The Red Sox aren't supposed to be writing seven-figure checks in the 10th round. That's slot-value territory, the part of the draft where teams save money to spend on someone else. Instead, Boston blew past the $194,000 slot number for pick 304 and handed Kaleb LaFavor $847,500 to walk away from his Iowa commitment and turn pro.
Jim Callis broke the signing news and laid out why scouts are buzzing about LaFavor's frame and delivery.
10th-rder Kaleb LaFavor signs w/@RedSox for $847,500 (slot 304 value = $194k). Iowa prep RHP, 6-foot-7 w/low arm slot & big extension, some parallels to a young Misiorowski w/build & delivery (not saying he will throw 105 mph!) Up to 95, good sweep on low-80s slider. @MLBDraft
LaFavor is a Bishop Heelan High School product out of Sioux City, standing 6-foot-7 with a low arm slot that generates massive extension down the mound. Prep Baseball Report has him sitting 91-94 mph and touching 95, pairing the heater with a low-80s slider that shows sharp sweep, plus a developing changeup. That length-plus-angle combo is exactly why his name keeps getting mentioned next to Milwaukee Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski, even if Callis was quick to slap a disclaimer on it: nobody's promising 105 mph out of a high schooler.
The bigger story here is what the bonus says about Boston's draft strategy. Teams don't hand out 4x slot value to a 10th-rounder unless they think they're stealing a first-round arm that fell for signability reasons. LaFavor reportedly went 3-1 with a 0.79 ERA and 40 strikeouts against just 4 hits allowed as a senior, numbers that come with the obvious small-sample-size caveat of Iowa high school ball, but the underlying tools are what pushed teams to take the swing.
Projectable 6-foot-7 righties with room to add strength don't grow on trees, and scouts already see a frontline-starter ceiling if he can smooth out his crossfire and repeat his delivery. That's the trade-off with an arm like this: the extension and low slot that make his fastball tough to pick up are the same traits that make some evaluators nervous about long-term control. Boston clearly decided the upside was worth the buyout money, pulling him away from a Big Ten commitment before he ever threw a college pitch.
For a Red Sox system that's leaned on pitching development in recent drafts, LaFavor is a pure lottery ticket, the kind of pick nobody fully evaluates for another 3 or 4 years. But paying nearly $850,000 for a 10th-rounder is Boston's way of saying they think the ticket is worth cashing.