pretty cool. And I’m hoping to keep at it to make what I have better.”
The 6-2, 206-pound righty pitched at a Florida junior college prior to transferring to Oklahoma.
Here is a look at the other picks the Red Sox made on Day 1 of the Draft.
Marcus Phillips, RHP, CB-A round (Pick No. 33 overall)
- Bats/throws: R/R
- School: Tennessee
- Calling Card: A fastball that tops out at 101 with a low release and strong extension.
- Quote: “I’ve always been a baller,” Phillips told the Daily Beacon in June. “I like to play. I like to be around the game. I’ve been around it my whole life. So always being around the field and wanting to progress in my abilities, that’s telling for how sharp my game could possibly be.”
Henry Godbout, SS/2B, second round compensation (Pick No. 75 overall)
- Bats/throws: R/R
- School: Virginia
- Calling Card: Bat-to-ball skills and high baseball IQ
- Quote: “A guy that makes a ton of contact, super athletic, I think he fits our development strengths in terms of being able to tap into some more power,” said Pearson.
Anthony Eyanson, RHP, third round (Pick No. 87 overall)
- Bats/throws: R/R
- School: LSU
- Calling Card: Pitchability, competitive fire
- Quote: “I think to do it at a school like LSU, where there’s a packed house every night, you’ve got to be tough and enjoy that craziness in the moment. I think that you have to have players like that if you want [them to have success] at Fenway Park,” said Pearson.
