Fall/Winter Roundup: Brannon highlights roster as Arizona Fall League kicks off

The 2024 minor league season has gone, but the coverage here on SoxProspects.com continues with our weekly updates on the goings-on of the many Fall and Winter Leagues. Boston has eight players assigned to the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League, which began play on Monday, October 7. This update covers game action through Sunday the 13th. 

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Arizona Fall League

In previous seasons, many of the nationally-ranked players in the high minors in the Red Sox system would have been likely highlights in Arizona. Instead of stars like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer, the 2024 contingent is composed mainly of players looking to either establish or re-establish their prospect status. Of the eight players sent by Boston, only catcher Brooks Brannon is currently ranked in the SoxProspects.com Top 60. Brannon appeared in four games for the Solar Sox, twice catching and two other times slotting in as the designated hitter. He was 3 for 16, striking out seven times. Speedy outfielders Caden Rose and Max Ferguson are Boston's other two position player representatives. Rose was just 3 for 15 but drew five walks on the week, scoring five runs and stealing a pair of bases. Ferguson was 6 for 19, including a 3-for-4 effort with a pair of RBI in Saturday's loss to Peoria.

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Podcast Ep #336: SoxProspects Awards Discussion

Ian is back in the hosting chair this episode and is joined by Mike Andrews to break down all the SoxProspects Award winners! They go through all the all stars and each award, discussing the criteria, winner, who else was in consideration and even who the past winners were. They also briefly talk about the recent turnover on the Red Sox coaching staff and answer a few emails!

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2024 SoxProspects.com Awards: Pitcher of the Year

This concludes the fifth and final day of 2024 SoxProspects.com Awards Week. Throughout the week, we have recognized All-Star position players and pitchers, the Graduate of the Year, the Homegrown Player of the Year, the Ex-Prospect of the Year, the Rookie of the Year, the Comeback Player of the Year, the Breakout Player of the Year, and the Player of the Year. To wrap things up, we will name the recipient of Pitcher of the Year honors.

Pitcher of the Year

From unranked to a top-25 prospect, Juan Valera (pictured) certainly made his mark in 2024. The 18-year-old right-hander came into the season with little fanfare after signing with the Red Sox for $45,000 as an international free agent in April 2023 and posting a 5.93 ERA over 27 1/3 innings as part of his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League.

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2024 SoxProspects.com Awards: Player of the Year

Welcome to the fifth and final day of 2024 SoxProspects.com Awards Week. Throughout the week, we have recognized All-Star pitchers and position players, the Graduate of the Year, the Homegrown Player of the Year, the Ex-Prospect of the Year, the Rookie of the Year, the Comeback Player of the Year, and the Breakout Player of the Year. Today, we start by naming the recipient of Player of the Year honors.

Player of the Year

For the second time in the last three seasons, our Breakout Player of the Year is also our overall Player of the Year. Kristian Campbell (pictured), the 132nd overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Georgia Tech, enjoyed quite the meteoric rise in his first full professional season.

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2024 SoxProspects.com Awards: Rookie, Breakout, Comeback Players of the Year

We continue our SoxProspects.com Awards week with our Rookie, Breakout, and Comeback players of the year. Eligible Rookies will have fewer than 50 plate appearances or 15 innings pitched in their minor league careers. Comeback Player is awarded a player who has returned to prospect form from injury, poor performance, or a combination of the two. Breakout Player recognizes the player who made the greatest jump in prospect status during the season. The 2024 honorees included three players in the high minor leagues, all of whom currently sit in the top 25 in the current SoxProspects.com rankings.

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Rookie of the Year: Connelly Early

At first glance, Early's 2024 line does not leap out. The 2023 fifth-round pick out of the University of Virginia finished the season with a 3.99 ERA in 103 2/3 innings split between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland. However, the combination of impressive peripheral numbers to match an intriguing scouting profile earns the 22-year-old southpaw recognition as the system's top rookie. Early's 138 strikeouts placed him second in the system, while his 30.9 percent rate was tops in the organization among those with more than 80 innings. He balanced that with solid walk numbers (39, an 8.7 percent rate), and only seven home runs allowed on the season. Much of Early's success is due to his rare combination of both being able to miss bats and keep the ball on the ground--his 64.5 percent ground ball rate was best in the organization. This produced a 2.82 xERA, a good indicator of his effectiveness that portends well for his development. 

In addition to his fastball which touches the mid-90's, Early uses a changeup to particular effectiveness against right-handed batters, leading to slightly reversed platoon splits. Early is currently slotted 25th in the SoxProspects.com rankings after starting the season at 47th.

