Beneath is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Boston Purple Sox. Scouting stories had been compiled with data supplied by trade sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fourth 12 months we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column under: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers. The ETAs listed usually correspond to the 12 months a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Guide 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 could be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview could be discovered right here.
All the ranked prospects under additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location affords that includes sortable scouting data for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan knowledge from numerous sources) than this text and integrates each group’s listing so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm programs. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Word
Grouped by sort and listed so as of choice inside every class.
Projectable DSL Hitters
Justin Gonzales, 1B
Christopher Alvarado, 2B
Jhoan Peguero, RF
Efren Teran, INF
Simply due to the way in which my sources and obtainable video sources 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 one in every 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 to this point this summer season. Alvarado is barely 5-foot-10, however he’s lengthy and sinewy in a approach that looks like he’s poised to fill out. He additionally has one of the best bat pace 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 Hitters
Anderson Fermin, CF
Avinson Pinto, SS
Raimundo De Los Santos, CF
Vladimir Asencio, OF
Fermin (DSL) tracks pitches very nicely and has the pace to develop in middle. His sweeping, downward bat path produces little or no energy proper now. Pinto (DSL) is a 70 runner who rotates exhausting, however his bat isn’t within the zone very lengthy. De Los Santos (FCL) is a plus runner who appears like a middle area match, however he’s very small and requires a ton of effort to swing exhausting. 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 to this point in professional ball.
Catchers
Nathan Hickey, C
Johanfran Garcia, C
Brooks Brannon, C/1B
Hickey was a 2021 fifth rounder out of Florida who hit 15 bombs in Portland final 12 months. I don’t suppose 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 problem 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 challenge this 12 months. He has nonetheless not performed very a lot precise baseball in components of three seasons.
DSL Arms
Yoelvin Chirino, RHP
Dalvinson Reyes, RHP
Dariel Morillo, RHP
Chirino is a 19-year-old righty who appears like he’s had a progress spurt. He has most undoubtedly had an arm power bump this 12 months, sitting 94-95 within the DSL in comparison with 90-91 in 2023. A 6-foot-5 17-year-old righty, Reyes has a complicated 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 Solely
Ryan Zeferjahn, RHP
Helcris Olivarez, LHP
Wyatt Olds, RHP
Alex Hoppe, RHP
Zeferjahn has touched 100 this 12 months and was performing nicely at Double-A, however issues have taken a flip for the more serious 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 altered orgs. He’s nonetheless throwing fairly exhausting (as much as 98) and getting quite a lot 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 someway his fastball was solely producing an 8% in-zone miss price as of my final sourced knowledge replace.
Accidents
Bryce Bonnin, RHP
Bryan Mata, RHP
Brandon Walter, LHP
Bonnin has had many accidents relationship again to varsity, they usually 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 incredible 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 mainly out of choice years, and it’s robust to worth somebody as a prospect after they may simply be freely obtainable 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 the most effective, 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 appears 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 most of the prospects above, it bends however doesn’t break, then you’ve a fairly harmful place participant prospect.
If I needed to gripe about one thing right here, it’s that watching Boston’s lower-level associates generally is a bit grating as a result of I’m fairly positive hitters on this system are being advised to swing much less and fewer. For those who observe these prospect lists persistently (thanks, I’m nearly carried out), you recognize that there are gamers whose knowledge signifies to me that they’re artificially affected person. Their swing and chase charges are extremely low, however once you have a look at the way in which 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 price can be larger than their baseline chase as a result of you need to defend towards borderline pitches, however when the hole is like Cutter Coffey’s (his chase price 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 once you’re making an attempt 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 holding 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 differ. There are guys within the explosive and highly effective bucket (like Luis Perales and Yordanny Monegro), after which there are these within the swish and free bucket (a lot of the school lefties on the listing). After all, a few of these gamers had been acquired by the earlier regime, however in lots of circumstances, they’ve solely just lately made developmental strides. The Purple Sox beneath Craig Breslow, who was beforehand liable 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 selected approach as much as that time. Heck, Richard Fitts was coming off a robust 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 house needs to be what Boston is doing to attempt to reverse engineer some stuff.