The future looks bright for the Boston Red Sox, but starting pitching remains the biggest question mark.

Garrett Crochet is locked in as the ace, but the rest of the rotation is full of question marks. Is Lucas Giolito still going to be on the team in 2026? Will Brayan Bello ever become a true number-two? And who will fill the last couple of spots left behind by the (likely) departures of Dustin May and Walker Buehler?

Fortunately, the prospect pipeline is suddenly chock-full of talent. And while there are some fast-risers in the farm system like Payton Tolle and Brandon Clarke stealing the headlines, a righty who has yet to debut in the minors might just wind up the best of the bunch.

May 21, 2025; Hoover, AL, USA; Oklahoma pitcher Kyson Witherspoon (26) pitches against Georgia in the second round of the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Met. / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Red Sox chose Oklahoma’s Kyson Witherspoon with the 15th overall pick in the July amateur draft, and it was something of a no-brainer. Expected to go somewhere in the back half of the top 10, Witherspoon fell into the Red Sox’s lap, and they needed arms more than bats anyway.

Witherspoon, who pitched to a 2.65 ERA and struck out 124 batters, sixth in the nation this year, won’t make his organizational debut until next season. But his head coach and Oklahoma, Skip Johnson, told the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier that he believes it won’t be long until Witherspoon is in Boston.

“I think he’s a No. 1, 2, or 3 (starter) in the big leagues. I really believe that,” Johnson told Speier. “I think he’ll get there fast.”

For comparison, at this time a year ago, the Red Sox’s second-round pick, TCU’s Payton Tolle, also hadn’t thrown a pitch in the minors yet. Now, he’s earned two promotions and is on the doorstep of the majors at Triple-A, having made his debut there earlier this week.

It may be unjust to put the expectation on Witherspoon to climb two or three levels in a year. But no one expects more from the righty than he does of himself — and he knows he has a chance to make the teams that passed on him pay.

“I’m just ready to get to work,” said Witherspoon, per Speier. “The guys that passed on me, their reasoning doesn’t really matter to me. I’m a Boston Red Sox now. I’m going to work for (them), and then let’s see what (the others) missed.”