Red Sox Scouts Surprised Braden Montgomery Dropped In Draft

Premier talents don’t always drop in the MLB draft, but for the Boston Red Sox, they got lucky at No. 12.

The Red Sox selected Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery with their first-round pick in the 2024 draft after he was expected to go much higher. The 21-year-old was ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect on MLB.com.

Many MLB experts believed that if it was not for Montgomery’s ankle fracture, he would have been projected to go higher in the draft. Bleacher Report’s Joel Rueter had him going at No. 4, leaving many fans to believe that Boston got the steal of the draft.

With how highly rated the switch hitter was in the draft, Red Sox scouts could not believe it when he dropped out of the top 10. South Texas area scout Lee Bryant is familiar with Montgomery’s game and once the Detroit Tigers selected a high school shortstop at No. 11, Bryant was thrilled.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, we just, we just got Montgomery!’ We all yelled. It was quite loud for a good minute in the house,” Bryant told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I don’t think (the 3 1/2-year-old) knew why he was yelling, but he knew mom and dad were pumped.”

Montgomery believes the Red Sox organization fits him perfectly, and so does the Boston staff.

“We see a really athletic, switch-hitting outfielder with the ability to drive the ball out of the ballpark from both sides,” amateur scouting director Devin Pearson told Speier. “(He makes) elite swing decisions and (is) just a guy that really fits our development philosophies and chance to continue to develop.”

It may be a while until Montgomery plays for the Red Sox in MLB, but it seems he’ll be a prospect to keep an eye on in the future.