The Red Sox have selected Clemson left-hander Ryan Ammons with their 10th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft at No. 298 overall.
Ammons, 22, opened the 2023 campaign as the Tigers’ Friday night starter but suffered a left forearm strain in his second start and was sidelined for nearly two months as a result.
Upon returning to action in late April, Ammons was used strictly out of Clemson’s bullpen. The lefty closed out his redshirt junior season by posting a 5.40 ERA with seven strikeouts to five walks over 10 innings of relief in which he racked up five saves.
Ammons’ experience as a reliever goes beyond what he did this spring. After appearing in a total of nine games across his first two seasons at Clemson, the South Carolina native got into 25 games for the Tigers last year and pitched to a 4.61 ERA with 40 strikeouts to 14 walks in 27 1/3 innings. He also converted eight save opportunities.
Listed at 6-foot and 205 pounds, Ammons operates with a fastball that reaches 94 mph as well as a solid breaking ball, per SoxProspects.com’s Ian Cundall. It remains to be seen if the Red Sox view the southpaw as a starter or reliever moving forward.
Regardless, Ammons is the sixth pitcher drafted by Boston within the club’s first 12 picks. The 298th overall pick in this year’s draft comes with a recommended slot value of $167,900.
That concludes Day 2 of the draft. The third and final day, which consists of rounds 11-20 begins at 2 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday afternoon. The Red Sox have 10 more picks (Nos. 328, 358, 388, 418, 488, 478, 508, 538, 568, and 598) to make.
(Picture of Ryan Ammons: Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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