Red Sox’s First‑Round Choice Gets Low Marks From Draft Experts

On a sunny afternoon at the 2026 MLB Draft, the Boston Red Sox walked away with right‑hander Ethan Morales, a 17‑year‑old from a small Arizona high school. The pick felt, at first glance, like a classic ‘project‑type’ selection – a raw arm with a lot of upside, but also a fair amount of question‑marks.

Almost immediately after the announcement, a chorus of scouting voices began to murmur, and then quite frankly, to shout. Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and even a few independent analysts gave Morales a collective grade hovering around a C‑, which, in draft‑grade parlance, translates to “not exactly a slam dunk.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised they went with him at #21,” wrote one veteran scout on Twitter, “the upside is there, sure, but you’d expect a higher‑grade arm at this slot.” The sentiment was echoed in a more formal write‑up by Baseball America, which called the selection “a gamble that feels more like a reach than a reach‑in‑the‑middle.”

Why the low marks? For starters, Morales’s fastball tops out at a modest 92‑mph, well below the 95‑plus velocity many first‑round arms are throwing these days. His secondary offerings – a changeup and a developing curve – have shown flashes, but consistency is still a distant dream. Add to that his limited exposure against elite competition (mostly state‑level play) and you have a profile that raises eyebrows.

Boston’s scouting department, however, seemed undeterred. In a brief post‑draft interview, the team’s Director of Amateur Scouting, Mike O’Connor, said, “We saw something in Ethan that others might have missed. His work ethic, his feel for the game – those intangibles matter.” He went on to note that the Red Sox have a track record of polishing raw arms into reliable starters, pointing to past successes like Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi. It’s a comforting line, but comfort doesn’t change the fact that the grades from the experts remain stubbornly low.

Some analysts also pointed out a bigger issue: the Red Sox’s overall draft strategy appears to be shifting toward “high‑risk, high‑reward” picks, a move that could either pay off big or leave the organization scrambling for depth in a few years. As one columnist at The Athletic mused, “If you keep reaching for upside, you might end up with a handful of ‘what‑ifs’ instead of a solid farm system.”

Fans, meanwhile, have taken to social media with a mix of skepticism and resigned optimism. A longtime Red Sox supporter wrote, “Well, we’ve seen this before – you know, pick a kid with a nice arm, hope he develops. Fingers crossed, but I’m not holding my breath.” Another fan simply replied, “We’ll see. I’m not crying yet.”

So, what does this mean for Boston moving forward? In the short term, the low grades may not affect Morales’s development path – he’ll likely start in rookie ball and work his way up, learning the ropes the traditional way. In the long run, though, the criticism could serve as a wake‑up call for the front office, pushing them to reevaluate how they balance raw potential with proven talent in future drafts.

For now, Ethan Morales will head to the Red Sox’s minor‑league complex, baseball glove in hand, and try to prove the doubters wrong. Whether he becomes a main‑stay rotation piece or a footnote in draft history is something only time – and a lot of hard work – will tell.