Boston Red Sox Top 50 Prospects (2026)
Red Sox
AL East
2025 record: 89-73 (3rd)
MiLB affiliates
Triple-A: Worcester Red Sox
Double-A: Portland Sea Dogs
High-A: Greenville Drive
Single-A: Salem RidgeYaks
2025 End-Of-Season farm system rank: Tied for #11
Editor note: One player who is not listed in the ranks below may still have prospect eligibility in your dynasty leagues. We made the decision to not rank him as he’s so close to crossing the 130 AB threshold and we wanted to include some other younger prospects. Otherwise, he is Top 50 player and would be listed.
- Marcelo Mayer, 3B (127 AB)
Prospects1500 writers who contributed to this column and rankings: Greg Bracken (@gregbracken07), Adam Greene (@ajgreene1015), Scott Greene (@ScottyBallgame), Shaun Kernahan (@ShaunKernahan), and Jeremy Mahy (@JMahyfam). The writer’s Twitter handle follows each player write-up or paragraph.
Prospects1500 Tiers:
Tier 1: Players with high expectations of both making the majors and playing at an All-Star level for a number of years
Tier 2: Players with an above-average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
Tier 3: Players with an average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
Tier 4: Players who have the potential to make the majors; possible sleeper candidates for sustained MLB success
Tier 5: Players of interest, worth keeping an eye on, who may make (or have made) the majors but provide minimal impact
Levels listed for each player are the highest levels player reached in 2025
Tier 1
1. Payton Tolle, LHP, 23, MLB
It was a storybook year for Boston’s 2024 second round pick. He debuted with High-A Greenville and then finished the year pitching in the playoffs for the Red Sox. His MLB debut came against Pittsburgh (and Paul Skenes) and the 22-year-old shined with 5.1 IP, 3 H and 8 K. Before he got the call to Boston in late August, he put up 13.1 K/9 across three levels of the minor leagues, with 10 starts in Greenville, five in Portland and three in Worcester. The lefty’s known for his four-seam fastball that usually sits 96-98 and can touch 99-100. There’s a chance he breaks camp with the Red Sox, but with Boston’s reworked pitching staff, it’s a good bet that he’s anchoring the WooSox rotation to begin 2026. (@Scotty_Ballgame)
Tier 2
2. Franklin Arias, SS, 20, Double-A
Boston’s talented 20-year-old shortstop prospect has stated that his goal for the 2026 season is to “make it to the big leagues”. That’s a bold statement for the Venezuelan native who debuted only three years ago as a 17-year-old in the DSL. He played across three levels in 2025, spending most of the year at High-A and getting a taste of Double-A for 10 games in September and was one of the youngest players in the Eastern League. One of the reasons he’s ranked near the top of this farm system – despite modest power he does make excellent contact, striking out only 10.1% of the time. Arias absolutely needs more time at Double-A, and could spend most the year there to see how he fares against upper level pitching. Expect an MLB call-up in 2027. (@Scotty_Ballgame)
Connelly Early, LHP, 23, MLB
Early delivered a breakout campaign last season across Double/Triple-A. In 21 games, 18 starts, he posted a 2.60 ERA with nearly 12 strikeouts per nine and 3.6 walks per nine. That was enough for the Sox to give him a callup during the stretch run. In those four starts (19.1 innings), his strikeouts per nine increased to 13.5 and his walks per nine dropped to 1.9. Early won’t blow anyone away with his fastball but he spots it extremely well. His changeup is elite featuring excellent fade that allows it to play well off his fastball. The changeup works well against both handed hitters and paired with his cutter it gives him enough to keep hitters off balance. The Sox added to their rotation this offseason which likely pushes Early back to Triple-A to start the season, but you can never have enough pitching depth and Early will be ready when needed. (@JMahyfam)Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, 21, College
Witherspoon is a power right-hander who pairs premium velocity with a breaking ball that consistently misses bats. The fastball sits comfortably in the mid-90s and reaches 99 with carry and ride, and he backs it with a true plus slider that shows sharp, late bite despite a compact, efficient shape. He mixes a cutter and curveball to change looks, while the changeup has shown improvement and flashes enough fade to remain a usable fourth option. The delivery features some controlled violence and moving parts, which creates both deception and lingering reliever risk, though he generally throws strikes and tunnels his pitches well. If the command and changeup continue to trend forward, he projects as a mid-rotation starter capable of piling up strikeouts, with a fallback as a late-inning reliever where the fastball-slider combination could play immediately. (@ShaunKernahan)
