What the Boston Red Sox are doing with some of their college arms is what organizations dream of. Since taking over, Craig Breslow and the Sox have picked some high ceiling arms, made a few tweaks and additions and have created some of baseball's best young arms.
When Baseball America released its most recent staff draft this past week, they sent Tennessee right-hander Tegan Kuhns to Boston. The rationale was direct: excellent fastball shape and velocity, plus control, a healthy mix of offspeed pitches, and room to add more strength to a projectable 6-foot-3 frame.
It's hard to argue with the fit. And if the board breaks differently on draft day, Ole Miss right-hander Taylor Rabe, one of the biggest risers in the class over the final stretch of the SEC season, has also drawn Boston's name in several projections at the back of the first round.
Start with the full picture of his sophomore season at Tennessee, because it's the kind of stat line that gets fans excited. Kuhns finished 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA, 106 strikeouts and 16 walks across 81 innings — a 106-to-16 K-BB ratio doesn't happen by accident. He was named second team All-SEC and he had a legendary performance where he struck out 15 batters in seven shutout innings against Texas in a game that circulated into every draft conversation around the country.
What makes Kuhns interesting goes beyond what you see on the field. He arrived at Tennessee sitting 88-90 mph out of high school in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania — a well-regarded recruit who went undrafted in 2024 despite a top-60 national ranking, then went to Knoxville and got to work. He added 36 pounds to his frame, developed his pitch mix, and came back this spring throwing 94-98 mph with a slider Baseball Prospect Journal called his best secondary, sitting 85-88, and a split-changeup that is a work in progress His curveball eclipses 3,000 rpm at its best and works as his primary off-speed weapon.
Tennessee pitcher Tegan Kuhns is a buy-low option that aligns with Red Sox's recent pitching priorities
Kiley McDaniel at ESPN noted Kuhns draws comparisons to George Kirby in the way he operates: strike-throwing, multi-pitch, repeating his delivery with above-average control for his age. From a pitcher's-eye view, there's also a Bronson Arroyo quality to the way he moves on the mound — deliberate, rhythmic, a big leg kick that generates deception and extension — but with significantly more electric stuff than that comparison might suggest.
Payton Tolle flew through three minor league levels in his first professional season and struck out the first five Yankees he faced in his 2026 Fenway debut — including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Anthony Eyanson was just named to the MLB Futures Game, after the Red Sox added a splitter to his arsenal in spring training and watched him touch 100 mph for the first time. One was a second-round pick, the other a third. Both arrived and got better immediately. That's not luck — that's a development system doing exactly what it's supposed to.
The Tennessee thread runs through this, too. The Red Sox made Marcus Philips their first-round pick last year at No. 33 overall, and while he has a tough start to his pro career this season, the Red Sox clearly like what they saw. Also, Liam Doyle (164 strikeouts at Tennessee in 2025, SEC Pitcher of the Year, first-overall buzz before going fifth to the Cardinals) is one of the latest high-profile, decorated Tennessee arms to be drafted, and Kuhns has the chance to be the next.
If the Red Sox draft Kuhns and apply the same individual attention they've clearly given their recent arms, you're looking at a pitcher who already has a 100+ strikeout SEC season and a 15-K performance against a Texas lineup full of future big leaguers. The foundation is already there, and Boston's recent track record says they know exactly what to do with it.
While Kuhns is an enticing option, there is another SEC arm that baseball America thinks could be on the board when Boston picks: Taylor Rabe. Rabe started this season out of the bullpen, but quickly became a weekend arm, quietly developing behind rotation-mate Cade Townsend while scouts debated which of the two they preferred.
Then, the final stretch of the SEC season happened. Over his last three starts, Rabe posted a 30-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 19 innings. Bleacher Report named him the biggest riser in the entire class, and their rationale was simple: he might have the best fastball in the draft. Baseball America's Staff Draft 4.0 echoed the sentiment, noting he "endeared himself to teams in the first round with a strong performance in the SEC" and carries "a good combination of power and strikes across his pitch mix."
The stuff is legitimate. He's a 6-foot-5, 200-pound right-hander who touches 100 mph, works a mid-80s cutter and slider, and owns a 60-grade control profile that most power arms his age don't come close to. The catch? He already has had Tommy John surgery, which introduces natural injury concerns and has almost certainly cost him draft position relative to where pure talent would place him.
That's exactly what makes him interesting for a team with a sophisticated medical staff and a development system that has shown it can unlock an arsenal quickly. If the Red Sox get comfortable with what they see in his medical workup, Rabe is the kind of buy-low arm with a 100 mph fastball and elite command who can move fast. BA Staff Draft 4.0 sends Kuhns to Boston, but if Rabe falls into the 20-22 range on Saturday, don't be surprised if the Red Sox are very much in play. Either way, Red Sox fans should be excited.
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