Red Sox Select Hard-Throwing Pitcher In Latest MLB Mock Draft

Tennessee standout pitcher Chase Dollander could be long gone by the time the Boston Red Sox are on the clock at No. 14 overall in next month’s Major League Baseball draft.

But there’s a chance the 21-year-old right-handed pitcher, who is ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the draft by MLB Pipeline, slides to the middle of the first round despite teams being infatuated with his blazing fastball.

That’s the scenario MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo envisioned in his latest mock draft with the Red Sox nabbing a potential ace in the making.

“If Dollander were to get this far, there’s a good chance the Red Sox wouldn’t let him go by,” Mayo wrote. “If he’s gone, or they pass on the arm, there’s talk that they like (Aidan) Miller from the high school hitter bucket and this is the first place Arizona outfielder Chase Davis’ name seriously comes up.”

Mayo having the Red Sox select Dollander is a deviation from many other mock drafts that have chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom sticking with his trend of drafting a high school infielder in the first round.

But if the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Dollander is still on the board when it’s time for the Red Sox to pick, it might be too tempting to pass him up. The 2022 Southeast Conference Pitcher of the Year took a slight step back as a junior, though, posting a 7-6 record with a 4.75 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He also struck out 120 batters in 89 innings.

What entices teams the most about Dollander is his eye-popping pitch repertoire, highlighted by a fastball that can near triple digits.

“Dollander’s devastating arsenal begins with a 95-97 mph fastball that peaks at 99 and produces elite swing-and-miss rates with its combination of velocity and carry,” MLB Pipeline wrote for Dollander’s scouting report. “His best secondary pitch is a tight slider that parks in the mid-80s and reaches 91 mph, and it can be a well-above-average offering with sweep at its best. He also has a bigger mid-70s curveball and a fading upper-80s changeup, both of which can be solid pitches but aren’t as consistent as his primary weapons.”

Dollander will learn his fate with the first round of the MLB draft commences on July 9.

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