Red Sox Lock Up Late-Round Draft Steal With $1.5 Million Bonus

The draft strategy made sense by the end...

Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow speaks with the media at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The average signing bonus for a player selected in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball Draft was roughly $200,000 this year. Outfielder Martin Shelar got nearly eight times that amount from the Boston Red Sox.

On Friday, the Red Sox signed the vast majority of their picks from last weekend's draft, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. That included Shelar, who was far from a ninth-round talent. Boston saved up its signing bonus pool money early on, and that approach paid off when Shelar passed up his commitment to Mississippi State.

There's never a guarantee that a prospect drafted in any round pans out. That said, Shelar in the ninth round felt in the moment like it had a chance to be the steal of the draft. Let's analyze the situation from all angles.

How signing bonus compared to Red Sox peers

Jun 20, 2026; Omaha, NE, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels shortstop Jake Schaffner (2) throws to first for an out on a double play against the Oklahoma Sooners during the ninth inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Shelar benefited from major savings on the Red Sox's first-round pick. Boston took North Carolina shortstop Jake Schaffner 20th overall, a pick with a $4.3 million slot value. Clearly, the club knew Schaffner would be willing to take less than that, because he signed for $2 million.

Meanwhile, Shelar's $1.5 million bonus was higher than that of second-round pick Owen Hull, another North Carolina standout. Hull got $1.2 million, which is nothing to scoff at for the 67th overall pick.

Though most publications didn't have Shelar as a first-round talent, he wasn't that far off. In terms of raw talent, the 6-foot-2 Georgia native was the Red Sox's most intriguing pick by a wide margin.

Shelar scouting report

Shelar enters the pro ranks with a well-rounded skill set. MLB Pipeline doesn't rate him above 55 on the 20-to-80 scale in any of the five tools, but he's 45 or above in all five. He's probably got a bit more swing and miss in his game than teams would have wanted to see to make him a first-rounder, but he projects to have easy 25-homer power as he matures.

It should be stated: Shelar hit the most homers of any high school player the MLB Pipeline scouts tracked this spring, with 19 in 33 games.