Jack Lindsay

The Boston Red Sox did not make a crazy splash in day one of the 2026 MLB Draft, going under-slot with Jake Schaffner or right on it with Owen Hull and Jace Mataczynski. It was off-brand seeing the Red Sox prioritize the offensive side of things after the first two drafts under Breslow's tenure being incredibly pitcher focused. We now see a shift back to the norm in Rounds 6-10, as they attacked high-extension pitchers while making a huge splash in the ninth round, selecting a prep prospect we at DiamondCentric had in the top 100 of our consensus mock draft board. Below you can find more analysis on the players selected in rounds 6-10 of the draft on Sunday. Round 6: Brett Lanman, LHP, Abilene Christian University Lanman fits the typical Red Sox desired pitcher build, standing at 6'5 and getting good extension off the mound. However, his numbers in his junior season won't jump out with a 5.35 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. His 24.1% strikeout rate was sixth in the Western Athletic Conference and first on ACU, but he'll need to work on reducing his walk rate to have a chance at impacting the major leagues. According to Baseball America, Lanman sits in the low 90s with his fast and will occasionally touch 95, while also mixing in a cutter/slider, a changeup, and the occasional curveball. Lanman is a clear project pitcher for the Red Sox, but they have been able to thrive developing pitchers with his physical traits. Round 7: Kide Adetuyi LHP, Florida Atlantic University Once again, the Red Sox select a collegiate left-handed pitcher that can generate elite extension. Adetuyi stands much shorter than the aforementioned Lanman at only 6'1, but he still can get almost seven feet down the mound despite some perceived physical limitations. Adetuyi pitched 73 innings last season with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. His 27.5% K% was third in the American Athletic Conference and led the Owls. Baseball America describes his motion as a "low slot" with some "funk and crossfire" and he comes with a filthy sweeper that generates 2700 RPMs with almost a foot of glove-side movement. Adetuyi was ranked 442nd on Baseball America's big board. Round 8: Josh Volmerding, LHP, California Polytechnic State University Similarly to Red Sox sixth-round pick Brett Lanman, Volmerding stands at 6'4, 200 lbs. He pitched to the tune of a 6.51 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP. He gets up to 95 mph on his fastball and in 2026 he set a new career-high in strikeout rate, getting to 24.2% in 27.2 innings of work. His FIP was significantly lower than his ERA at 3.89. It's also worth noting he dealt with a knee issue this season, which cut his year short. Round 9: Martin Shelar, OF, Marist HS (GA) Finally, the Red Sox show us where all the slot money was headed. Martin Shelar is a significantly over-slot selection by the Red Sox, projected 71st on our consensus mock board while being selected 274th. Our Jamie Cameron says of the selection: "Shelar is a prep outfielder out of Georgia with some of the best athleticism in the class. It's likely he commands a big bonus in July. If it's not met, he's currently committed to Mississippi State. Shelar's swing divides opinions — it can get steep at times, with a two stage stride that may have to be tweaked as a pro, but there's no denying the results. This is some of the best bat speed and raw power on the prep side in 2026, and despite the unconventional swing, he continues to find the barrel plenty, alleviating concerns around his hit tool. There's good speed and an above-average arm in this profile too, so Shelar has more value to add than simply raw pop. He's a prototypical (compliment) high school corner outfield prospect with a shot at becoming a 25-25 player as a pro if it all clicks." One has to assume the Red Sox and Shelar are in agreement on the financial side of things. Deals have rarely fallen through this early in the draft in recent years. This is a huge splash for Boston and one that fans should be seriously excited about. Round 10: Kaleb LaFavor, RHP, Bishop Heelan HS (IA) Yet again another giant at pitcher, this time in the form of 6-foot-6 Kaleb LaFavor. According to Baseball America, LaFavor sits in the low-90s with his fastball and occasionally touches 95, but given his height and frame, his velocity could spike as he continues to mature. He also possesses a slider, changeup and mixes in the occasional cutter. LaFavor is currently committed to Iowa. Stay locked in on Talk Sox as we cover the remainder of the 2026 MLB Draft! View full article

