Ranking the best selections that the Boston Red Sox have ever made in the history of the MLB amateur draft, which dates back to 1965.
The MLB draft provides teams with the clearest path to finding cost-controlled young talent. Choose wisely and you may end up with a star player who can be the cornerstone of the franchise for a dirt cheap price, by baseball standards, for the first several years of their major league career. The Boston Red Sox have uncovered many gems in the draft throughout their storied history.
The June amateur draft was instituted in 1965, which means some of the most recognizable names in Red Sox history won’t be found on this list. Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski joined the franchise in an era when amateurs could sign with any major league team. They weren’t drafted.
Boston has been home to plenty of star power in recent decades but many of them came here long after they were drafted by other franchises. Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, and Chris Sale were acquired in the prime of their careers via trade. Manny Ramirez signed a lucrative deal as a free agent while David Ortiz was scooped up off the scrap heap before revitalizing his career with the Red Sox.
Those icons all left a significant mark on the history of the franchise but they weren’t drafted by this organization. With the 2019 MLB draft on the horizon, we’re focusing on the best selections the Red Sox have made since the process was introduced.