MLB Writer Gives Surprising Pick For Best Homegrown Talent On Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox continually developed position players throughout a century where they have four World Series championships.

Somehow, the best player the organization has drafted of late is a pitcher.

“The Red Sox have acquired a lot of outside talent and developed more of their own through the international market — Xander Bogaerts was signed in 2009 — but their top Draftee is (Tanner) Houck, who leads the team in saves,” MLB.com’s Will Leitch wrote Friday.

For the purpose of this exercise, the player had to be drafted by the Red Sox and still on the major league club. Boston does a great job in the international market, with Rafael Devers and Bogaerts headlining an impressive core. But, for the sake of this list, only drafted players are included. Houck was Boston’s first-round pick in 2017 at No. 24 overall.

Houck has been a versatile weapon for the Red Sox, that point can be emphasized on this season’s performance alone. The young hurler has four starts and 22 relief appearances to combine for a 3.21 ERA in 53 1/3 innings. Red Sox manager Alex Cora made Houck the closer in June, and he’s since converted six of seven save opportunities.

In his lone blown save, he was able to get out of a jam to preserve a tie and then shut down the heart of the New York Yankees order with a ghost runner on second the following inning. Houck ended up securing the win in enemy territory.

The right-hander is not a star by any means, but he’s been a solid contributor with plenty of upside in his new role.