The 2026 MLB Draft will again feature just 20 rounds. The final 16 rounds (from Rounds 5-20) will happen later today, beginning at 11:30am EST. You can catch it live on MLB Network and MLB.com. After selecting three players during the first day of the draft, the Red Sox will make 16 picks on Sunday: 156th overall (Round 5) 185th overall (Round 6) 215th overall (Round 7) Following Round 5, the Red Sox will pick 20th in every round for the remainder of the draft. Thus, their draft position is as follows: 185, 215, 245, 275, etc. Baseball is incredibly unique in the ways that address draft picks. Each team has its bonus pool which is assigned by MLB in the spring based off of league-wide revenue the previous season. Along with that, each draft pick is assigned its own slot value, which is essentially the expected cost to sign a player at that spot. Teams don't have to follow that number exactly, which is why you see teams sign players or over or under slot values. For example, in last years draft, the Los Angeles Angles had the 2nd overall selection which was valued at $10,252,700 but ultimately ended up signing their selection Tyler Bremner for only $7,689,525, nearly $3 million below the projected value of the selection. Teams can then use the money they save at the top half of the draft to lure better players with more bonus money later on in the draft. The Red Sox have $8,219,200 to play with in this year's draft, the eighth-lowest pool, with the slot value of their 20th overall pick coming in at $4,373,900. Another note regarding slot money from Baseball America: "In the MLB draft, each pick inside the first 10 rounds comes with assigned slot values. The sum of those slot values creates each team’s bonus pool. From rounds 11-20, players can sign for up to $150,000 without counting towards the bonus pool. Anything beyond that value does count towards the pool. Teams are free to sign players for more than an assigned slot value or less than an assigned slot value, though going over a bonus pool comes with penalties." It's also worth noting that with the CBA expiring this offseason and the MLB's proposal to change the draft format, this likely the last time we see the draft in the format we see it in today. Here's a brief recap of yesterday's draft picks with hyperlinks to our articles breaking down the selections in greater depth: 20th overall: Jake Schaffner SS, UNC The Red Sox's first selection in the 2026 draft in Schaffner was an under-slot, defense-and-contact-first shortstop out of the University of North Carolina. Schaffner was ranked 69 in our mock draft consensus board but provides some exciting bat-to-ball skills that play well above his age. The Red Sox's Amateur Scouting Director said of Schaffner to Alex Speier: "His offensive skillset aligns very well with our player development group. We’re confident he’ll be able to thrive in our system while playing strong defense at shortstop." To that point, Schaffner was the lowest-ranked prospect selected, so we should assume the Red Sox plan on spending that saved money elsewhere, though that remains to be seen. 67th overall: Owen Hull OF, UNC With the next selection, they went out and selected Schaffner's teammate and best friend Owen Hull. Standing at 6'4, 215, Hull provides some needed pop within the current iteration of the Red Sox farm system. Hull was ranked 71st in our mock draft consensus board and according to our Jamie Cameron, Hull "has a chance to stick in center with plus speed". 96th overall: Jace Mataczynski SS, Hudson High School (WI) The Red Sox's final selection on Day One was 18-year-old Jace Mataczynski. By all accounts, Mataczynski is much more of a development project than the first two selections in Schaffner and Hull. He's ranked 108th in our mock draft consensus board. Mataczynski possesses some exciting tools as an athlete which elevate his ceiling but according to Jamie Cameron his swing leaves something to be desired saying, "At the plate, it’s a right-handed swing that could still stand to add a touch more refinement." Mataczynski is currently committed to Auburn so the Red Sox will need to get him enough of a signing bonus to justify choosing professional baseball. We here at Talk Sox will continue to feature the Red Sox Draft Tracker, which will be kept up-to-date, not just as the draft happens, but also as we learn about the signing bonuses for each draft pick throughout the signing period. Thanks for joining us during one of the most exciting times of the season and keep coming back for updates! View full article

The Boston Red Sox have designated left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe for assignment on Saturday after he went two innings against the Mets and walked three. Coulombe struggled through the 2026 season producing a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings of work with a 1.50 WHIP and an 11.4% strikeout rate versus a bloated 13.6% walk rate. The underlying numbers backed up his performance this season, as he produced a 4.71 FIP and a 5.91 SIERA. Coulombe was brought in as lefty help in the spring, with only closer Aroldis Chapman profiling as a legitimate left-handed option, but he did not meet the expectations set for him. One interesting note from Chris Cotillo, who broke the DFA news: So it seems that beyond his play this season, there was legitimate financial incentive for the Red Sox to make this move. No corresponding transaction has been announced yet. View full rumor

