2025 Prospects

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

The fact of the matter is you have to trade one of Rafaela/Duran/Abreu this offseason. 
you have to make room for Anthony out there.

its not like you’re not going to get a haul for some of those guys.  And be well off with Anthony in there everyday 

Exactly, and since none of them appear to be 1B options, and playing Rafaela at 2B at anytime other than short emergencies is a waste of talent, a trade HAS TO HAPPEN. Add to this the Password knocking loudly on the door and OF being Campbell's likely best landing spot, it becomes even more clear and urgent. (Then, Ref might come back for another year, and Yoshida is a depth option for LF.)

Here is the biggest reason for a trade: The value of Abreu, Duran or Rafaela as an OF'er for another team is way higher that the value one of these guys has for the Sox as a DH, 2Bman, 1Bman or gasp... a bench player. It's really that simple.

The much greater value one of those three has to another team is the impetuous for a trade being made. This is no slight on any or our OF'ers. I value all of them very highly. They all have very high value, and it is that value that can help us land a player at a greater position of need than our logjammed OF.

Depending on the Bregman situation, we have 3-4 great needs and 2-3 secondary needs:

Not in order...

Great Needs

3B or Bregman

#2 SP

Closer (Chapman?)

1B (Casas/Campbell/Romy?) or 2B (Mayer/Romy?)

Secondary:

Corner IF depth or 2B (see above)

Back-up Catcher (even if for AAA)

RP

We could package other players or prospects with the chosen OF'er to increase the return value. I still like the idea of going hard for Ryan, with maybe a guy like Keller as a fallback option. No way PIT wants to pay him. We now have some pitching prospects we could add to the deal, since we'd be getting a known pitching star in return. We may need to get creative and or bold- like we did to get Crochet, but to me, we simply have to pull the trigger.

[moonslav59]

Here is a bold suggestion:

Trade...

Duran (3 arbs), DHam (1 pre-arb + 3 arbs), Brandon Clarke (#6 prospect) Connelly Early (#8 prospect) & Mikey Romero (#10 prospect)

for 

Joe Ryan (3 arbs left) and Kody Clemens (4 arbs left)

Trade...

Abreu (1 pre-arb + 3 arbs), Yoshida ($36M/2), David Sandlin (#9 prospect) Miguel Bleis (#12 prospect) & Jedixson Paez (#17 prospect)

for

Keller ($56M/3) and Brian Reynolds ($76M/5 salary dump) $28M tax hit x 3, then just Reynolds for 2 more. (PIT saves about $95M, while we add $10M a year to our tax line. This a swap of salary dumps, with reynolds being a much larger one, which lessens the needed return for Keller, who looks like a bargain at $56M/3.)

Our 26 Man roster could look like this:

SP: Crochet, Ryan, Keller, Bello, Gio

(or Crawford/Dobbins/Sandoval/Harrison/Tolle/Fitts/Criswell...)

RP: FA Closer, Whitlock, Slaten, Weissert, Hicks, Bernardino, Moran, Wink

(or a converted SP'er, Murphy, Kelly, Guerrero, Sandlin, Mullins)

C: Narvaez & Wong

1B: +FA or Casas & Romy (Campbell)

2B: Clemens & Mayer

SS: Story & Mayer

3B: Bregman & Mayer

LF: Garcia/Reynolds/Refsnyder

CF: Rafaela & Garcia

RF: Anthony & Garcia/Refsnyder

DH: Reynolds/Casas/Romy

 

[moonslav59]

Despite these recent graduations, our farm still looks pretty strong:

Anthony, Mayer, Campbell, Narvaez, Dobbins, Fitts & Guerrero

'23-'24: Abreu, Bello, Rafaela, Slaten, Casas, Wong, DHam, Bernardino & Kelly

Since many of our recent grads are everyday players with several years of control, the fact that our current farm looks pitching heavy, maybe that will not be an issue.

On the everyday front, these position lack long term solutions:

3B: Bregman may bolt. We have Mayer as an option and Romero near ML ready (#10 prospect) If Arias wins the SS job, Mayer and Romero would be available, here. (Story could play 2B in 2027, or even 2026, if Mayer can play SS)

SS: Story's time is up in 2 years. Mayer looks ready, if healthy. Arias (#2 offers some big hopes- see 2B and 3B)

2B: Mayer looks like the best option, as Campbell's defense looks too bad to be a future option, here. DHam, Grissom and Romero could win a slot, here. The best hope might be Arias making it as our starting SS and Mayer or Romero being needed at SS & 3B.

1B: Casas, Campbell & Romy all have some promise, but we have very little farm depth, here, unless we convert Garcia, Gonzales or someone else to 1B.

