Red Sox draft SS Jake Schaffner with their first-round pick (20th overall)

The Red Sox selected 21-year-old shortstop Jake Schaffner out of the University of North Carolina with their first-round pick (20th overall) in the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday.

“His offensive skillset aligns very well with our player development group,” director of amateur scouting Jake Bruml said in an email. “We’re confident he’ll be able to thrive in our system while playing strong defense at shortstop.”

MLB Pipeline ranked the 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-handed hitter 75th overall. So the Red Sox picked him 55 slots higher than his projected draft position.

Schaffner is known for being an excellent contact hitter with below-average power. His MLB Pipeline scouting report notes: “Schaffner has good feel for the barrel and focuses on lashing line drives from gap to gap. He has a disciplined approach and rarely swings and misses, especially against fastballs. While he won’t be a slugger, he’s hitting the ball harder than ever this spring and could produce 10-12 homers annually with a healthy amount of doubles.”

He transferred to UNC for his junior season after playing at North Dakota State during his first two collegiate seasons. He 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. He was successful on 26 of 29 stolen base attempts. He had 45 walks compared to 32 strikeouts.

MLB Pipeline wrote about his defense, “He’s a rangy and extremely reliable defender at shortstop, though his arm likely will dictate a move to second base in pro ball. He has below-average to fringy pure arm strength that plays as average because he has a knack for running through balls and using his momentum to create carry on his throws.”

Boston has two more picks on Saturday: the 67th overall selection, which is a Competitive Balance Round B selection, and No. 96 overall in the third round.

The Sox acquired the 67th pick from the Brewers on Feb. 9 in a six-player trade. In that deal, Boston sent Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton and Shane Drohan to Milwaukee in exchange for Caleb Durbin, Anthony Seigler and Andruw Monasterio.

Boston does not have a second- or fourth-round draft pick after forfeiting those picks to sign qualified free agent Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million contract in January.

The Red Sox have 19 selections in this draft.