The Red Sox made a phone call to UNC shortstop Jake Schaffner around the time of the 15th selection in the 2026 MLB Draft. They told him they might pick him at 20th overall.
“When I got the call, I remember my hand was shaking a little bit,” Schaffner said.
The 21-year-old still wasn’t sure if it would really happen though.
“Then I saw my name pop on the draft tracker and I’m like, ‘Holy cow. I’ve gotta go out there and be with my friends and family,’” Schaffner said. “So it was super cool.”
Many around the industry might have had a “holy cow” reaction when they saw the Red Sox draft Schaffner.
Baseball America ranked the 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-handed hitter the draft’s No. 98 overall prospect, meaning the Red Sox picked him 78 slots higher than his projected draft position.
MLB Pipeline ranked Schaffner 75th overall, 55 spots behind where Boston drafted him.
“We prepared for 20 scenarios,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Jake Bruml said. “I won’t say where this scenario was on that list. So we knew what we were getting into. We were very comfortable with it.”
Schaffner batted .356 with a .467 on-base percentage, .552 slugging percentage, 1.019 OPS, six home runs, 19 doubles and eight triples in 68 games (339 plate appearances) this spring at the University of North Carolina. He had 45 walks compared to 32 strikeouts.
“For the record, told the smaller room with senior leadership, like, ‘Hey, when we are going this route, this is going to be viewed as very off the wall,’” Bruml said. “That’s just how the rest of the group sees it. We were very convicted in our evaluation of Jake and what it can provide us through the rest of the draft.”
It has happened before — an MLB team reaches for a lower-ranked player in the first round to save money, then uses those savings to give a later-round pick a bonus above slot value.
The Red Sox themselves did it in 2020 when they selected Nick Yorke with the 17th overall pick after MLB.com ranked him the 139th best prospect entering the draft. The Sox signed Yorke for $2.7 million, well below the recommended $3.6097 million slot value. They then used some of those savings to pay 2020 third-round pick Blaze Jordan a $1.75 million signing bonus, significantly above the recommended $667,900 bonus.
“We had obviously a couple other options that we were considering, but just the combo of talent and what we were able to do later in the draft was what made Schaffner so appealing there,” Bruml said. “But he’s a great talent and deserving of where he went.”
Schaffner is known for being an above-average contact hitter with below-average power. But he hopes to add more power as a professional.
“We were in a spot that, yeah, it’s exciting because we got a player that we love and are excited to join the organization, but have to block out the noise a little bit and make sure we do what’s best for the org,” Bruml said.
Two Tar Heels
Boston then used the 67th overall pick, a Competitive Balance Round B selection, to draft Schaffner’s UNC teammate, outfielder Owen Hull.
“I think even more unique is that they were roommates, too,” Bruml said. “Both of them were transfers in this year to UNC. But it was good. We got to meet with both of those guys at the combine. I’ve spoken to both of them. They told me they’re best friends, so hopefully they can bring some of the magic that they had in that (College) World Series run to Boston in the coming years.”
Hull batted .393 with a .500 on-base percentage, .615 slugging percentage, 1.115 OPS, nine homers, 27 doubles, two triples and 87 RBIs in 69 games (324 plate appearances) for UNC in 2026. He stole 18 bases and drew 48 walks compared to 49 strikeouts.
The Red Sox will look to help Hull hit the ball in the air more frequently.
“That will obviously be one of his primary goals from a development lens,” Bruml said.
‘Both very large individuals’
Hull stands at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds.
Boston then selected another tall hitter in 6-foot-4, 195-pound shortstop Jace Mataczynski with their third-round pick (131st overall).
The 18-year-old is an Auburn commit out of Hudson High in Wisconsin.
“They are both very large individuals that hit the ball really hard,” Bruml said. “And much like Jake is going to, they’re both going to stay in the middle of the field there. So they’re premium athletes with very strong skill sets and chance for significant power outputs.”
Bruml called Mataczynski a “fantastic defender.”
“He is one of the best high school shortstop defenders that I’ve personally seen,” Bruml said. “And I know that our group was comparing him defensively to guys like Billy Carlson, who went obviously in the first round last year, Marcelo (Mayer) from back in the day, who was an incredible defender as an amateur as well. His caliber of defense is up near those guys. And part of it is instincts, and part of it is he’s a fantastic athlete.”
Different approach?
The Red Sox used all three picks on Day 1 to draft position players.
So far, it’s quite the difference from last year when Boston used 15 of its 21 picks on pitchers, including 10 hurlers from the SEC. All 15 stood at 6-foot-2 or taller.
“I think it still remained about the best player available there,” Bruml said. “We had other players on the board. Some of them were pitchers, some of them were other hitters. It was just how everything lined up that led us down this path. And I know maybe that looks weird, having made additional hitter selections on day one, but it wasn’t anything specific that said we are going to target hitters. It was still about drafting the best player available at each given spot.”
