Red Sox select Josh Volmerding with eighth-round pick

With the 244th overall pick in the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Red Sox selected Josh Volmerding, a left-handed pitcher out of California Polytechnic State University. He is unranked by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.

Volmerding is the fourth consecutive college pitcher and third consecutive southpaw taken by Boston. The 21-year-old lefty spent three seasons at Cal Poly and is coming off a junior campaign in which he posted a 6.51 ERA with 31 strikeouts to 10 walks across 10 appearances (8 starts) spanning 27 2/3 innings for the Mustangs. It is worth noting that he was sidelined for nearly seven weeks (March 15-May 2) due to a knee injury.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Volmerding has reached 95 mph on his fastball and also flashes an average breaking ball. The slot value for the 244th overall pick in this year's draft is $227,200.

Photo Credit: Josh Volmerding from gopoly.com

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