The Red Sox selected Jace Mataczynski with the No. 96 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Jace Mataczynski is a shortstop at Hudson High School in Wisconsin, coming in at 6'3, 190 lbs. The slot value for the pick is $815,700. He was ranked 108 on our MLB Draft Consensus Board. Mataczynski is currently committed to the University of Auburn and will have to be talked out of that commitment in order to sign with Boston. Here’s what our write-up of Jace Mataczynski by Jamie Cameron has to say: "Jace Mataczynski, like many cold-weather prospects, exploded onto the scene in a hurry and has remained in the cross hairs of the scouting community ever since. The Auburn commit out of Wisconsin displays premium athleticism and twitch, present in both his offensive and defensive profiles. At the plate, it’s a right handed swing that could still stand to add a touch more refinement. He starts in a wide base with a higher handset, close to his ear. From there it’s a drift back into his load before a small jabbing step into his swing. Mataczynski’s wide base helps him get into his legs well and there’s plenty of present bat speed. I’d envision some of the mechanical rawness working itself out via his impressive athleticism. Defensively, he has a good chance to stick at short. He’s a fluid mover with smooth actions and a decisive first step. His hands are soft and there’s a really quick arm there, too (he’s been clocked up to 98 mph in the infield). This is the type of talent, and twitch that can end up looking like a draft steal. If Mataczynski’s offensive game continues to trend in the right direction, he’ll check most of the boxes you’re looking for in a projection-reliant shortstop profile." View full rumor

They seem to have a particular affinity for SEC arms in the past few drafts. Personally hoping we branch out a bit more and get a Bo Lowrance or Ace Reese-type if he falls in the draft.

The 2026 MLB Draft will feature 20 round draft and like last season, festivities will take place over the course of two days. Rounds 1-4 will take place from 1:00 PM - 7:45 PM E.T. on Saturday , and then rounds 5-20 will be all day Sunday from 11:30 AM - 7:30 E.T. Day one is split into three sections with picks 1-10 being broadcast on NBC/Peacock only. Picks 11-40 will be on MLB Network and the remainder of the draft will be on MLB.TV. The entirety of the draft Sunday will be on MLB TV, MLB.com, or MLB+. The Boston Red Sox will make three selections on day one of the draft. 20th Overall (Round 1) 67th Overall (Competitive Balance Round B) [Acquired in trade: Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler for Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton with Milwaukee Brewers] 96th Overall (Round 3) The Red Sox forfeited their second and fifth-highest selections, as well as $1 million in draft pool money, in this years' draft after they signed Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million contract. This is due to Suárez being offered the qualifying offer by the Philadelphia Phillies. Per the MLB rules, the Red Sox had to forfeit those picks because they eclipsed the $241 million Competitive Balance Tax Threshold. Baseball is incredibly unique in the ways that address draft picks. Each team has its bonus pool which is assigned by MLB in the spring based off of league-wide revenue the previous season. Along with that, each draft pick is assigned its own slot value, which is essentially the expected cost to sign a player at that spot. Teams don't have to follow that number exactly, which is why you see teams sign players or over or under slot values. For example, in last years draft, the Los Angeles Angles had the 2nd overall selection which was valued at $10,252,700 but ultimately ended up signing their selection Tyler Bremner for only $7,689,525, nearly $3 million below the projected value of the selection. Teams can then use the money they save at the top half of the draft to lure better players with more bonus money later on in the draft. The Red Sox have $8,219,200 to play with in this year's draft, the eighth-lowest pool, with the slot value of their 20th overall pick coming in at $4,373,900. Another note regarding slot money from Baseball America: "In the MLB draft, each pick inside the first 10 rounds comes with assigned slot values. The sum of those slot values creates each team’s bonus pool. From rounds 11-20, players can sign for up to $150,000 without counting towards the bonus pool. Anything beyond that value does count towards the pool. Teams are free to sign players for more than an assigned slot value or less than an assigned slot value, though going over a bonus pool comes with penalties." It's also worth noting that with the CBA expiring this offseason and the MLB's proposal to change the draft format, this likely the last time we see the draft in the format we see it in today. We here at Talk Sox will continue to feature the Red Sox Draft Tracker, which will be kept up-to-date, not just as the draft happens, but also as we learn about the signing bonuses for each draft pick throughout the signing period. Thanks for joining us during one of the most exciting times of the season and keep coming back for updates! View full article

Seasons lost enough as is. I’m with you. Let’s see what we’ve got in him, nothing to lose at this point