Tier 3
5. Juan Valera, RHP, 19, High-A
6. Justin Gonzales, OF, 19, High-A
7. Jake Bennett, LHP, 25, Double-A
8. Dorian Soto, SS, 17, Rookie (DSL)
Valera could have the most electric arm in the Sox system. His fastball already touches triple digits, and both his slider and sweeper look like bat-missing pitches. Even more impressive is that at 19-years-old he displayed great control walking only 2.4 per nine. Gonzales displayed advanced strike zone control for his age, posting a 16% strikeout rate and a 10% walk rate last season. He will start this season in High-A with a Double-A appearance in the second half a strong possibility. The Red Sox lost one hard throwing lefty when they traded Brandon Clarke to the Cardinals, so why not replace him with another? In a trade with the Nationals they not only got that big lefty back in Bennett, but they also got someone that could contribute to the big-league club much sooner. Soto, the Red Sox big international signing of 2025, has a compact swing that is geared for contact, with the physical makeup to grow into power. His stateside debut will be one watch. (@JMahyfam)
Tier 4
9. Marcus Phillips, RHP, 21, College
10. Anthony Eyanson, RHP, 21, College
11. Henry Godbout, 2B, 22, High-A
12. Miguel Bleis, OF, 21, Double-A
13. Mikey Romero, 3B/2B, 22, Triple-A
14. Yoeilin Cespedes, 2B, 20, Single-A
15. Enddy Azocar, OF, 18, Single-A
16. Tyler Uberstine, RHP, 26, Triple-A
Phillips, Eyanson and Godbout are all 2025 MLB Draft selections. Phillips was taken 33rd overall out of Tennessee; Eyanson in the 3rd round out of LSU. Both are set to debut in 2026. Godbout, Boston’s 2nd rounder, impressed in 13 games for High-A Greenville, slashing .341/.473/.477/.950 in a small sample size, with 6 doubles and more walks (9) than strikeouts (6). Bleis and Romero have both slipped a bit in the rankings in recent years. Bleis, signed at 16 back in 2020 and once a Top 100 prospect, will be 22 when this season starts and should be back in Double-A. Romero, the organization’s 1st rounder in 2022, had an up-and-down season in Portland/Worcester (17 HR and 201 TB, but 132 strikeouts and hit .245). He’ll likely be manning the hot corner in Triple-A again. Cespedes spent 2025 in Salem after his first two years in the Rookie leagues. He’s projected to be part of the Greenville middle infield with Godbout and formerly ranked prospect Nazzan Zanetello. Azocar was a big pop-up prospect in 2025, and a popular dynasty league claim. The 18-year-old moved to Single-A Salem following only 14 games in the Florida Complex League. He was 2.4 years younger on average than others in that league, so there’s a good chance he’s donning the RidgeYaks uniform this April. Uberstine looks to raise eyebrows in Spring Training coming off a solid year across AA/AAA, posting a 3.58 ERA in 25 games (21 starts), punching out hitters at a 10.2 K/9 clip. He could potentially be in a Triple-A rotation with Tolle and Early to kick off the 2026 campaign. (@Scotty_Ballgame)
Tier 5
17. Shane Drohan, LHP, 27, Triple-A
18. Yordanny Monegro, RHP, 23, Double-A
19. John Holobetz, RHP, 23, Double-A
20. Allan Castro, OF, 22, Double-A
21. Hayden Mullins, LHP, 25, Double-A
22. Johanfran Garcia, C, 21, High-A
23. Tyler Samaniego, LHP, 27, Double-A
24. Nelly Taylor, OF, 23, High-A
25. Sadbiel Delzine, RHP, 18, Rookie (DSL)
26. Harold Rivas, OF, 17, Rookie (DSL)
27. Ryan Watson, RHP, 28, Triple-A
28. Gage Ziehl, RHP, 22, Double-A
29. Blake Wehunt, RHP, 25, Double-A
30. Yophery Rodriguez, OF, 20, High-A
31. Conrad Cason, RHP, 19, Rookie (FCL)
32. Luke Heyman, C, 22, College
33. Freili Encarnacion, 3B/1B, 21, High-A
34. Hector Ramos, SS, 18, Rookie (DSL)
35. Brady Tygart, RHP, 23, High-A
36. Starlyn Nunez, SS, 20, Single-A
37. Jojo Ingrassia, LHP, 23, High-A
38. Isaiah Jackson, OF, 21, High-A
39. Josue Brito, OF/1B, 18, Rookie (DSL)
40. Brandon Neely, RHP, 22, Injured (College in 2024)
41. Mason White, SS/2B, 22, High-A
42. Marvin Alcantara, SS/2B, 21, Double-A
43. Adonys Guzman, C, 22, Single-A
44. Matt McShane, RHP, 23, High-A
45. Jorge Rodriguez, C, 19, Rookie (FCL)
46. Natanael Yuten, OF, 21, Single-A
47. Dalton Rogers, LHP, 25, Double-A
48. Brooks Brannon, C, 21, Double-A
49. Jose Bello, RHP, 20, Rookie (FCL)
50. Eduardo Rivera, LHP, 22, Double-A
