Recent wave of Red Sox minor league promotions foreshadow big moves
People expected the Boston Red Sox to make a flurry of promotions throughout their farm system after the All-Star break. However, they didn’t come right away.
The All-Star break came and went, and no moves were made. Each minor league team returned to action for a weekend series. Then came Monday.
Technically, the first domino to fall came on Sunday night. Pitching prospect David Sandlin earned the promotion from High-A to Double-A. Sandlin was Boston’s return from the Kansas City Royals in the trade for reliever John Schreiber. The right-handed starter has dealt with some injury issues this year but has a disgusting mix of pitches, including a high-90s fastball. He’s struck out 50 batters in 31 2/3 innings this season.
Pitching prospect Connelly Early was also promoted to Double-A with Sandlin. Early has a 3.72 ERA, .208 BAA, and 1.14 WHIP in High-A. The lefty has 90 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings and has been a promotion candidate for a few weeks.
The Red Sox promoted several prospects and more moves could be coming
Next, a pair of pitching prospects moved up from Single-A to High-A. Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz did so after dominating for Salem since the tail end of the 2022 season — we’re shocked he didn’t get the call earlier. Rodriguez-Cruz has a 2.51 ERA, .206 BAA, and 1.18 WHIP this season. The right-handed pitcher has 73 strikeouts and has only allowed one home run in 61 innings. He’s also seen a significant velocity jump in his velocity this season.
Noah Dean has posted an incredible turnaround in 2024. The lefty has severely dropped his walk rate, and it’s led to domination. Dean has a 3.96 ERA but just a .139 BAA and 0.96 WHIP this season. He’s struck out 86 batters in 61 1/3 innings.
Finally, two players were promoted from the Florida Complex League to Single-A. Juan Valera is a right-handed pitcher who terrorized FCL lineups this season. The 18-year-old has a 1.79 ERA, .128 BAA, and 0.77 WHIP in 40 1/3 innings.
Then there’s Franklin Arias, probably the most exciting of the moves. Arias is a right-handed hitting shortstop who slashed .355/.471/.584 with 16 doubles, two triples, and six home runs in the FCL this year. He’s driven in 28 runs, scored 41 more, and stolen 30 bases in 51 games. Arias has nearly as many walks (34) as strikeouts (36) in 2024.
Arias should immediately slot into Salem’s starting lineup and play as often as possible. Currently ranked as the 13th-best prospect in the Red Sox system according to MLB.com, Arias could see a significant jump by the end of the year.
As of Monday night, those are all the moves the Red Sox organization has made. However, there’s a pretty glaring omission of any promotions to Triple-A. The Portland Sea Dogs have a stacked roster with clear candidates for a move-up. Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel, Roman Anthony, Hunter Dobbins, Kristian Campbell, and more are all worthy of a jump to the next level.
