Format = Player Position | Age on 1-4-2026 | Highest level played | Estimated time of arrival
1. SS Franklin Arias | 20 | AA | 2027
Arias signed for $525,000 as the second-highest paid player in Boston’s 2023 international class. Today, that seems like money well invested. Arias, a right-handed hitter weighing in at 5’11” 170 lbs, wasn’t as good in 2025 as he was the year before, but he faced much older competition and still posted a 108 wRC+ in 87 High-A games despite dropping .265/.329/.380. The plate skills were still elite: 8.2% walk rate vs. an 8.9% strikeout rate, so the organization sent him to Double-A at the end of the season for a period of ten games. He hits the ball hard enough.
2. LHP Payton Tolle | 23 | MLB | 2025
Tolle was the 50th overall pick in the 2024 draft. Tolle didn’t pitch for Boston that year, but made a smooth transition from TCU to pro ball in 2025, opening the year in High-A and pitching his way through three levels, making his debut on August 29 with eight strikeouts in 5.1 solid innings. He wasn’t as good in his next two starts and ended up in the bullpen, but he should be back among the starters come spring training. At 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds with velocity in the high 90s after a three-quarter release, Tolle provides an intimidating at-bat. He’ll be even harder to hit if he can deepen his arsenal a bit, but for now the fastball is enough to make him a major leaguer.
3. FROM Jhostynxon Garcia | 23 | MLB | 2025
Garcia is a right-handed hitter who weighs 6-foot-1 and 163 lbs and looks bigger at first glance. In 114 games in Double and Triple-A, the Password slashed .267/.340/.470 with 21 home runs and seven stolen bases, earning a five-game cup of coffee in August. He struck out 55.6 percent of the time and came back quickly in Pawtucket, and he’s still mostly blocked in that outside area, but life finds a way, as the dinosaurs say. His opportunity may not come in Boston, but they are reportedly shopping Jarren Duran this winter, so who knows?
4. RHP Kyson Witherspoon | 21 | NCAA | 2026
Witherspoon was the 15th overall pick out of Oklahoma this year and dominated during his season at Oklahoma, striking out 124 batters against 23 walks in 95 innings while posting a 1.01 WHIP and 2.65 ERA against mostly SEC opponents. He has some truly incredible stuff for a college arm: four easy plus pitches in a high-90’s fastball, a low-90’s slider, a high-80’s cutter and a low-80’s curveball. He even mixes in a developing changeup, and all pitches come from the same quick release point and an athletic performance that he repeats well. The command and arsenal led to the best K/BB rate in the conference. I think he could follow the Tolle path and end up in Boston in September.
5. LHP Connelly Early | 23 | MLB | 2025
Early was a fifth-round pick in 2023 and this year posted a 2.60 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 100.1 innings across two levels of minor league play, earning his big league debut, which was a thing of beauty: five shutout innings with 11 strikeouts. His 31.9 percent strikeout rate and 22.2 strikeout-minus-walk percentages this year were right in line with career norms for the 2023 fifth-round pick out of Virginia. In four starts with Boston, he threw 19.1 innings and recorded an impressive 29 strikeouts with a 2.33 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Despite what the numbers suggest, he’s not overpowering and relies on the order and control of his six-pitch arsenal to keep hitters off balance. Lefties with off-speed control tend to come out of the gate hot. It will be interesting to see if Early can hold down a spot in the long run.
6. RHP Luis Perales | 23 | AAA | 2026
Luis Perales pitched just nine games in 2024, but made them count by recording 56 punchouts in 33.2 innings across two levels before his season ended with Tommy John surgery. He rehabilitated and returned in September at 100 mph (160 km/h) with four-seamers. Some scouts predict a bullpen future due to his size (6’1” 160 lb), arm speed and arsenal, but their stated plan is to build him up to three or four innings in the Arizona Fall League and send him to spring training as a starter.
7. LHP Brandon Clarke | 22 | A+ | 2028
Boston took Clarke in the fifth round of the 2024 draft out of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. At 6-foot-1, 220 pounds and hitting 100 mph from the left side, he’s already a big win for the scouting and development group there. In 2025, he leaned into a wipeout slider that helped him swallow Low-A hitters. He struck out 17 of them in 9.2 innings, posting a 0.41 WHIP and 0.93 ERA, putting him on the radar early in the dynasty. Things didn’t go as well in High-A, but it was only 28.1 innings with a 5.08 ERA, and he still recorded 43 strikeouts against 25 walks. The pros and cons are pretty easy to see in those results considering he battled some injuries in 2025. Clarke could have a huge breakout season if he’s healthy all year in 2026.
8. BY Justin Gonzales | 19 | A+ | 2029
Gonzales, an off-the-bus All-Star, is listed at 6’4″ and 210 pounds, but like many international players, that’s exactly how big he was when he signed for $250,000 in January 2024. He was excellent (.320/.391/.517) in 47 DSL games last year and kept that train rolling this year even after skipping the complex league. In 81 Low-A games, he hit .298/.381/.423 with four home runs, 11 stolen bases, 52 (14.6%) strikeouts and 35 walks (9.8%). The organization rewarded him for the impressive plate skills with an 11-game stint in High-A to finish the season. Guys with his size and strength command the strike zone in a way he doesn’t often, so even though he will be limited defensively. should be the bat. Let him climb prospect lists this season.
9. 2B Mikey Romero | 22 | AAA | 2026
Romero is a left-handed hitter with just enough power to be a problem. He doesn’t jump off the map in any area, but he usually holds his own against much older players and thus has more upside than his results indicate. He posted just a .276 on base percentage in 45 Triple-A games this year, but still did plenty of damage, hitting .469 with nine home runs and 15 doubles. He was able to work his way into the second base picture with a hot start this year.
10. SS Dorian Soto | 18 | DSL | 2030
Soto signed in January for $1.4 million, the largest bonus Boston gave to an international amateur this season. A switch-hitter with advanced skill from both sides of the plate, he found little resistance in the Dominican Summer League, slashing .307/.362/.428 with 28 strikeouts and 16 walks in 47 games. At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, he has room to add strength and can move quickly when he does.
NOTE: Marcelo Mayer would have been the first if I had included him. He graduated on draft days, but had 127 plate appearances, so he’s still eligible for most dynasty leagues.
Thanks for reading!
#Boston #Red #Sox #Top #Prospects #Fantasy #Baseball