Red Sox's Martin Shelar Has the Type of Power Boston Fans Will Love

The Boston Red Sox are right back in the thick of the American League playoff race with the All-Star break now here.

Boston took care of business over the last two weeks and is riding a nine-game winning streak right now after sweeping the New York Mets over the weekend. Overall, the Red Sox have won 14 of their last 16 games and are now 46-48 on the season, just a half-game out of a playoff spot. Over the course of a season, there are plenty of highs and lows. While this is the case, these last two weeks have been high enough points that when the story of the 2026 season is told when the campaign ends, this will be a defining moment.

On top of the hot streak, the weekend was important for another reason: the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft. Boston kicked off the draft by selecting infielder Jake Schaffner out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was a bit of a surprising pick. MLB.com had Schaffner ranked as the No. 75 overall prospect, but the Red Sox clearly liked him. On the flip side, arguably the club's most intriguing selection of the 2026 MLB Draft was high school outfielder Martin Shelar, who was selected in the ninth round out of Marist School (GA).

What A Few Weeks For Boston

Mar 2, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hats and gloves during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Shelar was ranked as the No. 175 overall prospect in the draft class and Boston got him at No. 274. That's good value right there for a young slugger with immense upside. He's listed at 6'2'' and 205 pounds at just 18 years old. In 2026, Shelar crushed 19 homers in 33 games played. He has good speed as well as his pop. Both were 55-graded heading into the draft.

On top of this, he hit a ball 115.5 miles per hour on Day 1 of the MLB Combine. All of this is to say, this kid has some serious power potential.

The Red Sox select Martin Shelar in the ninth round of the MLB Draft.

The 5-star prep outfielder had a 115.5 mph max exit velocity on Day 1 of the MLB Combine.

Shelar hit over .500 with 19 homers last year.

Full report: https://t.co/fdPfxUxxWe pic.twitter.com/n2shzBfwLQ
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) July 12, 2026

At just 18 years old, it's certainly going to be a while before fans could even think about seeing him up in the majors, but he has the type of power potential the Red Sox need from the right side of the plate.

It's certainly been a good few weeks for the Red Sox, to say the least. Boston got itself right back into the playoff race and now has some more intriguing prospects for fans to get to know.

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