The 2024 MLB Draft was the first one overseen by Craig Breslow following his hiring as the Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox. Under Breslow, the Red Sox turned their attention to pitchers who had a combination of height, extension and a fastball with lots of upward mobility. They also looked at athletic positional players with the potential to have an impact bat while playing multiple positions. Quite a few of the top prospects drafted by the Red Sox in 2024 are no longer with the organization due to trades, but the ones who remained have begun to show promise.
Here is a look at how the top selections performed in their first full professional season 2025.
OF Braden Montgomery (Round 1, Pick 12)
Montgomery never got to play a single game in the Red Sox organization after falling to them due to a fractured ankle he suffered in June. That didn’t keep his stock from falling too much, as the corner outfielder who had plus-plus raw power was traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of the package for Garrett Crochet. The 22-year-old proved to be past his ankle injury this year, as he played in 121 games across three levels and finished the season with a slash line of .270/.360/.444, good for an .804 OPS. He also hit 32 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs and drove in 68 RBIs. Defensively, he mostly split time between center field and right field when he wasn’t the designated hitter and finished the season with just three errors in 177 defensive chances while also recording eight assists.
P Payton Tolle (Round 2, Pick 50)
Everyone around here knows of what Tolle did this year. Christened as “The Piglet” for his size and fastball while following in the steps of Crochet (“The War Pig”), Tolle was absolutely impressive in 2025 as he not only skipped Single-A but pitched across four levels He made appearances in High-A, Double-A, Triple-A and in the majors with Boston. His time in the minors showcased why the Red Sox think so highly of him thanks to 133 strikeouts in just 91 2/3 innings, but his time with Boston proved that he still has some work to do. Tolle’s fastball is already great, but the need to develop secondary pitches is clear based on how he pitched at the major-league level. In 16 1/3 innings, Tolle surrendered 11 earned runs on 18 hits, including five home runs and eight walks, good for a 6.06 ERA. Despite that, he still struck out 19 batters, and his upside is as tantalizing as any pitcher in baseball.
P Brandon Neely (Round 3, Pick 86)
Neely missed the entire 2025 campaign due to forearm stiffness and made his professional debut in the Arizona Fall League. Much like most pitchers in the AFL (which is a very hitter-friendly league), Neely had good and bad appearances as he appeared in five games and made one start. In total, he tossed 10 innings and allowed 12 earned runs on 16 hits, one being a home run, and eight walks. He also struck out 11 during that span and flashed the potential that made him a third-round pick a few times. With a healthy 2026, Neely should be able to rise through the system quickly, especially if the team develops him as a bullpen arm while featuring his fastball-slider combination.
OF Zach Ehrhard (Round 4, Pick 115)
Ehrhard started the 2025 season off extremely hot, hitting .342/.471/.459 with High-A Greenville across his first 31 games. As one of the hottest hitters in the Red Sox organization at the time, Ehrhard was promoted to Double-A Portland where he began to cool off. Appearing in 58 games, Ehrhard would only slash .227/.305/.412 and would eventually be moved in a trade that now looks like a massive overpay by the Red Sox for pitcher Dustin May. Packaged with James Tibbs III, the two outfielders were shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where Ehrhard would finish the season at Double-A Tulsa and appear in 34 games. In that time, he would go on to hit .282/.391/.466, looking more like the hitter he was to begin the season. Showcasing a mix of power and contact, Ehrhard proved why the Red Sox were interested in him for years — they also drafted (and failed to sign) him in the 13th round in 2021.
