Red Sox Sensation Already Getting Compared To Padres Ace

The Boston Red Sox selected Kyson Witherspoon in the first round of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday with the No. 15 overall pick.

Boston's selection of Witherspoon certainly is a different strategy than what the team employed over the last few years. The last time the Red Sox selected a pitcher in the first round of the MLB Draft was in 2017 with Tanner Houck. After the Houck selection, the Red Sox picked high school bats with four straight first-round picks. That shifted in 2023 with Boston selecting Kyle Teel out of the University of Virginia. That triggered back-to-back first-round college bat selections.

Now, the Red Sox are rolling with a first-round pitcher in Witherspoon.

The 20-year-old logged a 2.65 ERA and 124-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 95 innings pitched in 2025 for Oklahoma. This kid has a chance to be good and ESPN already compared him to San Diego Padres righty Dylan Cease.

"Who is Witherspoon? The hard-throwing right-hander began his college career at a Florida junior college before playing two years for the Sooners, going 10-4 with a 2.65 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 95 innings this spring," ESPN said. "He tops out at 99 mph and improved his walk rate from 4.5 per innings as a sophomore to 2.2. He throws both a slider and cutter and flashes a changeup and curveball as well. His twin brother, Malachi, also pitched for the Sooners and is also a prospect, although he projects as a fastball/slider reliever, whereas Kyson has the pitches and delivery to start...

"MLB player comp: Delivery and arsenal are shades of Dylan Cease, but command isn't there yet."

If Witherspoon can end up being like Cease, Boston may have just found its next homegrown ace.