Since Craig Breslow took over as chief baseball officer, the Red Sox have made improving the organization’s pitching depth a priority.

Sunday night, the Red Sox took another step forward in realizing that goal by landing one of the top arms in this year’s draft class.

The Red Sox selected Oklahoma right-hander Kyson Witherspoon with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Witherspoon is the first pitcher taken by the Red Sox in the first round since Tanner Houck in 2017, and the highest drafted pitcher by the franchise since Jay Groome went No. 12 in 2016.

Standing at 6-foot-2, 206 pounds, the 20-year-old righty immediately slots in as among the top young arms in the Red Sox system.

Based on pre-draft rankings, the Red Sox got a coup in landing Witherspoon.

Witherspoon ranked as the No. 7 prospect in Baseball America’s rankings and was No. 10 on MLB Pipeline’s list. He was the consensus top college right-hander available and enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past two seasons after transferring from Northwest Florida State Junior College to Oklahoma.

“Witherspoon uses a compact arm action to generate quality stuff with little effort. His athleticism and mechanics have translated into improved control and command this spring, and better location has made it easier for him to get hitters to chase outside of the strike zone,” reads his MLB Pipeline scouting report. “He has all of the ingredients to become a frontline starter.”

This is a developing story, check back for further updates.