Beneath is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Boston Purple Sox. Scouting studies had been compiled with info offered by trade sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fourth yr we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column beneath: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers. The ETAs listed typically correspond to the yr a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Handbook changes are made the place they appear applicable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means will be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview will be discovered right here.
All the ranked prospects beneath additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location provides that includes sortable scouting info for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from varied sources) than this text and integrates each group’s listing so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm methods. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Notice
Grouped by sort and listed so as of choice inside every class.
Projectable DSL HittersJustin Gonzales, 1BChristopher Alvarado, 2BJhoan Peguero, RFEfren Teran, INF
Simply due to the best way my sources and accessible video assets labored out, I’ve extra notes on Boston’s DSL Purple group than their DSL Blue squad, so there’s outsized illustration of that group on this part of the org audit. Gonzales is considered one of my extra trusted supply’s favourite DSL Blue hitters. He’s a 6-foot-4 first baseman who has been very robust to strike out up to now this summer season. Alvarado is barely 5-foot-10, however he’s lengthy and sinewy in a method that looks like he’s poised to fill out. He additionally has one of the best bat velocity on the roster. Peguero is extra of a standard nook outfield energy projection man at 6-foot-2. Teran is a switch-hitting infielder (he’s enjoying throughout) with pure swing loft who must get stronger.
Compact Rookie-level HittersAnderson Fermin, CFAvinson Pinto, SSRaimundo De Los Santos, CFVladimir Asencio, OF
Fermin (DSL) tracks pitches very properly and has the velocity to develop in heart. His sweeping, downward bat path produces little or no energy proper now. Pinto (DSL) is a 70 runner who rotates arduous, however his bat isn’t within the zone very lengthy. De Los Santos (FCL) is a plus runner who seems like a middle discipline match, however he’s very small and requires a ton of effort to swing arduous. Asencio signed for $1 million in January. He wasn’t somebody who my sources introduced up earlier than signing day as a participant I wanted to be on, and he’s struggling up to now in professional ball.
CatchersNathan Hickey, CJohanfran Garcia, CBrooks Brannon, C/1B
Hickey was a 2021 fifth rounder out of Florida who hit 15 bombs in Portland final yr. I don’t assume he has the arm to catch and the strikeouts are an issue if we’re speaking about first base. Johanfran Garcia (Jhostynxon Garcia’s little brother) is a power-hitting catcher who blew his ACL in Might. He isn’t a lock to remain behind the dish and, like Hickey, the Okay’s will most likely be a difficulty if he can’t. Brannon was a highschool draftee who signed for simply north of $700,000 in 2022. He’s a stout, power-hitting catcher who has handled a knee concern this yr. He has nonetheless not performed very a lot precise baseball in elements of three seasons.
DSL ArmsYoelvin Chirino, RHPDalvinson Reyes, RHPDariel Morillo, RHP
Chirino is a 19-year-old righty who seems like he’s had a development spurt. He has most positively had an arm power bump this yr, sitting 94-95 within the DSL in comparison with 90-91 in 2023. A 6-foot-5 17-year-old righty, Reyes has a sophisticated two-seamer/changeup/slider combine and is sitting 90-91. Morillo is an undersized 17-year-old righty sitting 88-91, however he can spin his breaking ball within the 2,800-3,000 rpm vary.
Velo SolelyRyan Zeferjahn, RHPHelcris Olivarez, LHPWyatt Olds, RHPAlex Hoppe, RHP
Zeferjahn has touched 100 this yr and was performing properly at Double-A, however issues have taken a flip for the more severe since his promotion to Worcester. Olivarez was as soon as a really thrilling teenage pitching prospect in Colorado who bumped into persistent damage bother and adjusted orgs. He’s nonetheless throwing fairly arduous (as much as 98) and getting a number of groundballs, however he isn’t throwing strikes. Olds is a low-slot righty with a really lengthy arm swing who sits 93-96 and has a tough-on-righties slider. Hoppe touches 100, however by some means his fastball was solely producing an 8% in-zone miss fee as of my final sourced information replace.
AccidentsBryce Bonnin, RHPBryan Mata, RHPBrandon Walter, LHP
Bonnin has had many accidents courting again to school, and so they had been so persistent that he was launched by the Reds earlier than the season. He caught on with Boston and is touching 98 proper now. It’s an ideal story if he can stick with it. Mata is a well-known former prime prospect whose stuff has by no means performed to its visible analysis, partly as a result of his fastball form isn’t efficient, partly as a result of his command is fairly tough. We’re on the level now the place he’s principally out of possibility years, and it’s robust to worth somebody as a prospect once they may simply be freely accessible very quickly. Walter was as soon as arguably a prime 100 prospect in that 2021-2022 window when his stuff was peaking, however his stuff has both been down or he’s been harm for lengthy stretches the final couple of years. He’s at the moment on the IL with a shoulder damage.
System Overview
That is maybe the deepest system in all of baseball, and top-of-the-line, proper up there with the Dodgers, Cubs and Orioles by way of the variety of 40+ FV or higher prospects.
The Purple Sox fill their system with toolsy, well-built athletes (everybody on their backfields seems like a Division-I defensive again) and have a tendency to coax extra energy out of their hitters as they mature. They typically goal gamers with demonstrated bat-to-ball competence, alter their method to be geared for energy, after which see whether or not their hit instruments can maintain as much as the adjustments. If, like lots of the prospects above, it bends however doesn’t break, then you’ve got a reasonably harmful place participant prospect.
If I needed to gripe about one thing right here, it’s that watching Boston’s lower-level associates is usually a bit grating as a result of I’m fairly certain hitters on this system are being informed to swing much less and fewer. In the event you comply with these prospect lists constantly (thanks, I’m virtually completed), you already know that there are gamers whose information signifies to me that they’re artificially affected person. Their swing and chase charges are extremely low, however if you take a look at the best way they swing and chase with two strikes, there’s an enormous spike as a result of when the hitter is actually compelled to find out whether or not or not a pitch is a strike, they’ll’t. It’s frequent sense {that a} hitter’s two-strike chase fee could be greater than their baseline chase as a result of you need to shield in opposition to borderline pitches, however when the hole is like Cutter Coffey’s (his chase fee doubles with two strikes), it makes these early takes really feel premeditated. This dynamic is clear up and down Boston’s system. Take a look at these stroll charges. Is it strategically sound? Positive. Is it annoying if you’re attempting to see Franklin Arias swing greater than as soon as in video games you flew to Florida to see? Sure. Once more, this can be a cranky, private gripe, however extra virtually (and to justify protecting this paragraph in right here), it’s additionally a phrase of warning to not take minor league stroll charges at face worth — the BoSox are removed from the one org whose hitters present this tendency.
On the pitching facet, Boston gravitates extra towards undersized prospects who’re plus athletes. The actual taste of athleticism could range. There are guys within the explosive and highly effective bucket (like Luis Perales and Yordanny Monegro), after which there are these within the sleek and free bucket (many of the faculty lefties on the listing). In fact, a few of these gamers had been acquired by the earlier regime, however in lots of circumstances, they’ve solely lately made developmental strides. The Purple Sox beneath Craig Breslow, who was beforehand chargeable for revamping the Cubs’ pitching dev infrastructure, appear to be making proactive adjustments to deliveries and repertoires, even when the participant they’ve acquired has had success working in a specific method as much as that time. Heck, Richard Fitts was coming off a powerful upper-level 2023 marketing campaign and he has already modified fairly dramatically. This appears to be working, and the adjustments are stark sufficient that groups that really feel like they’re behind within the pitching dev area needs to be what Boston is doing to attempt to reverse engineer some stuff.