Second baseman Anthony Seigler has been a spark plug for an otherwise dormant Boston Red Sox offense. Is it just a hot stretch for the former first-rounder, or is there surprising staying power here that might help salvage a trade many Sox fans would like to forget? Seigler, of course, was acquired by the Red Sox in the infamous Kyle Harrison for Caleb Durbin trade, and he was never considered a player who could meaningfully contribute to the Red Sox in 2026. His road to the majors has been anything but easy. He was originally drafted 23rd overall by the New York Yankees in 2018 and spent six years in their farm system, peaking at Double-A Somerset before becoming a minor-league free agent and signing with the Brewers in 2025. Milwaukee assigned him to Triple-A Nashville, and he seized the opportunity, hitting .285 with an .892 OPS, eight home runs, and 23 steals in just 72 games. That earned him a July 1 call-up, but he struggled over 34 games, batting primarily in the bottom half of the order and slashing .194/..292/.210 It made sense for the Brewers to get what they could for Seigler this offseason. He was buried in their system behind a plethora of prospect talent, with Platinum Glove award winner in Brice Turang manning his primary position at the major-league level. So, he was shipped out along with Caleb Durbin and a competitive balance round B pick. Seigler didn't even get in spring training with the Red Sox, He landed on the 10-day IL in March and opened the season with patellar tendinopathy in his left knee. Once he returned from the IL, Seigler came out of the gates slow for Triple-A Worcester, hitting .222 with no home runs in April. But then he caught fire in May and hasn't looked back. The 27-year-old hit .344 with an 1.000 OPS that month, while walking more often than he struck out (17.7% walk rate vs. 12.7% strikeout rate). In a quote taken by our own @Nick John, Worcester manager Iggy Suarez explained why he thought Seigler was so much better in May: "I think it's just that he's finally starting to play now. Coming back, he did not really have a spring training, so now a month in, that is really his spring training. Now he's getting into the swing of things and getting his rhythm back. ... To see him comfortable and kind of out of that spring training mode, I think having that month under his belt when he was a month behind helps a lot." Seigler carried that momentum into Boston after his call-up in June, hitting .318/.388/.500 in his first 14 games and launching his first career home run. M3lNbnlfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X1ZRUURBUVZWQjFZQVhsRlJYd0FIQnc5ZUFGa05CMUFBQ2xCWEExY05Bd1pTQ0FCZg==.mp4 Seigler has never been a power threat. His career-high exit velocity is 107.9 mph in 2025, But he has continued to profile as an above-average bat-to-ball hitter, keeping his chase and whiffs low. Arguably the most impressive aspect of his minor-league profile was his ability to limit strikeouts: He struck out just 19.2% of the time while walking 17.4% of the time. Combine that with a 91.4 average exit velocity in 2026 (in the 85th percentile in Triple-A), all while playing average defense, and it creates an intriguing second base option. One fascinating aspect of Seigler is that despite strong average exit velocity, his max and 90th-percentile exit velocities are weak. His average exit velocity in Triple-A is the same as Hunter Goodman and Ketel Marte this season. For reference, Goodman led all of the MLB in home runs in June with 13. Yet, Seigler has only one career barrel in the big leagues to go along with his lone home run. The explanation for this is found in bat speed, launch angle sweet spot percentage, and squared-up percentage. Seigler's bat speed is slow, sitting at 68 mph, which will inherently limit exit velocities. Thus one would think he provides an 85th percentile average exit velocity because he finds the ideal launch angle. And yet, Seigler's average launch angle is relatively low at 8.6 degrees, only 0.6 degrees above the requirement to be in the launch angle "sweet spot" according to Baseball Savant. In fact, Statcast defines any ball put in play with less than 10 degrees of launch angle to be a groundball. That led me to believe his success this season would be explained by a high line-drive rate. Lo and behold, I was correct! If Seigler qualified (he hasn't appeared in enough MLB games), his 25.8% line drive rate would rank sixth in the league, just behind breakout star Jac Caglianone. It's also worth noting that his groundball rate of 54.8% would rank third, just behind former teammate Garrett Mitchell. As you can see here, no matter the launch angle, Seigler does end up squaring up the ball. The larger circles illustrate the quantity of balls so far at each launch angle. So, he's squared up every ball in play in 2026 between the launch angles of 26 and 8, as seen in the graph above. That can't be expected to continue, but it's clear that Seigler knows what he does well and seeks to replicate that every at-bat. He's walking a narrow line of low bat speed paired with elite quality of contact. That's hard to sustain unless your name is Luis Arraez, whose Savant page actually looks remarkably similar to Seigler's -- though Arraez has lower average exit velocities. Seigler has also ticked up his bat speed from 66.9 mph to 68 mph since joining the Red Sox. If he wants to sustain his success as a high-contact, line-drive hitter, he will likely need to lift the ball slightly more. Even before making any tweaks, though, the former first-round pick has begun carving out a role in Boston. Assuming the Red Sox decide to sell, there will be room for Seigler in the dugout the remainder of the season, and the chance to improve what he already does well. 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I think that’s a great way to get 100% accuracy and makes the most sense. But for the baseball world we’re playing in now, maximizing every aspect of the game is critical

I’d be fairly surprised if they changed the system that quick. Not saying development in on-field skills isn’t needed either, just another layer of the team showing they don’t have much direction.

