A clear theme emerged for the Red Sox as they navigated the 20 rounds of this year’s draft: college pitching, college pitching and more college pitching.
Thirteen of Boston’s 20 picks in this year’s draft were pitchers from the collegiate ranks, including second-round lefty Payton Tolle (TCU), third-round righty Brandon Neely (Florida), fifth-round lefty Brandon Clarke (State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota), sixth-round righty Blake Aita (Kennesaw State) and 10th-round lefty Devin Futrell (Vanderbilt). On the final day of the draft Wednesday, the Sox drafted six straight college pitchers to start the day and made eight of 10 picks in that category.
