Did Red Sox Land MLB Draft's Biggest Steal In National Champion Hurler?

The Major League Baseball Draft is all about value, and the Boston Red Sox know that well.

Some of Boston's biggest draft successes came outside the first round. Dustin Pedroia was a second-rounder in 2004. Mookie Betts somehow fell to the fifth in 2011. And Jarren Duran was a seventh-rounder in 2018.

This year, the consensus seems to be that the Red Sox found their biggest steal in the third round. After all, it's not often that you can get the pitcher who earned the win in the clinching game of the College World Series on your team.

Louisiana State University standout Anthony Eyanson fell into the Red Sox's lap with the 87th overall pick, and it's hard to fathom how he was still on the board. The righty not only went 12-2 and earned the win over Coastal Carolina that locked up the national title for the Tigers, but he finished third in the nation with 152 strikeouts.

On Monday, Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster shined light on an anecdote from a Red Sox official that further confirms the notion that the Red Sox made out like bandits.

"Someone I spoke to in the Sox organization said Anthony Eyanson was an option at (the 33rd pick)," Noll wrote on X. "That's how good they think he is."

Not only did the Red Sox pass on Eyanson then, but they also chose shortstop Henry Godbout over him at pick number 75. But the other 29 teams also all passed on him multiple times, so Boston still gets to take credit for the selection.

MLB Pipeline's pre-draft rankings had Eyanson as the 40th-best overall prospect, so the evaluators there certainly agree with the notion that the youngster shouldn't have remained an option for the Red Sox.

Ultimately, one never knows how a young pitcher will take to the professional level. But Eyanson is proven at the highest level of amateur baseball, and he absolutely flourished there. If he's helping the Red Sox in the rotation someday soon, we'll all look back in astonishment at the team's good fortune.