Yeah I agree fully with both points of view. There needs to be a balance of just general feel and coming in with an analytical plan. I feel pretty confident they lack in both but maybe think they’re an analytically forward team. I believe Tyler Stephenson said that you can’t carry a challenge over to the next game. Not doing everything we can to use all two, smartly ofc, is malpractice.

Organizational incompetence is not just evident with on-field performance. It leaks into every aspect of how the team shows up to the ballpark on a given day. Beyond the inability to drive in runners in scoring position or repeated miscues in the field, the Boston Red Sox have clearly come in with a lack of preparation regarding the new ABS system. The rules are a mere three months into adoption, but it's already become clear which teams understand the system and which ones came in unprepared. The Red Sox came out of the gates slow early in the season regarding ABS in their opening series. They put themselves in a position to let umpire C.B. Bucknor dictate the result of their at-bats because they had wasted their challenges so early on. The Reds, on the other hand, outclassed the Red Sox, and it resulted in a loss and Alex Cora getting ejected. Both squads, the Reds and the Red Sox, have remained at opposite ends of the ABS success spectrum this season. The Reds are second in getting a call flipped to a walk and seventh in getting a call flipped in their favor to a strikeout. More impressively, the Reds have a 56% success rate as the hitting team, third in MLB, and are first in success rate as the fielding team with a 71% success rate. The Red Sox, in contrast, sit in the bottom half of the league as the hitting team and middle-of-the-pack as the fielding team. Their success rate as the fielding team becomes less impressive when you look at their rate of challenges, on a mere 1.7% of all calls, 26th in MLB. They are also 22nd in challenge rate as hitters at 3.9% and have the second-fewest amount of ABS challenges in MLB at 128, ahead of only the Arizona Diamondbacks who have 127. The difference between the two clubs is that the Red Sox have -19.7 overturns over expected, whereas the Diamondbacks have +14.7. Expected challenges are based off a metric developed by Tom Tango and it takes into consideration count leverage, amount of runners on base and where, leverage with the game, location of the pitch, inning, and how many challenges remain. This Willson Contreras challenge for example, in the bottom of the fourth, down 6-2, with nobody on, one out, and one challenge remaining, would have an incredibly low expected challenge rate. The pitch was more than three inches inside the zone according to Baseball Savant as well. So the Red Sox, based on all of the above criteria, are not challenging when they're supposed to and challenging at bad times when they do. In contrast, the aforementioned Reds are fourth in the league in the metric, generating 24 more overturns over their expected rate. FanGraphs' Matt Martell recently published an article on league-wide ABS decisions and how organizations are making more informed decisions regarding the new system. He was able to gather quotes from multiple sources and cited the above Contreras example, almost as a contrast the smart organizations with the ones who are lagging behind. Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar said regarding leverage situations: “If you’re down by four runs and nobody’s on with two outs in the third inning, it might not be worth it in that situation if you’re not 100% sure. So, understanding the weight of the at-bat, understanding how it could swing the game one way or the other.” Rays outfielder Taylor Walls also mentioned that the Rays are telling their guys to pull the trigger as much as possible, as an unused challenge is a wasted data point. As a result, the Rays have been among the league's worst in success rate with ABS challenges, but at least they have a plan. Based on the data, the Red Sox are too picky to challenge and not prepared enough to do it when they're supposed to. For a team that needed to win within the margins as a pitching-and-defense-first squad, one would assume they would leave no stone unturned, especially with a system that's increasing the league-wide walk rate. Each 90-foot stretch is so valuable when the team is scraping and clawing for runs, and yet they weren't even prepared for that. Craig Breslow has always been a data-first baseball operations guy, which made the ineptitude at surprising at first, but less so as the season crawls along. The ABS system is microcosm of 2026 Red Sox as whole: lost in space as the rest of the league points and laughs. They are drowning on the field, and their approach to the ABS challenge system is no different. View full article

