Red Sox select righty Kyson Witherspoon; first pitcher drafted in first round since Tanner Houck; four players total on night one

The Red Sox selected 20-year-old righty Kyson Witherspoon out of Oklahoma with the 15th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

He is the first pitcher taken in the first round since Tanner Houck, whom the team selected back in 2017.

Witherspoon posted a 10-4 record with a 2.65 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 124 strikeouts, and 23 walks in 16 starts (95 innings) this college season. As a junior, Witherspoon was dominant with a 32 percent strikeout rate and a 6 percent walk rate for the Sooners.

“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 Red Sox scouting director Devin 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.”

He never walked more than three batters in any start he made this season. In two years with the Sooners, Witherspoon continued to gain velocity, topping out at 99 mph this season.

The new Sox pitching prospect has a lively arm, with his fastball reaching the mid-to-high 90s. He also offers a five-pitch mix that consists of a cutter, changeup, curveball, and slider.

“With Kyson, it’s big velocity,” Pearson said. “And he’s held it over a lot of innings with some really good breaking pitches,” Pearson said. “Whether it’s his cutter, slider, a lot of upside there to continue to maximize his mix. But a strike thrower with high velo and interesting secondary shapes.”

MLB Pipeline ranks Witherspoon as the No. 10 overall draft prospect.

“Witherspoon has swing-and-miss stuff, starting with a mid-90s fastball that peaks at 99 mph and stands out more for its power than its modest life,” according to his MLB Pipeline scouting report. “His mid-80s slider can touch 91 mph while featuring both horizontal action and depth, and he’ll turn it into an upper-80s cutter that he uses just as often. He’s showing more consistency with his low-80s downer curveball, giving him another plus offering, while his upper-80s changeup is a work in progress that gets too firm but will show interesting fade at times.”

Witherspoon expressed to reporters his belief in his continued development as a pitcher.

“Got five pitches now, which is pretty cool,” he said. “Hopefully I can keep adding some or just make what I have better.”

The Florida native has a twin brother, Malachi Witherspoon, who went to the Tigers at No. 62 overall in the second round.

“I’ve had my built-in catch-play partner,” Witherspoon said during a Zoom call Sunday with reporters. “He’s pushed me. He’s like my second coach. He’s always in my back pocket. And if he sees something not working, he’ll tell me. Same thing with him. He’s my harshest critic. I’m his.”

Witherspoon said he met with the Red Sox at the MLB Draft Combine and that their conversations went well.

“The people that were in the room and the plan they kind of had set out for me—I think it’s a program that’ll fit me really well,” he said.

The new Sox' pitching prospect said that Boston talked about how they have another pitcher similar to him in their system. Witherspoon didn’t recall that hurler’s name, but he’s excited to get to work.

“They’ve shown me ... the plan that they had for a guy similar to me. I forgot his name, but a guy with a similar pitch mix and similar velocity,” Witherspoon said. “And the goals that they had set for him and then the goals that he had set for himself and how they try to align those together. So that was something that was very promising for me, something that I really like about the Red Sox organization. So that’s really what makes me feel like I’m in the right spot.”

RED SOX SELECT MARCUS PHILLIPS WITH COMP PICK

Boston stayed within the SEC and selected hard-throwing right-hander Marcus Phillips out of the University of Tennessee with the 33rd overall pick. The Red Sox acquired that selection from the Brewers after they sent Quinn Priester to Milwaukee. The recommended slot value at the pick is $2,898,300.

The 21-year-old was ranked as the No. 61 overall prospect in the draft. This season, when pitching for the Vols, Phillips recorded a 3.90 ERA while striking out 98 batters in 17 starts (83 innings). The 6-foot-4 and 246-pounder had a 27.7 percent strikeout rate and a 10 percent walk rate.

Baseball America ranked Phillips as the No. 67-ranked prospect heading into the draft.

"He has a power fastball that is consistently in the mid-90s and has been up to 101 mph," BA wrote. "He throws a high-spin fastball with just modest life that has caused it to play a tick down from its velocity, though Phillips made impressive strides improving his command of the pitch in 2025. He pairs his fastball with a hard, 84-88 mph slider that has modest life and great power. It’s a high-spin offering that gets into the 2,700 rpm range and could become a plus breaking pitch with more consistency."

