With the 20th pick in the MLB Draft, the Red Sox select … shortstop Jake Schaffner out of UNC
PHILADELPHIA — With their first-round pick, the Red Sox once again defied industry consensus, selecting shortstop Jake Schaffner out of the University of North Carolina with the 20th selection in Saturday’s MLB Draft.
Read more White Sox select UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with No. 1 pick in MLB draft
Schaffner, who transferred from North Dakota State to UNC for his junior year, hit .356/.467/.552 with 6 homers, 33 extra-base hits, and 26 steals in 68 games this season, helping the Tar Heels reach the championship series of the College World Series. The lefthanded hitter showed a tremendous ability to make contact and control the strike zone, with a higher walk rate (13 percent) than strikeout rate (9).
Though his lack of power resulted in later draft projections — MLB Pipeline had him as the No. 75 prospect, while Baseball America had him at No. 98 — the Sox likely focused on his elite contact skills and the idea that they could help him tap into more power given how little time he spent in an elite college program.
In selecting Schaffner, the Red Sox likely will be able to sign him for a bonus below the MLB slot recommendation of $4.37 million, something that can help the team pursue higher-ceiling players as the draft progresses. It’s a strategy the Sox employed in both 2020 when shocking the industry by selecting Nick Yorke in the first round (then taking power hitter Blaze Jordan in the third round) and in 2022 with the first-round selection of Mikey Romero, which helped the team in drafting and signing second-rounder Roman Anthony.
Schaffner is the third college position player taken by the Red Sox with their first pick in the last four years. The team also went that route with Braden Montgomery in 2024 and Kyle Teel in 2023, both of whom got dealt to the White Sox after the 2024 season in exchange for Garrett Crochet.
The No. 20 pick has yielded a number of excellent players, including Hall of Famers Mike Mussina (1990) and CC Sabathia (1998). More recently, the Blue Jays took Trey Yesavage at No. 20 in 2024; within a year, he helped propel Toronto to a pennant.
The Red Sox, however, have not fared as well, picking infielders Kolbrin Vitek (2010, in a draft where the Sox wrestled between selecting Vitek or Christian Yelich) and Eddie Ford (1974) and outfielder Tom Maggard (1968) at that spot. None of the three reached the big leagues.
Roch Cholowsky, a shortstop out of UCLA, was taken first in the draft by the White Sox. The Rays followed by taking high school shortstop Grady Emerson.
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