The MLB Draft has been kind to the Red Sox over the past five years, producing a bounty of young talent that is finally beginning to pay off at the major league level.
Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell, all early-round picks who subsequently blossomed into top-10 prospects, have made their big league debuts. Several other picks have paid off in other ways, most notably in facilitating this past winter’s Garrett Crochet trade.
This weekend the Red Sox will once again have a chance to replenish their farm system.
The 2025 MLB Draft begins Sunday night, and over the next two days the Red Sox will have a chance to bring as many as 21 new players into the organization.
Who could the Red Sox target? What players are realistically available? When do the Red Sox pick and at what time? Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s draft.
When is the draft?
The 2025 MLB Draft will be held over two days between July 13-14. The first three rounds will take place on Sunday starting at 6 p.m., and rounds 4-20 will take place Monday starting at 11:30 a.m.
Fans can watch day one coverage on MLB Network, MLB.com and ESPN. Day two coverage will be streamed exclusively on MLB.com.
What picks do the Red Sox have?
The Red Sox have four picks inside the top 100, starting with the No. 15 overall pick, and 21 in total. This season marks the fourth time in five years the club will pick inside the top 15, following its previous selections of Marcelo Mayer (No. 4, 2021), Kyle Teel (No. 14, 2023) and Braden Montgomery (No. 12, 2024).
Boston also has the No. 33 pick, a Competitive Balance Round A selection it acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Quinn Priester trade earlier this year, as well as the No. 75 pick and No. 87 pick. The club also has $12,409,300 in bonus pool money available to draw from.
The No. 75 pick is a compensatory pick acquired after Nick Pivetta declined a qualifying offer and signed with the Padres and effectively replaces Boston’s original second-round pick, which the team forfeited after signing Alex Bregman despite his own qualifying offer from the Astros.
Boston’s full list of selections, including round and overall pick, is as follows: 1-15, CBA-33, C2-75, 3-87, 4-118, 5-148, 6-178, 7-208, 8-238, 9-268, 10-298, 11-328, 12-358, 13-388, 14-418, 15-448, 16-478, 17-508, 18-538, 19-568, 20-598.
Who is expected to go No. 1?
Ethan Holliday, the son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday and younger brother of 2022 No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday, is generally regarded as the top prospect available. The Stillwater, Oklahoma native is a hulking presence at 6-foot-4, 195 pounds with a smooth left-handed swing and power to all fields, and if he goes first the Hollidays would become the first brothers to ever be drafted No. 1 overall.
Others likely to be drafted within the first few picks include LSU left-hander Kade Anderson, who led his team to a national championship after striking out 180 batters in 119 innings and winning Most Outstanding Player honors at the College World Series. Right-hander Seth Hernandez of Corona H.S. (California) has been regarded as one of the nation’s best high school pitchers for several years and has already gotten up to 100 mph, and shortstop Eli Willits of Fort Cobb-Broxton H.S. (Oklahoma) is a polished switch hitter who also ranks as one of the youngest prospects in the draft at just 17 years old.
Who are realistic possibilities for Sox?
The No. 15 ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and therefore the chalk pick to go to Boston, is Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston. The 6-foot-3 college junior helped lead the Demon Deacons to a third place finish at the College World Series and is widely regarded as one of the best defensive infielders in the draft. He was also a Cape Cod League All-Star last summer.
Baseball America has a similar but slightly different projection with prep shortstop Steele Hall of Hewitt-Trussville H.S. (Alabama) as its No. 15 prospect. Hall is only 17 years old but boasts elite speed and improved bat speed and power potential. Hall would also continue Boston’s recent emphasis on taking high school infielders with its first pick, following Nick Yorke in 2020, Mayer in 2021 and Mikey Romero in 2022.
Since Craig Breslow took over as Boston’s chief baseball officer the Red Sox have placed a greater emphasis on pitching. If the Red Sox decided to take an arm with its first pick, a couple of prospects who could realistically be available in the mid-teens include Oklahoma righty Kyson Witherspoon, UC Santa Barbara righty Tyler Bremner, Arkansas righty Gage Wood and prep left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft of Portland, Oregon.
Schoolcraft in particular is a fascinating prospect. Standing at 6-foot-8, Schoolcraft is absolutely massive and has a level of extension that makes his already blazing 97 mph fastball play even faster. He also has two-way potential, something the Red Sox haven’t shied away from developing after taking prep star Conrad Cason in the eighth round last year.
While the Red Sox aren’t likely to draft for need given the nature of the MLB Draft, the club is notably thin at catcher right now. If the team were inclined to bolster that position, Auburn’s Ike Irish and North Carolina’s Luke Stevenson would each be attractive options.
Any locals to watch?
MLB.com lists Lawrence Academy right-hander John Paone as its top draft prospect from Massachusetts. Paone, listed at No. 134 overall on MLB’s rankings, is a 6-foot-3 right-hander with a low-to-mid 90s fastball and some intriguing secondary pitches. He will be a name to watch in the round 4-6 range.
Virginia left-hander Evan Blanco, a former Austin Prep great from Woburn, had a disappointing junior season but is still likely to be a mid-round selection. Michigan right-hander Dylan Vigue, from Leominster and The Groton School, should go in a similar range.
Two more with local ties likely to be drafted are Northeastern University’s Cam Maldonado and Aiven Cabral. Maldonado, a Connecticut native, just put together a fantastic season in which he batted .351 with 15 home runs, 59 RBI and a 1.098 OPS while leading the Huskies to a 49-11 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Cabral, a former St. Mary’s of Lynn star, enjoyed a career year this spring in which he posted a 2.92 ERA with 74 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 89.1 innings.
How is last year’s class doing?
Three of Boston’s top five picks in last year’s draft are currently ranked inside Baseball America’s top 100 prospects, though one of those — first-round pick Braden Montgomery — is now with the Chicago White Sox after being included in the Crochet trade.
The two who remain, Payton Tolle and Brandon Clarke, already look like they could be among the most intriguing arms Boston has had in a while.
Tolle, Boston’s second-round pick, is currently ranked No. 49 on Baseball America’s Top 100. A massive left-hander who stands at 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, Tolle has already struck out 101 batters over his first 63.2 innings as a pro while posting a 3.25 ERA in 14 outings split between High-A and Double-A.
Clarke, selected in the fifth-round, ranks No. 73 and has also piled up strikeouts at an impressive rate with 48 through his first 31.1 innings. The 22-year-old lefty started the season at Low-A but was promoted to High-A after only three starts.
In addition to Tolle, fourth-round outfielder Zach Ehrhard has also already reached Double-A, and pitchers Blake Aita and Shea Sprague have joined Clarke in being promoted to High-A.