Despite their offensive shortcomings, the Boston Red Sox have developed one of the league's best pitching staffs while also seeing notable progress from several prospects in the lower levels of the organization. Below, I'll highlight a recent call-up and a pair of veteran minor leaguers who are making strong cases for promotions of their own. Pitching prospects can often climb the minor league ladder much faster than hitters. If the stuff plays and they consistently throw strikes, there are fewer adjustments required at each level. We saw that last season with Payton Tolle, who rose from High-A all the way to the major leagues, where he even dueled with Paul Skenes. I have a feeling we'll see my No. 1 player from this month's edition join the big league club by the fall. Without further ado, let's dive in. Ranking Red Sox's Best Minor-League Pitchers in May #3 Blake Wehunt (Double-A Portland) Wehunt has spent the past two seasons at Double-A Portland, struggling at times to find consistent success. Last year, he posted a 5.68 ERA for the Sea Dogs while striking out 76 batters in 63.1 innings. This May, however, Wehunt looked like a completely different pitcher. Armed with a plus fastball and sweeper, he dominated opposing hitters throughout the month. His best outing came against the Reading Fightin Phils, when he struck out 11 over five innings, tying Jake Bennett for the most strikeouts by a Red Sox minor-league pitcher in a single game this season. Wehunt finished May with a 2.08 ERA, a 40.6% strikeout rate, a minuscule 7.2% walk rate, and held opponents to a .525 OPS. His 40.6% strikeout rate ranked in the 98th percentile among Double-A pitchers during the month. Standing 6-foot-7, Wehunt fits the mold of a classic Craig Breslow pitching acquisition. While Statcast data is unavailable at his level, it's reasonable to assume his extension ranks among the best in professional baseball. He also led Portland pitchers in both innings pitched and strikeouts during the month. At 25 years old, Wehunt still has time to impact the major-league club, and a month like this is exactly the type of performance that can put a former ninth-round pick back on the organization's radar. #2 Hayden Mullins (Double-A Portland) Above are Hayden Mullins' percentile rankings for the month of May. The results are nothing short of dominant when it comes to generating swings and misses. Mullins ranked in the 100th percentile in swinging strike rate, CSW% (called strikes plus whiffs), whiff rate, and strikeout rate. He also ranked in the 99th percentile in zone contact rate allowed and opposing wOBA. Mullins recorded at least five innings in all three of his May starts, striking out seven, eight, and 10 batters, respectively. Opposing hitters managed just a .148 batting average against him during that stretch and drew only five walks total. The 26-year-old had struggled with command earlier in the season, including two April starts in which he issued five walks. Seeing that number come down in May is an encouraging sign as he continues to develop. The underlying metrics support the improvement as well, with his FIP currently sitting at 2.97. Mullins has been part of the Red Sox organization since 2022 but missed his entire first season due to injury. His best pitch is a slider that FanGraphs grades as a present 55 with future 60 potential on the 20-80 scouting scale. While his fastball generally sits between 93 and 94 mph, his extension allows the pitch to play up against opposing hitters. If Mullins can continue building on his May performance while further refining his control, he has a chance to establish himself as a legitimate prospect. It's been an encouraging start to the season for a pitcher who is beginning to generate real buzz within the system. Anthony Eyanson #1 (Double-A Portland) One trend you may have noticed is that all three pitchers featured this month are members of the Portland Sea Dogs. Eyanson earned his promotion after a dominant High-A start on May 1, when he struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings. The first-year prospect out of LSU more than earned his rapid rise through the system. Across 20.1 innings at High-A, Eyanson allowed just one run while striking out 34 hitters. He simply overwhelmed the competition, leaving the Red Sox little reason to keep him at that level. The success has continued in Double-A. Since arriving in Portland, Eyanson has posted a 2.77 ERA with a 34% strikeout rate while holding opponents to a .146 batting average. His performance has already pushed him into updated Top 50 prospect rankings from Baseball America and The Athletic, and it's easy to envision his stock continuing to rise. He has quickly become one of the most exciting pitching prospects in baseball. All four of Eyanson's pitches grade as above-average to plus offerings according to FanGraphs. His curveball, slider, and changeup each carry future 60 grades, while his fastball has reportedly touched 100.2 mph during spring training. According to SoxProspects, he generally operates in the 95-98 mph range. Eyanson's rapid ascent has generated significant excitement throughout the prospect world. Watching it unfold evokes memories of Payton Tolle's rise last season, when he went from High-A to the major leagues in a single summer. Eyanson still has hurdles to clear at both Double-A and Triple-A, but thus far he has shown little indication that either level will slow him down. View full article