Phillips began his collegiate career at Iowa Western Community College before transferring to Tennessee in 2024. He mostly pitched as a reliever in his first year in Knoxville, winning a College World Series. He has a fastball that tops out in the triple digits.

“Elite athlete, up to 101 (mph) with some really interesting east-west characteristics from a unique slot,” said Pearson. “Both (Witherspoon and Phillips) have done it in the SEC and performed their tail off.”

His best pitch is his fastball, which sits at 96–98 mph and will touch 100 mph. As a sophomore, he pitched out of the bullpen, striking out 22 in 20 innings, and posted a 4.95 ERA.

Phillips’ father, Steve, played minor league baseball in the Yankees system from 1991 to 1995 and later managed in the Expos and Marlins farm systems.

SEC Pitcher of the Year Liam Doyle was the only other Vols pitcher who was more productive on the mound last season than Phillips. Tennessee went 6-4 in the SEC games that Phillips started, winning another game he started in the SEC tournament, and went 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament.

Phillips joins former Tennessee Vols pitcher Garrett Crochet in Boston.

RED SOX DRAFT UVA INFIELDER WITH TIES TO KYLE TEEL

The Red Sox opened the 2025 MLB Draft by selecting two pitchers from the SEC. The Red Sox's third pick, the No. 75 overall selection, was infielder Henry Godbout from the University of Virginia. Boston received this pick as compensation for the Padres signing right-hander Nick Pivetta during the offseason.

While playing for the Cavaliers, Godbout was primarily used as a second baseman, but the Red Sox envision him splitting time between second and shortstop as a professional.

“Really good instincts, really good action,” Pearson said. “They shift a lot at Virginia, but he’s able to cover a lot of ground and has worked both sides of the bag. We’re betting on the athlete here to be able to do both.

“Makes a ton of contact, is super athletic, and fits our development strengths in terms of being able to tap into some more power,” Pearson said.

The 21-year-old was a teammate of former Red Sox first-round pick Kyle Teel in 2023.

“Even in high school, we really liked him (Godbout) in high school,” said Pearson. “We worked him out at Fenway. He played in Vermont for the Lake Monsters, so we saw him there. He was just a guy we always kinda liked, then obviously with Teel, we’ve seen him a lot in college. He trains with Teel. Teel has told him what it’s like here. There’s definitely a Teel connection there, for sure.”

Godbout played high school ball at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and played three years in Charlottesville. In 50 games this spring, he hit .309 with eight homers, 10 doubles, 37 RBI, and an .895 OPS. He also played for Harwich in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Godbout was ranked as the No. 72 prospect overall by MLB Pipeline. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked the Sox’ new prospect No. 57 overall. Both Law and Baseball America think Godbout will be fine defensively at second base. MLB Pipeline is unsure where he plays defensively, while FanGraphs floated the idea of him seeing some time in the outfield. He offers an elite bat-to-ball skill, striking out 70 times to 69 walks as a collegiate athlete.

RED SOX DRAFT THIRD PITCHER AND COLLEGE WORLD SERIES CHAMPION

Boston selected LSU right-hander Anthony Eyanson, with the No. 87 pick overall, their third SEC pitcher and fourth college player on Day 1 of the draft. The slot value of the pick is $907,200. 

The 20-year-old pitched for UC San Diego for two years before he transferred to Baton Rouge ahead of the 2025 season. The California native recorded a 3.00 ERA and struck out 152 batters in 108 innings in 20 games (18 starts). 

Eyanson was a First-Team All-American, per Baseball America, along with Witherspoon.

“Another guy that throws a ton of strikes,” said Pearson. “Has really good secondaries (pitches) and has dominated from a performance standpoint this year.”

Eyanson pitched the final game of the College World Series, going 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while adding nine strikeouts, as LSU swept Coastal Carolina to capture the title. 

“To do it at a school like LSU where it’s a packed house every night, you’ve got to be tough and enjoy that craziness in the moment,” Pearson said. “You have to have players like that if you want to pitch at Fenway Park.”