Kevin Steen (3) and Jaylin Henderson (2) are pictured playing basketball for the Oak Ridge Wildcats against Dobyns-Bennett in March 2014. (File photo by Ned Jilton II/Kingsport Times News)

Kevin Steen, a Boston Red Sox pitching prospect from Oak Ridge, was critically injured in a car crash in Florida late Wednesday night, according to the Red Sox and a CBS affiliate in Boston.

Steen was taken to a southwest Florida hospital, identified as Lee Memorial Hospital, in critical condition following the crash.

“The thoughts and prayers of the entire Red Sox organization are with minor league player Kevin Steen, who sustained serious injuries in a car accident in Florida last night,” the Red Sox said in a statement on Thursday morning. “The club will update his condition at the appropriate time.”

News reports said another car veered over a median and struck the SUV that Steen, 20, was driving. CBS Boston said the striking vehicle went airborne before crashing into Steen’s SUV. That striking vehicle caught fire, and the driver died on the scene, CBS Boston said.

The Red Sox selected the right-handed Steen in the ninth round of the 2014 draft. He has pitched 30 games in the minor leagues over the past three seasons, with 26 of them starts. [Read more…]