#2 Catcher: Jo Garcia looks too far away and others look more like 1B/DH types.

Our pitching looks extremely deep, as so many top prospects are months to 2 years away, and many pitchers should be returning from long IL stints:

SP w MLB experience: Crochet, Giolito (140 IP option trigger) Bello, Sandoval, Crawford, Dobbins, Houck ('27) Harrison, Fitts, Criswell (Maybe Wink or Murphy)

ML Ready or near ML Ready pitching prospects: Tolle, Perales, Early, Uberstine, Sandlin (RP?) Drohan, I Coffey & maybe Clarke, Witherspoon, Phillips, Holobetz, Valera, Paez, Monegro, Eyanson, Aita and others by 2027.

Pen: We'll need a closer, then we have: Whitlock & Slaten followed by a lot of promise but not much proven: converted SP'ers, Weissert, Hicks, Wink, Murphy, Moran, Bernardino, Guerrero, Mullins, Song, Ingrassia and more

[moonslav59]

DSL Blue & Red both won. Soto & Rivas each had 2 hits & a BB.

Tolle is pitching for Woo, who is up 6-0. (Tolle 3 IP, 1H, 0BB & 3K) Jh Garcia, DHam & Sogard all have 2 hits

[moonslav59]

Tolle ended up with 5 scoreless IP: 3 hits, 1 BB, 5Ks

Jh Garcia is a beast. He's 3 for 4 with 4 RBI after 6 innings, He's up to .946 in AAA after being at .748 in AA, this year. He was at .998 in A+ in 2024.

[Larry Cook]

Gonzalez went 1 for 3 with 2 walks today. The one hit was a tater!!!

tolle with 5 very impressive innings today with zero runs given up 

[moonslav59]

How about Travieso?

7Ks and 1 BB in 4.2 IP. (4 hits & 0 ER)

[moonslav59]

A look at some tiny sample size results of this year's draft picks:

1. Witherspoon (15th pick) #4 Prospect N/A '25

CBA. Phillips (33rd for Priester) #14 Prospect N/A '25

C2. Godbout (75th) #23 Prospect GRE 1.071 OPS in 6 games

3. Eyanson (87th) #15 Prospect N/A in '25

4. M White (118th) #37 Prospect

5. Foutch (148th) #44 N/A

6. Finley (178th) #58 N/A

7. Patton (208th) #52 N/A

8. Brown (238th) NR

9. Mayers (268th) NR

10. M Martin (298th) SAL .664 in 11 games

11. B Morgan (328th, but $350/500K bonus) #48 N/A

Top IFA bonuses:

$1.4M D Soto DSL (both) #11 prospect. .804 in 46 games

$950K H Rivas #32 Prospect. DSL .790 in 45 games

$700K E Alfonso NR DSL .585 in 43 gms

$500K S Delzine #25 Prospect. DSL 4.82 in 9 IP

$500K H Ramos #28 Prospect. DSL .827 in 36 games

$350K C Cordero DSL 1.79 in 40 IP NR but might be next rankings

Top 2024 Picks:

(1. Montgomery and 4. Ehrhard were traded)

2. Tolle (50th) #1 prospect 3.55 ERA in 87 IP GRE/POR/WOO

3. Neely (86th) #50 N/A

5. Clarke (148th) #6 prospect. 4.03 in 38 SAL/GRE

6. Aita (177th) #33 prospect. 3.97 leads org in IP at 100. SAL/GRE

7. Turner (207th) NR FCL/GRE .597 in 49 gms 

8. C Cason (237th, but $1.25M bonus) #27th Prospect very tiny sample size

Wehunt #26 Prospect 3.99 w POR

Holobetz #31 prospect (drafted by MIL- Priester trade) 3.57 ERA in 76 IP GRE/POR

H White, D Futrell (2.14 in 46 SAL/GRE), S Brooks, B Tygart (#49/ 0.00 in 7IP SAL), S Sprague (3.80 ERA in 85 IP) & J Gartrell

2024 IFA

Fajardo (by CWS- traded Booser for him) #18 Prospect. 2.33 in 58 FCL/SAL

Asencio NR SAL .654 in 61 gms

Brito NR DSL 1.082 in 42 games

D Reyes on IL #51. FCL 14.33 ERA in 16 IP

Fermin FCL #57.  .827 in 48 games 

Gonzales #13 prospect.  .785 in 75 gms FCL/SAL

Azocar FCL/SAL #21 Prospect. .661 in 69 games

Travieso 38th ranked 3.13 in 55 FCL/SAL

J Rodriguez (C) 39th Prospect .768 FCL in 28 games

 

 

 

 

[moonslav59]

Jh Garcia played 1B, yesterday.