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2024 SoxProspects.com Awards: Graduate, Homegrown and Ex-Prospect

We continue our SoxProspects.com Awards coverage with the 2024 Graduate, Homegrown Player, and Ex-Prospect of the year. The winners include two young left-handed hitting outfielders as well as a star who is on a path to the Hall of Fame.

Graduate of the Year: Wilyer Abreu

It was a very successful first full season in Boston for Abreu (pictured, left), who had a 28-game cup of coffee at the end of 2023. In 132 games, Abreu slashed .253/.322/.459 with 33 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, and 58 RBI. He had a minor setback in June when he missed a few weeks with a right ankle sprain. He came back strong from the injury with an .842 OPS in July and an .896 OPS in August. Even though he likely won't win, Abreu figures to have a healthy finish in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Among 26 rookie position players in the AL, Abreu finished fourth in fWAR with 3.1. 

Abreu had a stellar season with his glove in right field, finishing fourth in all of baseball, and first among outfielders, with 18 defensive runs saved. Per Baseball Savant, he finished with seven outs above average and was in the 90th percentile for fielding run value. 

Combining 2023 and 2024, Abreu has played in a full season's worth of games with 160. The 25-year old has hit .263/.333/.459 in his young career with 39 doubles and 17 home runs to go along with 3.7 fWAR. He has been fantastic against right-handed pitching in his career with a .495 slugging percentage and an .842 OPS.

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Podcast Ep #335: Outside Looking In

With the postseason well underway, Ian and Chris H. discussed what we can learn from the clubs participating in the playoffs about what it will take for the Red Sox to rebuild into a contender. Plus, the guys looked at the responses to the recent poll conducted by our friend RedSoxStats - unspoken, but of course sponsored by Chico's Bail Bonds - and as always, your emails!

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2024 SoxProspects.com All-Stars: Pitchers

Following up on Monday's position player All-Stars, today brings the SoxProspects.com 2024 All-Star pitchers. Three players return from last year's list, joined by three 2023 draftees and a 2023 international signing. The Red Sox signed 15 pitchers as part of their 2024 draft class, which could make this list look significantly different come next year.

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Starting Pitcher: Juan Valera

Valera only threw 63 1/3 innings this season, but he was arguably the most dominant starting pitcher in the system when he was on the mound. He turned 18 in May and was stateside for the first time after signing for $45,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2023. He breezed through the FCL, where he was named a Florida Complex League All-Star with an ERA of 1.79 and a WHIP of 0.77 over 40 1/3 innings. He retired 27 batters in a row over his final two starts in the FCL and made his Salem debut on July 25. He opened with 12 scoreless innings over his first three starts there and finished with a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings. On the season, he walked 28 and struck out 68. Ranked 24th in the system, Valera has a ton of upside but also comes with a lot of risk inherent with young pitching prospects. He has a long way to go in his development, but the 6-foot-3 right-hander checks several boxes with his impressive fastball and a high-spin breaking ball. 

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2024 SoxProspects.com All-Stars: Position Players

Welcome to the 2024 SoxProspects.com Awards week! Over the next five days, we will present our annual awards on the news page, recognizing the standout performers from the season. Following the format we've used the last few years, the schedule will be as follows:

Monday: All-Star position players

Tuesday: All-Star pitchers

Wednesday: Graduate of the Year; Homegrown Player of the Year; Ex-Prospect of the Year

Thursday: Rookie of the Year; Breakout Player of the Year; Comeback Player of the Year

Friday: Player of the Year; Pitcher of the Year

We kick things off with the All-Star position players as selected by the SoxProspects.com staff. While we consider factors such as age advancement and opponent quality, these awards recognize the players' in-game performances rather than a commentary on any status as a prospect. The All-Star team features a wide range, from each of top five ranked position players (excepting Brandon Montgomery, injured during the college season before being selected by the Red Sox in the first round), to a 17-year-old who dominated the Dominican Summer League, to a selection from the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. 

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Catcher: Kyle Teel

Despite having just completed his first full professional season, 2024 marks Teel's second selection as a SoxProspects.com All-Star. The 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft out of the University of Virginia followed up his incredible pro debut with a full season that was arguably even more impressive. After finishing 2023 with Portland, Teel rejoined the Sea Dogs out of spring training. There he hit .299/.390/.462 with 20 doubles and 11 homers in 84 games, all while showing growth behind the plate. He initially struggled after a mid-August promotion to Worcester, slumping to 6 for 51 (.118) with just one extra-base hit, but an adjustment brought a strong September finish. In his final 14 games, the 22-year-old hit .375/.516/.542 with 14 walks against nine strikeouts. He is the first of several names to appear on this list likely to reach the majors in 2025. 

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