P Brandon Clarke (Round 5, Pick 148)
Another prospect from the 2024 draft that was traded, Clarke had an up-and-down season in the Red Sox’s organization. Opening the season with Salem, Clarke looked like a potential steal as a fifth-round pick as he tossed 9 2/3 innings and allowed just one run on two hits while striking out 17. Armed with a fastball that could hit triple digits, it seemed like between Clarke and Tolle, the 2024 draft class had the potential to deliver two exciting pitchers. However, things went south for Clarke upon joining Greenville where minor injuries, stamina concerns and being wild on the mound led some to wonder if he was soon meant for the bullpen. In 11 starts with the Drive, Clarke would toss 28 1/3 innings while allowing 16 earned runs on 15 hits and a staggering 25 walks, not to mention 11 hit by pitches and 12 wild pitches. While he also struck out 43, he was no longer the hyped-up prospect that had made his way into Top 100 lists back in May. He would eventually be one of two pitchers (the other being Richard Fitts) sent to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a trade that brought Sonny Gray back to Boston.
P Blake Aita (Round 6, Pick 177)
Aita did not pitch an inning in 2024 after getting drafted, as is standard for the majority of pitching prospects drafted by Boston the last few years. Instead, he made his debut with Single-A Salem in 2025, where, after 10 appearances, he was promoted to Greenville. With the Drive, Aita impressed, making 13 appearances, 10 of them starts going 3-4 with a 3.78 ERA across 64 1/3 innings. He also struck out 54 batters and walked 21. For the entire season, he appeared in 23 games and went 5-7 with a 3.98 ERA across 115 1/3 innings. He would go on to strike out 99 batters and walk 30. Aita has three pitchesL his fastball, sweeper and changeup. After sitting 89-92 mph in college, he has gotten his fastball to now sit 92-95 mph while his secondary stuff is ahead of his fastball thanks to his advanced feel for spin. His sweeper at times can get over 3200 RPMs and has shown bat-missing ability. During his time with Greenville, he only had two appearances where he allowed more than three earned runs, and he had six starts where he allowed two or fewer earned runs. Aita is an intriguing prospect whose future between the rotation and bullpen will be determined based on how his fastball develops.
OF Will Turner (Round 7, Pick 207)
Turner has had a rough start to his professional career which carried over from his final season in college. In that campaign with South Alabama, Turner saw his numbers drop to a batting line of .218/.409/.421 with 13 doubles and nine home runs along with 24 RBIs. In his first 23 games with Greenville at the end of the 2024 season, he struggled, hitting .081/.250/.122. The struggles continued as he opened the 2025 season on the injured list due to a broken hamate bone. Upon returning, Turner played 52 games between Greenville and the team’s Florida Complex squad, hitting just .156/.360/.265 with four doubles, four home runs and 20 RBIs. Despite that, he has a solid approach at the plate and rarely chases. Should he return to his pre-2024 form (prior to his tweaks in college to try and hit for more power), Turner could yield a lot of upside at the plate. His mechanics are already getting tweaked, and the hope is he can be more of the hitter he was in 2023 that made him a top-100 draft prospect and a Cape Cod League All-Star. Defensively, he split time between all three outfield positions and only made two errors (one in center field and one in right field). Currently, he profiles as an average defender and moves well in the outfield.
P/SS Conrad Cason (Round 8, Pick 237)
Cason was a high-risk, high-reward pick in 2024 as the team managed to get him to forego his Mississippi State commitment. While other teams wanted him to pitch exclusively, the Red Sox had interest in him as a two-way player. Unfortunately, Cason did not play much in 2025 as he made two appearances, one on the mound and the other as the designated hitter, before dealing with arm fatigue that became elbow soreness and eventually forced him to undergo Tommy John surgery on August 14. In his lone appearance on the mound, Cason tossed two innings, walked a batter and struck out five. Offensively. he went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Cason has been rehabbing since then and appears to be on track for spring training, though there is no timetable for when he will get back into game action. (For more information about Cason, check out our exclusive interview with the prospect from October).
The 2024 draft class has shown a mix of ups and downs for the Red Sox, with some players emerging as stars and others stalling in their development. Several players may be gone, but in being traded, they helped bring in quality major league talent. The verdict may be out on most of these players, but such is the case in baseball drafts. The early returns appear positive, and for that, the Red Sox should be patting themselves on the back.