After trading for Sonny Gray on November 25, the Boston Red Sox believed they had acquired the No. 2 starter in their rotation. Through his first five starts, however, it appeared that age may have finally caught up to Gray. He posted a 5.09 K/9 and surpassed four strikeouts only once, in his season debut, giving him the fourth-lowest strikeout rate among qualified starters during that span. Then, Gray tweaked his right hamstring, and it seemed his season might go from bad to worse. That has not been the case. Since returning on May 6, Gray has pitched at least five innings in all three of his starts while allowing just two runs across 17 innings. Most importantly, he has set season highs in strikeouts in consecutive outings, recording six against the Phillies before striking out nine Royals on Monday. After opening the year with five straight starts of three strikeouts or fewer, Gray doubled his season strikeout total in just two outings, increasing it from 15 to 30. Following Monday's start, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe asked Gray what had changed to produce the swing-and-miss results he had been seeking: "Anything you're seeing in terms of those strikeouts?" he asked, "Obviously a bunch of swing and misses tonight were on the sweeper, a couple on the curveball. Is it just executing spin better, or is it how you're tunneling?" Gray's response consisted largely of noncommittal answers, seemingly intent on keeping the details of his success close to the vest. Fortunately, the wealth of publicly available data gives us an opportunity to investigate what may be different. Pitch usage provides an obvious starting point. When comparing Gray's pitch mix before and after his return from the injured list on May 6, several notable changes emerge. The char above compares his pitch usage from March 28 through May 5 (top) with his usage from May 6 through May 18 (bottom). We can see that Gray's sweeper and four-seam fastball essentially traded places in usage. His sweeper usage increased from 15.9 percent to 18.9 percent, while his four-seam usage dropped from 18.2 percent to 15.8 percent. The adjustment makes sense. Throughout his career, Gray has relied heavily on breaking pitches to generate outs, and last season his breaking balls produced a 97th-percentile run value while the rest of his arsenal graded out below average. If Gray's goal was to generate more strikeouts, leaning on the sweeper was a logical move. Before the injury, it generated the highest swinging-strike rate among any pitch he threw more than 10 percent of the time. Since returning, it has remained his best bat-missing offering, producing a 20.9 percent swinging-strike rate. He's also simply thrown more strikes overall, which naturally creates more opportunities to finish hitters with strikeouts. One area worth monitoring is how these changes affect his batted-ball profile. His ground-ball rate has declined significantly, while his line-drive rate has climbed. That shift could lead to more hits falling in, but it may also be the trade-off required to maintain the elevated strikeout numbers we've seen since his return. It's difficult to draw firm conclusions from only three starts. Still, for a pitcher whose success has long been built on a kitchen-sink approach, throwing more pitches with movement is likely to produce better results. At this stage of his career, increased fastball velocity is unlikely to be part of the equation. If Gray is going to continue missing bats, it will be because he leans on his elite breaking stuff. The early returns have been encouraging. Now, we'll see whether he can sustain them and continue serving as a stabilizing force in the Red Sox rotation. View full article

