How Red Sox Got ‘Steal Of The Draft’ With 2024 First-Round Pick

For the third time in four years, it appears the draft board fell in favor of the Red Sox in the first round.

Boston couldn’t pass up the opportunity to select power-hitting freak athlete Braden Montgomery with the No. 12 pick in the first round of Sunday night’s MLB draft. The Texas A&M stud was a projected top-10 pick, with some experts wondering whether he’d go as high as No. 2 to Cincinnati.

Instead, Montgomery had to wait until the Sox called his name with the 12th pick, and longtime MLB prospect analyst Keith Law believes Boston could be the big winner in the end.

“The Red Sox might have just gotten the steal of the draft so far, getting the fourth-ranked player on my board at pick 12,” Law wrote for The Athletic on Sunday night. “Montgomery was a first-round talent out of high school, went to Stanford as a two-way player, then transferred to Texas A&M and played right field exclusively before a broken ankle ended his season in June.”

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As Law noted, Montgomery’s power is tantalizing, but he’ll have to work on his swing to make a little more contact. Law, though, also slapped a 70-grade on Montgomery’s throwing arm (on the 20-to-80 scouting scale), and he believes the outfielder should “be at least a 55 defender” in right field, “assuming the ankle heals fully.”

Another draft expert, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, had Montgomery at No. 9 in his draft rankings, but he’s still clearly very high on the 21-year-old, too.

“This is a switch-hitter who was also a two-way player in 2023, and Montgomery’s performance is even more exciting in that context,” he wrote. “Above-average plate discipline and a swing geared to get his power will help Montgomery overcome what are likely to be elevated strikeout totals.

“He has the ceiling of a power-hitting right-field cleanup hitter.”

If Montgomery does realize that ceiling, it will be another major draft win for the Red Sox. One of Boston’s top prospects, Marcelo Mayer, fell into the club’s lap at No. 4 in 2021 despite being projected as the top pick in a lot of mock drafts. Kyle Teel, who many see as the organization’s catcher of the future, also dropped in the 2023 draft where the Red Sox grabbed him with the No. 14 pick.