Boston Red Sox Prospects: 2024 Midseason Top 30 Update
The Red Sox system has blossomed into one of the better overall systems in the game, with a collection of Top 100 prospects at the top and good depth. The organization’s focus on bat speed has yielded strong results from their hitters, and their pitching development has taken a step forward in recent seasons.
Baseball America subscribers can see the full updated Red Sox Top 30 here. Notable risers, fallers, new additions and injury updates are below.
Notable Risers
Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF
Heading into the 2024 season, Campbell was the talk of Boston’s minor league camp. While there was healthy skepticism around Campbell adding power, it’s proven to be misplaced, as Campbell is now in Double-A mashing. At 22 years old, Campbell looks like a possible late-summer debut for the Red Sox.
It’s been a tremendous first half for Garcia, who’s taken a sizable step forward at the plate. Garcia’s contact and approach have improved in 2024 while he’s added significant power year-over-year. Garcia is blossoming into a power-hitting corner outfielder with enough plate skills for his impact to play consistently.
Zach Penrod, LHP
Signed late last summer out of the independent Frontier League, Penrod is just one step away from the major leagues. He can provide the Red Sox emergency innings in the rotation or could slide into a relief role as a lefthander with a three-pitch mix and some power. He’s an excellent find by the Red Sox scouting department.
Notable Fallers
Dating back to his time at Florida, Hickey has been a bat-first prospect with questionable defensive skills behind the plate. So far in Triple-A this season, the bottom has fallen out of his offensive profile. Now 24 years old, Hickey is striking out at the highest rate of his career and has been a below-average performer for Worcester this season.
Mikey Romero, SS
Since being selected in the first round in 2022, Romero has been limited to just 87 professional games. Over that time, he’s hit .244/.305/.380. While Romero’s career is still in its infancy, the returns have been discouraging for a player who was considered to have one of the more advanced hit tools in the class.
Notable New additions
17. Jhostynxon Garcia, OF
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: Garcia signed in July of 2019 for $350,000 out of Venezuela. His younger brother Johanfran signed with the Red Sox two-and-a-half years later. The elder Garcia came stateside in 2022 and played his first full season with Low-A Salem in 2023. He returned to Salem to begin 2024, earning promotion to High-A Greenville on May 30th.
Scouting Report: Over the last few seasons, Garcia has grown into a physical righthanded hitter. The 2024 season has been one of substantial development for Garcia. He’s seen a significant improvement in raw power, with a near 4-mph jump in his 90th percentile exit velocity. Alongside improved quality of contact, Garcia’s approach has seen incremental improvements, as well. Garcia excels in his ability to optimize ball flight by backspinning the ball with consistency. He’s likely to move from center field to a corner spot long term due to being a fringe-average runner and fielder, but he does have an above-average arm.
The Future: Garcia should develop into a fringe-average regular with a power-over-hit profile.
Scouting Grades: Hitting: 40 | Power: 55 | Speed: 45 | Fielding: 45 | Arm: 55
20. Matthew Lugo, OF
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: Selected in the second round of the 2019 draft out of Puerto Rico, Lugo signed for $1.1 million. He began his career as a shortstop but struggled there defensively and was moved to the outfield in 2024. Lugo is the nephew of former MLB all-star Carlos Beltran.
Scouting Report: After a forgettable 2023 season, Lugo committed to improving his plate discipline in 2024 and has enjoyed a renaissance at the plate. Lugo cut his chase rate by over a quarter, and the results followed. He now shows above-average bat speed, with average bat-to-ball and approach, which was something the former version of Lugo did not flash. Lugo is a low-ball hitter that feasts on pitches in the bottom quadrants, but can struggle when challenged up in the zone. Lugo shows average speed on the bases and the ability to handle an outfield corner. He’s a below-average defender with an average arm.
The Future: Lugo is a bat-first prospect that could fit a super utility role that finds time in the outfield and at third base in a pinch.
Scouting Grades: Hitting: 45 | Power: 50 | Speed: 50 | Fielding: 40 | Arm: 50
21. Zach Penrod, LHP
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Rangers in August 2018, Penrod had Tommy John surgery the following April and was part of the mass of players in minor league baseball released in June 2020. Penrod then spent parts of three seasons pitching in the independent Pioneer League. The Red Sox signed him in August 2023.
Scouting Report: An older prospect at 27 years old, Penrod began the 2024 season strong and pitched his way to Triple-A Worcester. Penrold delivers the ball from a high three-quarters slot and mixes a trio of pitches featuring a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. His fastball sits 93-95 mph—touching 97 at peak—with 18-19 inches of induced vertical break and 8-9 inches horizontal. His slider sits 86-88 mph with hard cut, and has the attributes of a typical cutter. Penrod’s changeup is his best swing-and-miss pitch and is good for getting chases out of the zone. Penrod’s command is fringe-average, and he’ll lose his release point at times.
