July 12, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Red Sox select Kaleb LaFavor with 10th-round pick
With their 10th-round pick in the 2026 draft, Boston has selected Kaleb LaFavor, a right-handed pitcher out of Bishop Heelan Catholic High School in Iowa. On the heels of drafting Martin Shelar with their ninth-round pick, the Red Sox appear to be going overslot again in round 10. LaFavor is ranked 465th by Baseball America, but Kiley McDaniel has him rated as the 171st best prospect in the draft. He is committed to the University of Iowa.
On the MLB Draft broadcast, Jim Callis turned heads by noting that LaFavor has parallels to Jacob Misiorowski at the same stage of their prep careers. Both players stand at 6-foot-7 and come from the Midwest. Nobody is projecting LaFavor to throw 105 mph, but he was up to 95 early this spring. Later in the season his velocity did dip to 84-87, and that caused scouts to assume he was headed to join the Hawkeyes in the fall. With Boston taking him at this spot, they must have confidence they can get a deal done.
His 6-foot-7 frame is wiry and there is plenty of projection remaining from him to add strength and velocity. He gets over seven feet of extension on his release, and his main breaking ball is a slider with sweeper action. He also flashes a changeup that has promising metrics. He throws from a low arm slot, and some scouts have concerns about the crossfire in his delivery. It is unclear if the dip in velocity during his senior season was due to fatigue, mechanics, or injury. The 18-year-old's full high school statistics are not readily available, but a local Iowa news outlet (KCAU 9) notes that he was 2-0 with 30 strikeouts and a 0.51 ERA over three games.
Photo Credit: Kaleb LaFavor by MLB.com