Road less traveled: Red Sox RHP prospect Blum capping unlikely first pro season in the desert

MESA, Ariz. -- No two paths to the Arizona Fall League are the same. But it’s difficult to chart a more improbable one than what Harry Blum undertook this year.

Before standing on the mound in a Red Sox uniform under the Arizona sun in October, Blum was standing inside of a grocery store at work in February. Yet his roller-coaster ride to the desert started long before 2026.

The COVID pandemic had long-lasting effects on college baseball. Players received an additional year of eligibility, which wound up working in the favor of Blum, then a hurler at Division III Luther College, a liberal arts school in Decorah, Iowa.

The Minnesota native's thinking was, sure, why not go back for one last run with his teammates for a fifth season in 2024? After setting the program’s single-season strikeout record (82 in 73 1/3 innings), he got a corporate job in downtown St. Paul and figured that was that. But he paired his desire to get a master’s degree with the fact that -- at 6-feet-7 -- maybe he could keep pitching at the same time.

Luther head coach Bryan Nikkel knew Tim Huber, the head coach at Augustana University, a Division II program in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Blum shot Huber a text, an exchange that changed his life. He posted a 4.72 ERA with a modest 9.1 K/9 in 2025 for the Vikings, not exactly popping on pro radars.

“It's not like you send a bunch of area scouts to go watch a 23-year-old righty throwing 91-94 [mph],” Blum laughed.

In the background of all this, Blum’s parents moved to Arizona, a precursor of things to come. Blum completed his MBA but the competition had gotten back into his blood. He moved to Arizona himself and kept throwing whenever a pro day or showcase came up while making ends meet.

“I would go to the facility from like 8 a.m. to 1:30, get home by about 2, shower, change, eat a protein shake, then go work at our local Safeway from 3-10," Blum said. "And that was my last offseason.”

He turned things up a notch when his velo jumped significantly in January.

Super Bowl weekend. That Friday, Blum was at work when his strength coach started sending him texts from big league organizations expressing varying levels of interest. He had a choice to make: go off to indy ball and try to sign after a few outings or make the jump straight to pro ball.

By the time he closed his eyes that night, Blum had verbally agreed to sign with the Red Sox. But there was one problem: he still had shifts at the grocery store. Before watching the big game, he clocked into work.

“I get a text and it’s like, ‘Hey, when do you want to come out to Fort Myers for Spring Training?’” Blum said. “I go to my boss, 'Hey, we're talking about me leaving tomorrow, early.' I left there, packed up my life within like two or three days and I was in Fort Myers.”

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Blum spent most of his first full season in pro ball pitching for Single-A Salem as a multi-inning reliever. He walked 61 batters in 66 innings and compiled an unwieldy 6.41 ERA, but also struck out 76 over that span and held opposing hitters to a .225 average. After adding a cutter the last three weeks of the season, he now has an intriguing mix: 94-96 mph fastball, 88-91 mph cutter and a low-to-mid-80s changeup and slider.

Blum has put that arsenal to good use across his first six AFL outings. Wednesday's appearance was his most impressive yet. He struck out 2026 first-rounder Zion Rose (KC No. 6), Welbyn Francisca (CLE No. 19) -- the circuit’s leader in multiple offensive categories -- and Aidan Miller (PHI No. 2/MLB No. 59) on three different offerings.

Despite his meteoric rise, Blum has been able to keep things in perspective:

“Honestly, just go pitch. I mean, we play a kids' game at the end of the day. I just try to remember that, especially going through ups and downs. Don't ride the waves because it's really easy to as a pitcher. Just enjoy it, have a blast with it.”