BOSTON -- A first-time All-Star, Tanner Houck arrived in Arlington this week as a representative not only of the 2024 Red Sox, but as an example of the club’s most recent MLB Draft success story on the pitching front.

Since they selected Houck with the 24th overall pick in 2017, the Red Sox had not taken a pitcher higher than No. 99 in the Draft. That is until this year, when they did it -- twice.

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After selecting TCU left-hander Payton Tolle with the 50th pick in the second round on Sunday night, the Red Sox rolled right into Day 2 of the Draft by taking Florida right-hander Brandon Neely at No. 86.

Day 2 roundup:
Round 3, Pick 86: Brandon Neely, RHP, Florida
Round 4, Pick 115: Zach Ehrhard, OF, Oklahoma State
Round 5, Pick 148: Brandon Clarke, LHP, State College of Florida
Round 6, Pick 177: Blake Aita, RHP, Kennesaw State
Round 7, Pick 207: Will Turner, OF, University of South Alabama
Round 8, Pick 237: Conrad Casan, TWP, Greater Atlanta Christian HS
Round 9, Pick 267: Hudson White, C, Arkansas
Round 10, Pick 297: Devin Futrell, LHP, Vanderbilt

Highlighted by former first-rounders Marcelo Mayer (2021) and Kyle Teel (‘23), and second-rounder Roman Anthony (‘22), Boston’s farm system is rich in talent, but notably sparse on the pitching side.

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Of the three pitching prospects in the Red Sox’s Top 10, none were drafted by the club. Wikelman Gonzalez (No. 5) and Luis Perales (No. 9) were both signed as international free agents, while Richard Fitts (No. 10) arrived in the December trade that sent Alex Verdugo to the Yankees.

Though there’s no guarantee that any or all of the players selected on Day 1 on Sunday or Day 2 on Monday end up signing with or panning out for the Red Sox, their selections represented a departure from recent Draft strategy for Boston.

“We certainly learned some things this year on how we could better value pitchers,” Red Sox amateur scouting director Devin Pearson said in a Zoom call with reporters on Sunday night. “We still went with the best player available, who turned out to be a pitcher. But as I’ve said before, we’re continuing to try and figure out ways to improve our process and with [chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s] help and [director of pitching Justin Willard’s] help, we just feel more comfortable with what type of pitchers we can develop in our system.”

What exactly constitutes that type of pitcher? Look no further than Tolle, who Pearson described as fitting the mold.

The right-hander spent two seasons at Wichita State as a two-way player before transferring to TCU this year where he won Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year honors. Tolle notched 125 strikeouts over 81 1/3 innings this season, throwing a shutout with 15 punchouts against Oklahoma State on March 22.

Pearson said the Red Sox don’t plan on using Tolle as a two-way player, and instead will focus on his above-average extension, fastball movement and five-pitch mix to develop the right-hander exclusively as a pitcher.

“Can’t say enough good things about Payton. As a pitcher he’s really, really talented,” Pearson said. “And he’s got some elite traits that we’re ready to work with, but even more so as a person. I think getting to interact with him at the Combine, [he] just felt like somebody that could come into our organization and make our training environments improve, and work his tail off to be the best version of himself.”

The second day of the Draft presented the Red Sox with the chance to stockpile more pitchers who fit the mold the organization is after.

Neely worked as both a reliever and starter with Florida, but Pearson said the club will develop him as a starter. The right-hander, who Pearson described as a “bulldog,” has a fastball that sits around 93 mph, but can touch 97, along with a slider and changeup and a curve he doesn’t typically use.

“I think the bulk that he carried there in Florida, despite being in and out of the starting role -- and even when he was in the ‘pen -- he threw multiple innings a week and pounded strikes, and he has a lot of different pitch shapes,” Pearson said. “There's just a ton of stuff for our group to work with, and a lot of things that we really like about the player and the competitor we've known for a long time."

In Clarke, the Red Sox get a big lefty who started his collegiate career at Alabama before transferring to State College of Florida to get more playing time. Clarke’s pitch mix consists of a fastball that sits around 94 mph, an upper-70s curve and an upper-80s changeup.

The third and final day of the Draft takes place on Tuesday, with Rounds 11-20 set to begin at 2 p.m. ET.