Boston Red Sox 2026 Top Prospects Rankings: Connelly Early (No. 2)

[Nick John]

Talk Sox's top prospect rankings for the 2026 season has nearly reached the top as the final two are unveiled, featuring a young arm making some Top-100 noise after pitching in the postseason last year with Boston.

Be sure to check out all of our previous rankings here:

• Part 1 (Nos. 16-20)
• Part 2 (Nos. 11-15)
• Part 3 (No. 10)
• Part 4 (No. 9)
• Part 5 (No. 8)
• Part 6 (No. 7)
• Part 7 (No. 6)
• Part 8 (No. 5)
• Part 9 (No. 4)
• Part 10 (No. 3)

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Boston Red Sox Top Prospects: No. 2 Connelly Early

The 2025 season saw the Boston Red Sox's pitching development finally pay off in a big way, as their young pitchers helped get the team through the final month of the season and back into the postseason for the first time since 2021. One of those pitchers was Connelly Early, a 2023 fifth-round draft pick.

Early, who made his MLB debut in September, pitched admirably down the stretch as he made four starts and struck out 29 batters in 19 1/3 innings. He walked just four and allowed five earned runs; his performance led manager Alex Cora to hand him the ball as the starting pitcher in the win-or-go-home game three of the Wild Card series.

Prior to that, Early split 2025 between Portland and Worcester, going 10-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 21 games, 18 of them starts. He threw 100 1/3 innings in that span and struck out 132 batters. Early, who throws from the first-base side of the rubber, has some effort in his delivery but manages to repeat it with a consistent release point. Like most pitchers that the Red Sox have targeted in the past few years, he also has plus extension during his release.

Early relies on a five-pitch arsenal that is made up of a fastball, changeup, slider, curveball and sweeper. His fastball, while averaging just 92-95 mph, topped out at 97 mph and there was an increase in velocity from 2024 that saw the pitch sitting in the low-90s. It has shown more bat-missing ability as he runs up the radar gun, but it's always been designed to help set up his changeup.

That off-speed offering is an above-average pitch thanks to having arm-side run and his low release height. Typically in the mid-80s, he uses a kick-changeup grip and has advanced feel in the pitch, as he throws it often to both left-handed and right-handed batters. When at its best, the pitch will tumble out of the zone, generating whiffs.

His slider averaged 84-87 mph in 2025 and he’s able to land it in the zone. Despite that, it doesn’t miss many bats and is instead used to generate weak contact from opposing batters. His curveball tends to sit in the low-80s at best and has more vertical break. It isn’t consistent, however, sometimes flashing plus movement and other times wobbling toward the plate. Both breakers have above-average qualities but aren't considered in that realm just yet.

His sweeper is his newest pitch, having started working on it in 2024, and it improved as the season went on. It averaged around 80-83 mph and is mainly used against left-handed batters. Much like the curveball, it can show bat-missing ability, but he needs to gain more consistency with it in terms of landing it in and around the strike zone.

Entering the 2026 season, Early is seen as a mid-rotation starter who flashes the upside of a number two or three starter. If he can gain consistency on his three weaker pitchers, that ceiling could rise. The biggest question mark for Early so far is if he can keep the velocity up as he goes deeper into games and across an entire season. The fact he can throw three to four pitches for strikes consistently helps his case in the immediate term.

While many would love to see Early in Boston to open the year, due to their depth the team acquired over the offseason, he is likely headed to Worcester. If the Red Sox keep Early in Worcester for five weeks to open the season, they’ll gain an extra year of control on Early. This would keep him from becoming a free agent until after his age-30 season, something that could change rotation plans down the road. Regardless of where Early starts the season, he’ll be up in Boston as one of the first pitching-related promotions and will end up playing a huge role in how the 2026 season goes down.

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[moonslav59]

I know Tolle has potential, but to me, Early is our #1 prospect. They guy gets it done- over and over, again.

[JoeBrady]

58 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I know Tolle has potential, but to me, Early is our #1 prospect. They guy gets it done- over and over, again.

I only saw one game in ST, and I watched that game while trying to watch Painter at the same time.  But I like pitchers that can keep giving the hitters new looks.  But just as important, he can throw a FB with enough authority that he can use it when behind 2-0, 3-1, etc., without getting hurt.