The Boston Red Sox had opened Day 2 of the 2026 MLB Draft with a big one. With the 156th overall pick in the fifth round, they selected right-hander Lucas Davenport out of Baylor University.
Standing at 6'6", 230 lbs, he also fits the mold of what the Red Sox look for, with his size and his velocity. As a redshirt junior, he struck out 69 batters while walking only 16 batters as Baylor's Friday-night starter.
Lucas Davenport took the long road to get here
But before earning the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors and Big-12 Pitcher of the Week in May, Davenport redshirted his freshman year at Texas A&M. Davenport, who was a Texas native, rooted for the Rangers and had a lifelong dream of pitching for the Aggies.
""That was tough because I grew up wanting to go to A&M and then I wasn’t able to play. Still very impactful on my career as I was able to learn a lot about myself and baseball.""Lucas Davenport
He did learn a lot, and he went on to get all the playing time in the world in Juco ball at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas. Not only did he reach that ceiling, but he burst right through it. He had 19 appearances, 16 starts, and 15 of them were over five innings pitched. He dominated in that endeavor, going 10-2, striking out 86 batters, and walking only 23. He had a 3.75 ERA in 103 1/3 innings total pitched.
He led the Blinn Buccaneers to the 2024 NJCAA National Championship, while also being awarded the tournament's Most Outstanding Pitcher and Region 14 All-Conference Team Honors.
Afterwards, he pitched two seasons at Baylor, where he recorded a 5.45 ERA in 29 appearances (13 starts), and struck out 103 batters while walking only 28.
His maturity progressed as a person and as a ballplayer, especially when he talked about focusing on what he can fully control.
""The thing that has been most helpful for me is to only focus on things I can control. I used to worry about things on the baseball field that I couldn’t control, and so shifting to focusing on what I can control has helped me a lot.""Lucas Davenport
Red Sox fans should be excited about Lucas Davenport's talent
He has a deep arsenal of pitches. He has a four-seamer, a two-seamer, a cutter, a slider, and a changeup. The four-seamer and his changeup are the comfort ones that he relies on. He reaches 97 mph and uses his big frame to get the huge extension.
Overall, baseball was a childhood dream for him, and it's been a long road to get here. He has more than earned this spot, and the Red Sox will be happy to have him.
""Feels incredible. It’s been my dream ever since I was a kid, and so now that it’s reality is awesome. Incredible moment I got to experience.""Lucas Davenport
Davenport, as the Red Sox's fifth-round pick, is a sneaky one. He'll be looked at and have some of his pitches refined, along with improving control, but that's the case with most of the pitchers they draft. For right now, Davenport is just focusing on the now, and that's being a part of the Red Sox organization.
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