[mvp 78]

On 8/15/2025 at 11:31 PM, moonslav59 said:

Woo threw Fitts, tonight. Literally. He did okay, but Sandlin and Kelly threw like crap and are trying hard to not be called up, this season. DHam coming to life in AAA.

Aita got lit up w GRE.. Taylor with 3Hits and a dinger.

 

Sandlin is not getting called up now. He had a nice start in WOO, but it's clear that he has no clue how to come out of a bullpen. That's not going to cut it this year. 

[moonslav59]

20 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Sandlin is not getting called up now. He had a nice start in WOO, but it's clear that he has no clue how to come out of a bullpen. That's not going to cut it this year. 

Agreed. I'm not sure he ever gets a look-see with the Sox. He may be part of a package deal, this winter.

[moonslav59]

soxprospects.com projects next year's rosters and has the following players as "trade candidates."

Duran, Grissom, Criswell, Winckowski & Kelly

They have Casas, Crawford and Dobbins listed as "inactive," but there is a chance they can be ready by opening day. They have Houck for the full season with TJS.

Assuming no trades, he is how I see the roster's foundation before any additions:

26 Man

SP: Crochet, Giolito (option) Bello, Sandoval, Dobbins

RP: Slaten, Whitlock, Crawford, Weissert, Bernardino, Guerrero, Winckowski, Murphy, Hicks

C: Narvaez

1B: Lowe (Casas)

2B: Mayer

3B: Bregman

SS: Story

LF: Anthony

CF: Rafaela

RF: Abreu

DH: Duran

Bench: Wong, Yoshida, Romy, K Campbell

Gone: Buehler, Chapman, Wilson, Hendriks, Toro, Refsnyder & Sogard

40 Man on the farm:

Houck (to 60 Day IL on opening day) Harrison, Fitts, Criswell, Kelly, Sandlin (R5) Mullins (R5) Paez (R5) & Uberstine (R5)

Casas, Jh Garcia, DHam, Grissom

I think we add a solid SP and Closer, for sure. That would push Dobbins to the pen and Murphy & Guerrero to AAA. Most likely, Grissom is traded and maybe Uberstine is not protected.

The farm rotations would look about as  solid as I've seen in years, especially if Harrison, Fitts & Criswell are in AAA.

AAA: Tolle, Harrison, Fitts, Criswell, Perales/Uberstine (Sandlin/Mullins/ICoffey/Drohan to pen?)

AA: Early, Clarke, Paez, Holobetz, (2 to pen: Rivera/Rogers/Dean)

A+: Valera, Witherspoon, Phillips, Eyanson, Aita/Tygart

A-: Fajardo, Travieso, Neely, Patton, J Bello/Morgan/Brown/Gartrell

 

 

[Larry Cook]

2025 draft pick, pitcher galle assigned to Salem! 

[moonslav59]

Slaten pitched for Woo:

1 IP

0 H

0 BB

3 Ks!

[moonslav59]

MLB Pipeline ranked the Sox farm #11.

That's not bad for a farm that just graduated Anthony, Mayer, Campbell, Narvaez, Dobbins, Fitts & Guerrero!

We also traded away Tibbs, Jordan and Erhard.

[Larry Cook]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

MLB Pipeline ranked the Sox farm #11.

That's not bad for a farm that just graduated Anthony, Mayer, Campbell, Narvaez, Dobbins, Fitts & Guerrero!

We also traded away Tibbs, Jordan and Erhard.

Very good indeed!!!  Next season, I hope the Oklahoma pitcher we took in the draft duplicates or exceeds what Tolle has accomplished this year!!!!

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

Very good indeed!!!  Next season, I hope the Oklahoma pitcher we took in the draft duplicates or exceeds what Tolle has accomplished this year!!!!

Maybe I'm overly pumped up about our farm. It seems very strange to see so many pitchers on the top of the lists, and then there is Perales, who has been in the system for forever, but might finally get a chance to show us his potential. I doubt he turns into a Mata, but he could easily be our best home grown pitcher in a decade or more.

Right now, the list is...

1. Tolle

3. Perales

4. Witherspoon

6. Clarke

7. Valera (not bad for your 5th best pitching prospect!)

8. Early (might be some teams' #1 or 2 pitching prospect)

9. Sandlin (kinda dropping in my book)

15-18: Phillips, Eyanson, Paez, Fajardo

20-22: Uberstine & Mullins (26 and 24 y/os)

25 & 27: Delzine & Cason (17 & 19 y/o's)

26-31: Wehunt, Rivera, Holobetz & Monegro (22-24 y/o's)

Also, Aita, Travieso, J Bello, Ingrassia, Foutch, Morgan and others...

