2025 Prospects

[mvp 78]

 

[moonslav59]

Baseball America says we have signing agreements with these players (not official yet)

Dorian Soto, SS, Dominican Republic
Harold Rivas, OF, Venezuela
Eliezer Alfonzo, SS, Venezuela
Hector Ramos, SS, Dominican Republic
Sadbiel Delzine, RHP, Venezuela
Christopher Cordero, RHP, Dominican Republic
Jhorman Bravo, SS, Venezuela

[mvp 78]

Good news on Soto and Rivas if they were wrapped up. Haven't looked into the others.

[moonslav59]

• Here are the international free agents the Red Sox have signed so far

• Dorian Soto, SS, Dominican Republic
• Harold Rivas, OF, Venezuela
• Eliezer Alfonzo, SS, Venezuela
• Hector Ramos, SS, Dominican Republic
• Sadbiel Delzine, RHP, Venezuela
• Christopher Cordero, RHP, Dominican Republic
• Jhorman Bravo, SS, Venezuela
• Jainer Almanzo, RHP, Colombia

• Soto is the most notable name among Boston's signings so far. The 16-year-old ranks No. 8 on MLB Pipeline's list of top international prospects. He leads the pack with a $1.4 million signing bonus and has been tabbed as "advanced for his age" in multiple skills, according to SoxProspects. The six-foot-three switch-hitter may not be able to stick at shortstop long-term, but his offensive profile is the key here.

  Delzine is the top arm among the Sox's international signings so far this winter. The six-foot-five righty can already miss bats with his changeup and his curveball has high potential. SoxProspects believe he has the highest potential "for any Red Sox IFA pitcher in recent history" at the time of his signing.

[moonslav59]

soxprospects.com podcast had Justin Willard, the Sox Director of Pitching, on for a talk.

http://news.soxprospects.com/2025/01/podcast-ep-348-director-of-pitching.html

There are about  30 pichers at Fort Myers, right now. The "development period" has grown in MLB, so there is less down time for many pitchers, and they have more time to spend with them on health, nutrition, pitching mechanics, "pitch design" and skills more so than actually having them pitch very often during the winter. 

Willard boiled it down to two things: nasty stuff vhe zone.s throwing in the zone. Some do one more than the other, and the idea is to improve on the area where a pitcher struggles. There are various ways to try and maximize velocity, and there is a lot of focus on this area. He said this last season saw more focus on this area than ever before. "Take off the governor" was common with several pitchers, and they also gave pitchers a day off every 6 weeks to compensate for the added stress on arms. (Wehunt, Early and Gabriel Jackson were some that did very well, in this area.) The main idea, last season was to change the culture to more of an objective-oriented system with individualized plans set up for every player. 

Talk on the Sox IFA signings spoke on  we hardly ever spend very much on one guy. They seemed to really like this year's class, when compared to last year's top picks.  They like Soto, "a high end talent," a lot, although he may not stick at SS. He's 6-3 185. Very deep signing group with a lot of skills and upside. Lots of switch-hitters and smart baseball kids. They raved about 17 y/o Sabdiel Delzine, who they think is 6-4 220. We don't give $500K to many pitchers, so they think the Sox are very high on this guy. Rankings will be update winetrs.d, next week, so look for more new IFAs than past.

[moonslav59]

My updated rankings:

1. Anthony

2. Campbell

3. Mayer

4. Arias

5. Perales

6. Cespedes

7. Jh Garcia

8. Bleis

9. Romero

10. Fitts

11. Dobbins

12. Tolle

13. Jo Garcia

14. Early

15. Sandlin

16. Cason

17. Valera

18. Reyes

19. Monegro

20. Guerrero

21. D Soto

22. S Delzine

23. Wehunt

24. Paez

25. Penrod

26. Mullins

27. Narvaez

28. H Rivas

29. Taylor

30. Riemer

31. Neely

32. Clarke

33. G Jackson

34. Ingrassia

35. Castro

36. E Alfonso

37. H Ramos

38. Tygart

39. Ehrhard

40. Jordan

 

[mvp 78]

You're putting Soto at 21 before he's even played a DSL game? That's either quite a projection or the system is really bad right now. You don't even rank Justin Gonzales who hit 908 last year in the DSL and was the best offensive performer there (even brought to Fenway). 

[mvp 78]

SoxProspects lists Soto at 30, Rivas at 37, Ramos at 38 and Delzine at 39. 

As we've seen from previous years, the top signed guys get a place in the top 50, but may not stick that high for long (Ascencio, Carrasquel, Freili, Fraymi, Ravelo, Lira). 

