Red Sox Struck Gold; 1st-Round Stud Just Added Secret Weapon

There were 14 Major League Baseball front offices who somehow thought there was a better player on the board in July's draft than Kyson Witherspoon.

For that, the Boston Red Sox may wind up eternally grateful.

Witherspoon, the former University of Oklahoma standout, has yet to throw a professional pitch, as the Red Sox sent him to a rigorous rookie development camp to preserve his arm after the college season. But based on the latest update within his offseason development plan, it sure seems as though the Red Sox found themselves an absolute gem.

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Witherspoon's new sweeper is off the charts

Driveline Baseball posted a video to social media of Witherspoon changing the grip on his slider to create more true sweeper action, at the insistence of pitching coordinator Matthew Kress. The results, frankly, were incredible to behold.

We taught this first-round pick a new pitch in under 30 seconds pic.twitter.com/xNgrSpwpZq
— Driveline Baseball (@DrivelineBB) January 19, 2026

Witherspoon's first two sliders in the clip above had an average of five inches of horizontal break. On the sweeper, the number instantly jumped to 20 inches, which is incredibly rare air, and could represent a breakthrough in the 21-year-old's career.

Pitching development has advanced light-years in the past decade or so, and Driveline has been one of the top drivers of innovation. Data-driven performance, like the ability to recognize a misalignment with the grip on a pitch and the intended break on that pitch with the use of high-tech cameras and pitch-tracking software, has given pitchers a major edge in the modern game.

As Ian Cundall of SoxProspects pointed out on X, no Red Sox farmhand averaged close to 20 inches of horizontal break on a sweeper last season, and in fact, fewer than 10 pitchers in all of Minor League Baseball were at 20 inches or above.

The most exciting thing about Witherspoon's potential breakthrough here is that he already looked like a fast riser in the system. Some have suggested he could start the season at Double-A, while others have wondered aloud if he'll become the second Red Sox pitching prospect in as many seasons to debut in the majors in the same year he threw his first minor-league inning.

One video clip isn't conclusive evidence that a pitch will become elite at the professional level, but Witherspoon's new sweeper looked positively filthy. The hype could hardly be more exciting as the youngster's professional debut approaches.

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