Ball graduated from
New Castle High School in
New Castle, Indiana, where he played for the school's baseball team as a
pitcher and
outfielder. In his senior year, Ball led his team to the North Central Conference championship and won the Gatorade Indiana Baseball Player of the Year Award. Ball committed to attend the
University of Texas at Austin, where he would play
college baseball for the
Texas Longhorns baseball team. The
Boston Red Sox selected Ball in the first round, with the seventh overall selection, in the
2013 MLB draft. He signed with the Red Sox, receiving a $2.75 million
signing bonus, and spent 2013 with the
Gulf Coast Red Sox of the
rookie-level Gulf Coast League, where he had an 0–1
win–loss record with a 6.43 ERA in seven
innings pitched. In 2014, he played for the
Greenville Drive of the
Single–A South Atlantic League where he pitched to a 5–10 record and 4.68 ERA in 22 starts, and in 2015, he pitched for the
Salem Red Sox of the
High–A Carolina League, where he compiled a 9–13 record, 4.73 ERA, and 1.46 WHIP in 25 starts. Ball spent 2016 back with Salem where he was 8–6 with a 3.84 ERA in 23 games started and 2017 with the
Portland Sea Dogs of the
Double–A Eastern League, where he collected a 7–12 record and 5.27 ERA in 25 games (24 starts). In 2018, Ball returned to Portland as a
relief pitcher. He continued to struggle, pitching to a 7.58 ERA in innings. In 2019, Ball planned to become a
two-way player, as both a pitcher and an
outfielder. During the season, he appeared in five Gulf Coast League games, batting 2-for-14 (.143); he did not pitch in any games. He became a
free agent on November 4, 2019, when his contract with the Red Sox expired. ==Personal life==