Rick Porcello

His choice of sports agent Scott Boras to advise him may have scared away some teams, knocking him down to the 27th spot even though he was ranked No. 1 among high school prospects entering the draft.

Porcello had been described as an "ace" who could be a "bona fide No. 1 starter."

He was also known as a "special" pitcher.

Porcello was signed by the Detroit Tigers to a $7.28 million, four-year deal with two one-year options.

The total contract is worth $11.1 million, making Porcello the highest-paid high schooler ever.

He became the youngest pitcher to win five starts in a row since Dwight Gooden won seven in a row in 1985, as well as the first Tiger age 20 or younger to win five consecutive starts since at least 1954 (research prior to that year is incomplete).

Frederick Alfred Porcello III (born December 27, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets.

Porcello began drawing comparisons to Boston Red Sox ace Josh Beckett, namely from Tigers official Al Avila, who was the Florida Marlins scouting director when the team drafted Beckett in 1999.

He also received a $3.5 million signing bonus, the second-largest ever given out by the Tigers, surpassed only by the $3.55 million given to 2006 first round pick Andrew Miller.

Selected by the Tigers in the 2007 MLB draft, he made his MLB debut in 2009, and was the youngest player in the American League.

Porcello graduated from Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, New Jersey in 2007.

In his senior season, he compiled a 10–0 record with 103 strikeouts and a 1.44 ERA in 63 innings pitched.

He threw a perfect game on May 12, 2007 against Newark Academy.

Although Porcello signed a letter of intent to attend the University of North Carolina, he later declined in order to pursue his professional career in Major League Baseball.

Porcello was drafted 27th overall in the first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft by the Tigers.

Porcello played the entire 2008 season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.

He earned his first victory against the Tampa Yankees on April 3, 2008.

On May 12, he was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week.

On July 19, he took part in a seven inning combined no-hitter against the St. Lucie Mets.

Porcello finished the season with a record of 8–6 in 125 innings pitched.

His 2.66 ERA was the lowest in the FSL.

His manager, Jim Leyland, chose to start him in the 2009 American League Central tie-breaker game over Nate Robertson, Eddie Bonine, and Armando Galarraga.

On February 7, 2009, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski stated that Porcello would be considered for the final spot in the Tigers rotation, pending his spring training performance.

On April 1, Dombrowski confirmed that Porcello would make the 2009 opening day roster after posting a 2.63 ERA in five Grapefruit League games.

Dombrowski stated:

[Porcello] is one of our best starting pitchers ... He has quality stuff and throws strikes.

Rick is confident and mature beyond his years.

And he has a very, very nasty sinker that gets him out of trouble.

On April 9, Porcello made his Major League debut against Toronto, opposite Blue Jays rookie pitcher Ricky Romero.

The game marked the first time in MLB history that two first-round picks faced each other in their respective debuts.

Porcello pitched five innings and took the loss for Detroit.

He struck out four batters and allowed four runs on eight hits.

On April 19, Porcello earned his first career win in an 8–2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

He allowed one run and struck out three in seven innings with no walks.

He retired the final 14 batters he faced.

Porcello won all five games he started in May.

After the 2014 season, the Tigers traded Porcello to the Red Sox.

He struggled in 2015, but rebounded in 2016, leading the majors in wins and winning the AL Cy Young Award (becoming the first Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martínez to do so) and the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

He won the 2018 World Series with the Boston Red Sox, starting the third game of the series.