Roman Anthony has gotten off to a slow start in 2026 after lighting it up in the World Baseball Classic this March. Prior to the start of the season, Anthony was a staple in Top 100 players lists across all platforms and many, including myself, assumed continued to ascension into the upper echelon of hitters that MLB has to offer. The high expectations were deserved. Only 11 rookies since the Wild Card Era began have posted a higher OBP than Roman Anthony did in 2025. Some of the names on that list include Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Albert Pujols, among others. And, since 1947, only three rookies accumulated more than Anthony's 3.1 bWAR in 71 games or fewer. It's rare air for Anthony to be sitting in, and he did not get there by accident. A month and change is no reason to wave the white flag on a 22-year-old's career, but the slow start has been well below the expectations set on him in the spring. There has not been major regression across the board and, in fact, Anthony was improving in some key categories up until his right wrist injury. Roman Anthony: 109 AB, .229/354/.321, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 33 K, 20 BB As you can see above, Anthony's percentiles, especially in the power department, remain bright red. He ranks in the 91st percentile in average exit velocity, the 86th percentile in maximum exit velocity, and the 93rd percentile in bat speed. Not only is he hitting the ball harder on average, but he is also striking out less and walking more than he did in his rookie year, improving from a 27.7% strikeout rate to 25.4% and 13.2% walk rate to 15.4%. His expected batting average remains around where it was last season, sitting at a .262 mark compared to last year's .258; based off of quality of contact and launch angle, Anthony has gotten better this year, Looking at his batted ball metrics, we see that further improvements may be in store: What we do not like to see is a sharp decrease in PullAir%, with Anthony showing a drop of more than three percent. This comes despite improvements this season in AIR% and Pull%. At face value, a drop like this doesn't add up. But another look at the batted ball data shows us why the decrease is happening. He has increased his pulled groundball percentage from 24.1% in 2025 to 27.6% this year. Along with that, he's hitting more balls in the air either back up the middle or the other way, going from an Oppo AIR% of 14.9% to 18.4% and a Straight AIR% of 20.7% to 22.4%. The latter half of this approach may be a little league coach's dream, but pulling the ball in the air will naturally lead to more home runs. As of May 13, according to Baseball Savant, there had been 1,347 home runs hit this season. Of those, 163 of them were hit to the opposite field, 248 of them were hit to the middle third of the field, and the other 936 were pulled. That is a stark contrast and one that should be noted when evaluating Roman Anthony's season thus far. One thing that was harped on as a problem for Anthony last season was his propensity to hit the ball on the ground, and he has worked to improve that. His average launch angle has moved from 6.9 degrees to 8.3 degrees. Statcast defines the "sweet spot" for launch angle to be between eight and 32 degrees, as that is where most hits are found. Eight is just high enough to avoid being a routine ground ball, and 32 is just low enough to avoid being a routine fly ball or pop-up. But while Anthony has improved his launch angle and maintained solid exit velocities, he's not hitting the ball in a way that is taking advantage of all of that power. Above is a chart of all Roman Anthony's total balls in play contrasted with balls in play that have a launch angle of 15 or more degrees, along with a rough field sketch for visualization purposes. The blue dots indicate low exit velocities and red is his higher-end exit velocities. The spray chart plot is thanks to @jonpgh on X/Twitter. What is interesting to see is how many balls in play vanish after increasing the minimum threshold and, more importantly, how many of those balls on the left image were hit with launch angles below 15 degrees. Cutting the field in half will give an approximate value of how many balls in play were pulled. By my count on the right image, Anthony pulled nine balls compared to the 17 that went the opposite way, including his lone home run this season. TUFYOFlfVjBZQUhRPT1fQmdOUUFsRlhCQVlBWEZZRVh3QUhBZzREQUFCVEJnVUFBVlZSQ0FBSFVBTURWUVJV.mp4 The intangibles for the Roman Empire are still there. He still crushes the baseball and draws walks like he had before. He has even made improvements in lifting the ball more consistently, which is a better step forward than continuing to hit groundballs at an unsustainable rate. Now, it's time for him to start ripping baseballs into right field instead of center or left. There is so much upside in him and, as I'm sure you have heard before, he is only 22 years old. A bad April won't mean anything if he can start hitting like we've seen him do before. His expected metrics, like xBA (.229 -> .262) and xwOBA (.323 -> .379) all indicate brighter days are ahead. This seems much more like a continued adjustment period than a collapse. His underlying skills remain the same, if not largely better than before. All of his natural power needs to be used to deposit the baseball into seats. Upon his eventual return from the injured list, should he begin pulling AND elevating, the season we expected out of Roman Anthony may very well be on the horizon. View full article