List of Boston Red Sox first-round draft picks
The Boston Red Sox are a Major League Baseball Professional [sports league organization#The system developed in baseball|franchise] based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the American League East division. This page lists prospects selected by the team in the first round of the annual Major League Baseball draft.
Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
History
Since the institution of the MLB draft in 1965, the Red Sox have selected 79 players in the first round, through the 2025 [Major League Baseball draft|2025 MLB draft]. Some of the selections have been compensatory or supplementary picks. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the prior off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year.The primary position of each player drafted by the Red Sox in the first round, at the time they were selected, has been as follows:
| Position | Number | Most recent |
| Pitcher | 36 | Kyson Witherspoon |
| Outfielder | 20 | Braden Montgomery |
| Shortstop | 10 | Mikey Romero |
| Catcher | 4 | Kyle Teel |
| First baseman | 4 | Mo Vaughn |
| Second baseman | 3 | Nick Yorke |
| Third baseman | 2 | Triston Casas |
Of the 36 pitchers selected, 12 have been left-handed and 24 have been right-handed.
There have been 13 players selected from high schools or universities in the state of California, while nine came from Texas schools and six came from South Carolina schools. The Red Sox have also drafted two players in the first round from outside the United States: Chris Reitsma from Canada, and Reymond Fuentes from Puerto Rico.
Several of the team's first-round selections have gone on to win notable awards. Nomar Garciaparra won the Major League Baseball [Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year Award] with the Red Sox in 1997. Jim Rice, Roger Clemens, and Mo Vaughn each won a Major League Baseball [Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player Award] with the team. Clemens also won three Cy Young Awards with the Red Sox and another four with other teams for a total of seven, more than any other pitcher in MLB history. Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter, the 17th in Red Sox franchise history, in his second major league start, tying him with Wilson Álvarez for the second-fastest no-hitter by an MLB pitcher. Jim Rice is the only first-round pick of the Red Sox in the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame], having been elected to the Hall during 2009 Baseball [Hall of Fame balloting|2009 balloting].
Seven of the team's first-round selections have gone on to win a World Series with the Red Sox: Trot Nixon was a member of the 2004 championship team; Jacoby Ellsbury was a member of the 2007 team; Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz were members of the 2013 team; and Matt Barnes, Blake Swihart, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Andrew Benintendi were members of the 2018 team.
The Red Sox have never made the first overall [Major League Baseball draft">List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks">first overall [Major League Baseball draft picks|first overall] selection in the draft. The earliest selection the team has had was the third pick; this occurred in 1967, when the team selected Mike Garman, a pitcher who went on to compile a career record of 22–27 while playing for five different MLB teams between 1969 and 1978. The team has signed all but two of their first-round picks across their draft history: Jimmy Hacker did not sign following the 1970 draft, and Greg McMurtry did not sign following the 1986 draft. To date, the only Red Sox first-round draft pick to make his MLB debut the same year that he was drafted was Craig Hansen, in 2005.
Three of the team's first-round selections went on to play in the National Football League rather than in MLB: Noel Jenke, Greg McMurtry, and Corey Jenkins.