The Future: Penrod is a depth starter capable of filling in at the backend of the rotation when needed.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 45
26. Connelly Early, LHP
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: After two standout college seasons for Army, Early entered the transfer portal in the summer of 2022, eventually committing to Virginia. In his one season with UVA, Early was selected third-team All-ACC. The Red Sox picked Early in the fifth round of the 2023 draft with a signing bonus of $408,500. He made one appearance with Low-A Salem after signing and was assigned to High-A Greenville to begin 2024.
Scouting Report: Early is a thin and athletic lefthander with a prototypical pitcher’s build. He delivers the ball from a high three-quarter slot with a crossfire finish and mixes four pitches: A four-seam fastball, changeup, cutter and curveball. His changeup is his most used pitch at a 34% usage rate, while he mixes in his fastball, cutter and curveball each around 20% of the time. Early switches his arsenal up, utilizing all four pitches consistently. His fastball sits 92-93 mph with a dead zone shape, but his changeup has excellent vertical movement and velocity separation off it. Early throws an average amount of strikes and benefits from high chase rates against his changeup and cutter.
The Future: Early has a backend starter’s upside, but is more likely to be reliable rotation depth as an up-and-down option.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 45 | Curveball: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 50
27. Ovis Portes, RHP
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
Track Record: Signed out of Antigua and Barbuda for $25,000 in March 2022, Portes has been one of Boston’s better low-dollar signings in recent years. He debuted in the Dominican Summer League in 2023, making four appearances to underwhelming results. Portes was assigned to the Florida Complex League to begin 2024 where he tossed 13 scoreless innings across two appearances before being promoted to Low-A Salem.
Scouting Report: Portes is a tall, projectable righthander with a powerful arsenal. He saw a significant jump in stuff between his 2023 professional debut and his move stateside in 2024. After sitting 91-92 mph on his four-seam fastball in 2023, Portes is sitting 94-96 mph this year and has touched 99 in games. While he doesn’t generate a significant amount of ride on the pitch, he has efficient spin from a 5-foot-6 release height. Portes mixes a pair of secondaries in the form of a low-80s slider and mid-80s changeup. He struggles to consistently land his fastball and changeup, meaning improvement to his command will dictate his future role.
The Future: A projectable righthander that’s added significant power but will need to refine his secondaries to develop as a starter.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 30 | Control: 40
29. Hayden Mullins, LHP
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: Mullins was a highly-rated high school player who made it to campus at Auburn, spending three years pitching primarily in a relief role. Mullins has dealt with injuries dating back to high school and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 to miss all of 2023. The Red Sox selected Mullins in the 12th round of the 2023 draft and signed him for $97,500.
Scouting Report: An undersized lefthander, Mullins uses his lack of height to his advantage. By releasing the ball from a lower release height with spin efficiency, Mullins creates a difficult plane of approach on his fastball. He misses bats with the pitch despite sitting just 92-93 mph. Even so, Mullins’ most-used pitch is his high-70s sweeping slider, which has 13-15 inches of horizontal break on average. He also mixes in a changeup and cutter and shows average command across his pitch mix.
The Future: Mullins has an opportunity to develop into a depth starter but could ride his deceptive traits to a relief role long term.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 40 | Cutter: 40 | Control: 50
30. Dalvinson Reyes, RHP
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
Track Record: The Red Sox signed Reyes out of Dominican Republic in January 2024 for $450,000. Reyes debuted in the Dominican Summer League in 2024 after signing.
Scouting Report: The 6-foot-5 Reyes has an easy and free operation. His stuff has just pedestrian power at the moment, but he is extremely projectable with a collection of good pitch shapes that can develop into average or better pitches. Reyes mixes a two-seam fastball, slider and changeup. His two-seam sits 90-92 mph with sink and heavy armside run. His slider is a mid-80s cutter that could add power and ride in time. Reyes’ changeup might be his best pitch with heavy tumble and fade, with good vertical separation off his fastball. Reyes shows above-average command of his arsenal.
The Future: Reyes is a projectable starting pitching prospect who should add power in the coming years
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Command: 55
Significant injuries
Luis Perales, RHP
It looked to be a true breakout season for Perales, who was promoted to Double-A Portland. However, after three appearances Perales was shut down with an elbow injury and had Tommy John surgery. He’s now on the shelf until late 2025 at the earliest.
One of the brightest stars in Boston’s lower minors, Garcia was carted off the field on May 1st with a significant knee injury. He was placed on the full-season injury list and will return in 2025.