[Hugh2]

38 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

You're putting Soto at 21 before he's even played a DSL game? That's either quite a projection or the system is really bad right now. You don't even rank Justin Gonzales who hit 908 last year in the DSL and was the best offensive performer there (even brought to Fenway). 

The talked about Soto on the latest podcast.  They really really really like him and are high on him. 

Justin Gonzalez is ranked 25th. 

[Hugh2]

Oh wait you're goin by Moons ratings, my bad. 

[moonslav59]

Maybe 25th to 30th would have been better for Soto, but those guys are all close, anyway. Maybe, I fell for the talk on the podcast, and they did say they liked him more than Justin Gonzalez, last winter.

[Hugh2]

16 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Maybe 25th to 30th would have been better for Soto, but those guys are all close, anyway. Maybe, I fell for the talk on the podcast, and they did say they liked him more than Justin Gonzalez, last winter.

their rankings, or most peoples rankings aren't exactly power rankings.  I understand why a lot of people have a very hard time ranking anyone so young and unchallenged by any kind of pro ball so high.  But I also get that some people may weigh upside more than others. 

If it was purely a ranking based on ceiling, one could extrapolate that Soto could be as high as 5th in the Sox system. 

[moonslav59]

12 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

their rankings, or most peoples rankings aren't exactly power rankings.  I understand why a lot of people have a very hard time ranking anyone so young and unchallenged by any kind of pro ball so high.  But I also get that some people may weigh upside more than others. 

If it was purely a ranking based on ceiling, one could extrapolate that Soto could be as high as 5th in the Sox system. 

Exactly, there are so many factors to be considered. My guess is they will put Soto 28-35 and other IFA after 35th.

[Hugh2]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Exactly, there are so many factors to be considered. My guess is they will put Soto 28-35 and other IFA after 35th.

They have Soto at 30th

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Internet sources have been saying the Red Sox were going to sign Soto since before Thanksgiving. The president told fans that money was not an issue. People fall for a lot of things these days.

[mvp 78]

23 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

The talked about Soto on the latest podcast.  They really really really like him and are high on him. 

Justin Gonzalez is ranked 25th. 

I know where SP ranked them, I was talking about moon's ranking. 

[mvp 78]

23 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

Oh wait you're goin by Moons ratings, my bad. 

🤝

[mvp 78]

21 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

their rankings, or most peoples rankings aren't exactly power rankings.  I understand why a lot of people have a very hard time ranking anyone so young and unchallenged by any kind of pro ball so high.  But I also get that some people may weigh upside more than others. 

If it was purely a ranking based on ceiling, one could extrapolate that Soto could be as high as 5th in the Sox system. 

Their rankings aren't based on pure ceiling though, it's where the player stands today. Right now, Soto hasn't even taken a professional AB. Lots of heralded guys come in and don't perform as expected. 

When I do my rankings it's based on my personal trade value. I wouldn't trade player 1 for player 2 or player 2 for player 3 or player 3 for player 4, etc. 

[mvp 78]

21 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

They have Soto at 30th

I mean, I already listed where all the IFA guys are ranked for them. 🫠

[Hugh2]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Internet sources have been saying the Red Sox were going to sign Soto since before Thanksgiving. The president told fans that money was not an issue. People fall for a lot of things these days.

Except they did sign Soto

[Hugh2]

6 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Their rankings aren't based on pure ceiling though, it's where the player stands today. Right now, Soto hasn't even taken a professional AB. Lots of heralded guys come in and don't perform as expected. 

When I do my rankings it's based on my personal trade value. I wouldn't trade player 1 for player 2 or player 2 for player 3 or player 3 for player 4, etc. 

I know, which is why I said "IF" I'm just purely going on their floor/ceiling grades.  Soto is the 5th prospect in the system to have 7 grade on the ceiling.  Now he can obviously climb a lot or fall based on how he performs this year....and next. 

[moonslav59]

On 1/20/2025 at 10:00 AM, Hugh2 said:

They have Soto at 30th

Yes, and ...

37. Rivas

38. Ramos

39. Delzine

It looks like these guys are ranked higher than previous years' IFAs.

(Narvaez is ranked 28th and Yhoiker Fajardo, the guy we got from the CWS for Bosser is ranked 36th.)

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Yes, and ...

37. Rivas

38. Ramos

39. Delzine

It looks like these guys are ranked higher than previous years' IFAs.

(Narvaez is ranked 28th and Yhoiker Fajardo, the guy we got from the CWS for Bosser is ranked 36th.)

Which previous year? There have always been IFA's posted in the 30-50 range before they've appeared in games. See my post above. 

[mvp 78]

Kind of wild that Valera received a top 100 vote. I wonder if he makes a big jump in the rankings this year. 