[Larry Cook]

Holobetz with a very nice game tonight. 
tygart with a decent night as well coming back from injury. 
 

Star of the night. Justin Gonzales. 3 for 5. Now hitting .299 at Salem!!!  21 doubles on the year thus far 

[moonslav59]

12 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

Holobetz with a very nice game tonight. 
tygart with a decent night as well coming back from injury. 
 

Star of the night. Justin Gonzales. 3 for 5. Now hitting .299 at Salem!!!  21 doubles on the year thus far 

Yes, Holobetz went 6 scoreless before allowing a run in the 7th. (6 hits and 1BB in 7.) He has a 3.20 ERA with POR.

Gonzales has an .806 OPS at SAL- not bad for an 18 year old who was in DSL, last year.

Futrell has a 1.35 ERA with GRE after 5 IP and 1ER, last night. Arias walked twice and went 1-3 to get to .705. He's a 19 year old in A+ ball and GG caliber on D.

[moonslav59]

 Karson Simas and Max Ferguson Promoted to Woo

 Fraymi De Leon promoted to POR

[Larry Cook]

13 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

 Karson Simas and Max Ferguson Promoted to Woo

 Fraymi De Leon promoted to POR

Odd that Castro was not promoted 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Larry Cook said:

Odd that Castro was not promoted 

I was just thinking how Ferguson's days must be numbered, and they promote him.

[moonslav59]

With Jh Garcia promoted, the offense at Woo & Por look pretty lame.

Castro is Rule 5 and probably won't be protected or selected. Maybe they are hoping to keep him looking far from ML ready.

This was the season for Castro, Bleis and Cespedes to make a move and boost their chances: all 3 feel way short of doing that. Castro came the closest, but he started the farthest away, IMO. The closest everyday player to being protected might be Hickey, but I seriously doubt he will be.

We have a few pitchers likely and some borderline:

Likely: Sandlin & Paez

Borderline: Uberstine, Mullins, Monegro (60 Day IL)

Long shots: I Coffey, Drohan, Sansone, Song

[moonslav59]

With Jh Garcia promoted, the offense at Woo & Por look pretty lame.

Castro is Rule 5 and probably won't be protected or selected. Maybe they are hoping to keep him looking far from ML ready.

This was the season for Castro, Bleis and Cespedes to make a move and boost their chances: all 3 feel way short of doing that. Castro came the closest, but he started the farthest away, IMO. The closest everyday player to being protected might be Hickey, but I seriously doubt he will be.

We have a few pitchers likely and some borderline:

Likely: Sandlin & Paez

Borderline: Uberstine, Mullins, Monegro (60 Day IL)

Long shots: I Coffey, Drohan, Sansone, Song

[moonslav59]

Aita pitched a gem.

6 IP & 0 ERs

2 Hits

2 BB

4 K

He's down to 3.29

[Larry Cook]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Aita pitched a gem.

6 IP & 0 ERs

2 Hits

2 BB

4 K

He's down to 3.29

I watched him and when the command and control of the secondary pitches is there, he is a decent pitching prospect! 
 

problem is he in inconsistent from start to start 

[moonslav59]

9 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

I watched him and when the command and control of the secondary pitches is there, he is a decent pitching prospect! 
 

problem is he in inconsistent from start to start 

That's the reason he's ranked 33rd, and at age 22, one might think how much upside does he have, but when you see him pitch like that, you gotta keep the door open to the possibilities.

The kid was in FCL, last summer, so he still has room to grow sand improve. I think I'd put him near #20-25.

 

[moonslav59]

The Sox DSL Blue team is now 2-0 in the new playoff format with a win, today (4-1.)

Tolle pitches tonight for WOO.

Rivera for POR.

TBD for GRE.

Travieso for SAL after they complete the suspended game.

[Larry Cook]

59 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The Sox DSL Blue team is now 2-0 in the new playoff format with a win, today (4-1.)

Tolle pitches tonight for WOO.

Rivera for POR.

TBD for GRE.

Travieso for SAL after they complete the suspended game.

I have not seen travieso pitch yet! A lot of people say he has the type stuff that plays well 

[Larry Cook]

The 2025 Red Sox graduated quite a few prospects this year. I cannot remember a year with so many graduates. 
 

but amazingly, we have some really good young prospects in the pipeline. Arias and Justin Gonzales look amazing!!!  
 

on the pitching side, we got a couple decent arms at Worcester in early and Tolle 

been an amazing prospect year thus far