Red Sox draft grades for Braden Montgomery

Experts’ draft grades for Red Sox pick: The Red Sox selected outfielder Braden Montgomery out of Texas A&M with the 12th overall pick in the MLB Draft on Sunday.

Montgomery, 21, is seen as a multi-talented prospect with enormous potential. He was initially viewed as a potential No. 1 overall pick, but fell possibly due to a broken ankle he sustained at the end of the college season.

Still, projecting Montgomery as a long-term addition left many MLB experts impressed with what Boston ended up with.

“The Red Sox may have just gotten the steal of the draft so far, getting the fourth-ranked player on my board at pick 12,” wrote Keith Law, MLB senior writer for The Athletic.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report gave the pick an A+ grade.

“I had Montgomery going No. 4 overall in my final mock draft, and he looked like a lock to go somewhere in the Top 10, so this is a great get for the Red Sox,” Reuter explained. “Expect him to crush low-minor pitching and quickly climb top prospect lists.”

Edward Sutelan of The Sporting News concurred, giving the pick an A grading.

“The switch-hitting outfielder is all about the power: rocket arm, explosive bat,” wrote Sutelan. “A former pitcher, Montgomery’s arm now is a major asset for him defensively. He’s also showed improved plate discipline that allowed him to reach his considerable power in 2024. Assuming the medicals aren’t a problem, he could be a middle-of-the-order batter with an advanced hit tool and 25-plus-homer power.”

And in the context of the larger Red Sox effort to emphasize the development of younger players, Montgomery could eventually become a centerpiece.

“He’ll have to make enough contact as a pro and he’s recovering from that broken ankle,” noted ESPN’s Dave Schoenfield, “but with a nice group of young players in the majors — plus some highly-rated prospects in their farm system — the Red Sox could be developing an impressive lineup of position players to build into a consistent winner.”

Trivia: Who is the most recent Red Sox first-round pick to hit at least 20 home runs in a season for the team at the Major League level?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: He did so last season.

Scores and schedules:

The Red Sox defeated the Royals 5-4 on Sunday, with Jarren Duran totaling four hits and Brayan Bello picking up the win after allowing three runs over 6.1 innings.

Major League Baseball now pauses for several days with the All-Star break. The All-Star Game itself takes place on Tuesday at 8 p.m.

More from Boston.com:

The winning goal: Mikel Oyarzabal scored the late winner in Spain’s 2-1 victory over England in the European Championship final on Sunday.

How is this even possible? Angels reliever Ben Joyce touched 104.5 on the radar gun, the fastest pitch of 2024 to this point.

On this day: In 1988, the Red Sox completed a doubleheader sweep of the Royals. In the first game, Roger Clemens struck out 16 for the second straight start in a 3-1 Boston win.

Daily highlight: The Orioles staged a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Yankees on Sunday.

Trivia answer: Triston Casas