[moonslav59]

On 1/21/2025 at 12:23 PM, mvp 78 said:

Which previous year? There have always been IFA's posted in the 30-50 range before they've appeared in games. See my post above. 

soxprospects.com does not post their past rankings beyond the top 30 range. While D Reyes and Ju Gonzales did make the top 30, it was in NOV 2024, after they had played a season in the minors. I don't see any placed in the top 30 in their spring rankings, and I can't see the 31-40 range, anywhere.

I'm not saying you are wrong. You know more about our farm than I do, but which IFA prospects were ranked top 40 before playing a game in the system? (They only list the top 20 from 2021 and earlier.)

Devers made it to #18 a year after being signed.

Espinoza made it to #11 a year after he was signed.

Am I missing someone?

I'm just going by what I heard on the podcast and how they say the Sox are super high on this year's signee group, despite no mega bonuses handed out.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Kind of wild that Valera received a top 100 vote. I wonder if he makes a big jump in the rankings this year. 

Probably some of our promising second tier prospects will not shine in 2025, but I think we have a lot of prospects poised for a jump. We also might see some "third tier" prospects jump up a tier. (The line between 2nd and third is blurry, for sure.)

To me, Perales just needs to be healthy to move into the top 100.

Arias, Cespedes and Bleis are probably the most recognizable names of prospects poised to jump up a tier, but I also like the Garcia brothers, Romero, Early, Valera and maybe Tolle and Sandlin.

While Dobbins is ranked 8th, right now, I do not see the upside there for a jump into the top 100.

Others I am watching, closely: Cason, Wehunt, Reyes, Monegro, Soto and Delzine.

I did not mention highly ranked 9-Fitts, 17-Guerrero, 23 Paez, 24-Mullins and others. (Slaten, DHam & Priester is no longer prospects. Abreu & Rafaela graduated in early '24.)

 

[moonslav59]

Some interesting choices will have to be made during ST'ing and before AAA's opening day. Looking at the the rosters listed on soxprospects.com's 2025 Projected roster page, there is a vast shortage of everyday players, especially on the 40, and way too many pitchers listed to fit the roster sizes. Of course, some could start in AA, but here is a look at all the pitchers listed.

For the sake of making more room for everyone, let's assume Sandoval and Murphy are placed on the 60 Day IL on opening day, and this is the 13 man Sox staff:

Crochet, Houck, Beuhler, Bello, Giolito, Crawford

Hendriks, Chapman, Slaten, Whitlock (10 Day IL?) Winckowski, Wilson & Guerrero

Who makes the 14 man AAA staff? (My guess)

Crisell, Fitts, Priester, Dobbins, Fulmer, Gambrell, Drohan

Bernardino, Penrod, Kelly, Weissert, I Campbell, Mata (IL?) , J Moran

Outside the bubble:  A Adams, Wyatt Mills, Noah Davis, Hobie Harris, Jose Adames, Robert Stock, Brendan Cellucci, Wyatt Olds, Brian Van Belle

 

[moonslav59]

Going through soxprospects.com 2025 Projected Roster page, I could not help but notice a few positions of interest:

SS: Mayer AAA, Romero AA, Arias A,

OF: Anthony AAA, Jh Garcia AA, Bleis & Ehrhard A

C: Jo Garcia & Brannon A

UT: Cespedes A

The AAA pitching staff looks better than it has in over a decade:

SP: Criswell, Fitts, Priester, Dobbins, Fulmer, Gambrell/Drohan

RP: Guerrero, Penrod, Kelly, I Campbell, Mata, J Moran, N Davis, W Mills

Portland's projected rotation:

Sandlin, Early, Wehunt, Mullins, Monegro, Coffey

Greenville: Paez, Tolle, Neely, Ingrassia, Duffy, Dean

Salem: Valera, Ehrlicher, Judice, Clarke, Tygart, Cason

 

[harmony]

The Red Sox land five on the Top 100 prospect list by Keith Law at The Athletic:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6078454/2025/01/27/top-100-mlb-prospects-2025-keith-law/

Subscription required.

Law has Roman Anthony No. 1, Kristian Campbell No. 9, Marcelo Mayer No. 28, Franklin Arias No. 42 and Yoelin Cespedes No,. 97.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, harmony said:

The Red Sox land five on the Top 100 prospect list by Keith Law at The Athletic:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6078454/2025/01/27/top-100-mlb-prospects-2025-keith-law/

Subscription required.

Law has Roman Anthony No. 1, Kristian Campbell No. 9, Marcelo Mayer No. 28, Franklin Arias No. 42 and Yoelin Cespedes No,. 97.

Wow, the anti Sox guy gave us 5, not 4.